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Movies like The Pearlfishers (2005)

The best movies like The Pearlfishers (2005) are Journey from Greece (2017), Grace Unplugged (2013) and Battle of the Year (2013). If The Pearlfishers hooked you with its drama and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Journey from Greece (2017)

    Djam, a young Greek woman, is sent to Istanbul by her uncle Kakourgos, a former sailor with a passion for Rebetiko, to find a rare part that will repair their boat. In Istanbul, she encounters Avril, a nineteen-year-old French girl, alone and without any money, who came to Turkey as a voluntary worker with refugees. Djam, generous, cheeky, unpredictable, and free-spirited, takes Avril under her wing on the way to Mytilene. A journey filled with encounters, music, sharing, and hope.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

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  2. Grace Unplugged (2013)

    A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

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  3. Battle of the Year (2013)

    A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama

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  4. Taurus (2022)

    A rising but troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

  5. Mozart, l'Opéra Rock (2009)

    The show is a dramatization of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart beginning from the age of 17 and culminating with his death in 1791 at the age of 35.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  6. Barbara (2017)

    An actress will play Barbara, the French singer. The shoot will soon start. The actress works on her character, her voice, the songs, scores, the gestures, knitting, scenes she has to learn, things are going okay, there's progress, development, she is even overwhelmed. The film director also works, through his encounters, through archives, music, he let's himself be submerged, overwhelmed like the actress, by the actress.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

  7. Coda (2020)

    A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama

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  8. Clika (2026)

    Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  9. The Mambo Kings (1992)

    The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

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  10. Too Late Blues (1961)

    Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

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  11. Bolero (1981)

    The film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and American) but with the same passion for music, from the 1930s to the 1960s. The various story lines cross each other time and again in different places and times, with their own theme scores that evolve as time passes. The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Herbert von Karajan, Glenn Miller, Rudolf Nureyev, etc.) The Boléro dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

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  12. Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018)

    Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama

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  13. Mo' Better Blues (1990)

    Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

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  14. A (2017)

    A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Hounddog (2008)

    A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  16. Chaos (2001)

    A bourgeois couple, modern yet conventional. One night by accident, a young prostitute barges into their lives. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well off lady, first for her survival-her resurrection-then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters for everyone involved.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  17. Salomé (2013)

    After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. On Fire (2023)

    Inspired by true and harrowing events, an ordinary man finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son and pregnant wife if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. Outlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)

    A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Rogue Agent (2022)

    Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. Parsifal - Teatro Massimo 2020 (2020)

    Richard Wagner's Parsifal, staged at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo in 2020, opened the opera season on January 26. The production, directed by Graham Vick and conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, featured staging with references to the imagery of war.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama

  22. Aida - Arena di Verona (2013)

    The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music

  23. Opéra National de Paris: Castor et Pollux by Jean-Philippe Rameau (2025)

    A return to its roots for Castor et Pollux, Jean-Philippe Rameau’s lyric tragedy first performed in 1737 at the Académie royale and inspired by the mythological episode of the Gemini. Rarely performed in its original version – the score was reworked by Rameau himself in 1754 –, this daring work plays on contrasts and expressiveness, as in the famous “Tristes apprêts”. The aria is sung by Télaïre mourning the death of her fiancé Castor, killed in battle, before his twin brother Pollux descends into the Underworld to ask his father, Jupiter, to bring him back to life. While this opera celebrates brotherly love, its prologue poses an essential question for director Peter Sellars: how do you stop a war and its attendant hatred and resentment?

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama

  24. Parsifal (2016)

    German composer Richard Wagner wrote Parsifal, which is a three-act opera that tells the story of the title character's quest to save the Knights of the Holy Grail by returning the Holy Spear, healing King Amfortas, and carrying out the sacred ceremony of uncovering the Holy Grail.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music

  25. Mefistofele (1989)

    1989 recording of the San Francisco Opera production of Mefistofele: Boito's retelling of Goethe's Faust

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music

  26. La Finta Giardiniera (2006)

    Part of an epoch-making release of Mozart's complete operas on DVD, here is the 18-year old composer's first mature opera buffa. Hilarity mingles with passionate emotions when belfiore believes he has killed his lover in a fit of jealousy, but then encounters her disguised as gardener sandrina. Famed filmmaker Doris Dorie directs a superb young cast in this tale of love, hate and intrigue across class barriers, all vividly depicted by Mozart's astonishingly rich and varied music.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music

  27. Moonstruck (1987)

    37-year-old Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini believes she is unlucky in love, and so accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Johnny, even though she doesn't love him. When she meets his estranged younger brother Ronny, an emotional and passionate man, she finds herself drawn to him. She tries to resist, but Ronny, who blames his brother for the loss of his hand, has no scruples about aggressively pursuing her while Johnny is out of the country. As Loretta falls for Ronny, she learns that she's not the only one in her family with a secret romance.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  28. Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie (2014)

    Emmanuelle Haïm has established herself as one of the world’s leading performers, conductors and interpreters of Baroque repertoire, not only with Le Concert d’Astrée, the ensemble she founded in 2000, but with several of the world’s greatest orchestras. Known for her fresh and expressive approach to Baroque music, she has garnered critical acclaim and several international awards with her own ensemble, including Victoires de la Musique Classique, ECHOs, Gramophone Awards, and Grammy nominations.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music

  29. Birth (2004)

    It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  30. Giacomo Puccini: Turandot (2005)

    Lovely but lethal, the evil Princess Turandot comes to life through the performance of Luana De Vol in this visually stunning production of Giacomo Puccini's Peking-set opera directed by Nuria Espert and conducted by Giuliano Carella. In this 2004 performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, all the subtleties of Puccini's unique tonality and unconventional instrumentation are in ample evidence.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music

Like The Pearlfishers and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Pearlfishers?

The closest matches to The Pearlfishers are Journey from Greece (2017), Grace Unplugged (2013) and Battle of the Year (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Pearlfishers?

Start with Journey from Greece (2017), the closest match to The Pearlfishers.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Pearlfishers?

Battle of the Year (2013), rated 6.8/10 by 369 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Pearlfishers?

Clika (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there French movies like The Pearlfishers?

Yes: Journey from Greece (2017), Mozart, l'Opéra Rock (2009) and Barbara (2017).

How are movies similar to The Pearlfishers chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Pearlfishers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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