Movies like Balkan Spy (1984)
The best movies like Balkan Spy (1984) are The Truman Show (1998), The Death of Stalin (2017) and A Thousand Words (2012). If Balkan Spy hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Truman Show (1998)8.2/10 from 21,212 votes
- NewestRelay (2025)Released 2025
The Truman Show (1998)
In a picture-perfect seaside town, an insurance salesman begins to realize that his entire existence may be staged and observed by a vast unseen audience as part of a long-running real-time reality TV show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Death of Stalin (2017)
When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Thousand Words (2012)
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Windermere's Fan (1925)
A society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024)
On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Cloned Tyrone (2023)
A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy lurking directly beneath their neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe President's Analyst (1967)
At first, Dr. Sidney Schaefer feels honored and thrilled to be offered the job of the President's Analyst. But then the stress of the job and the paranoid spies that come with a sensitive government position get to him, and he runs away. Now spies from all over the world are after him, either to get him for their own side or to kill him and prevent someone else from getting him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Conversation (1974)
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGorky Park (1983)
Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisturbia (2007)
Kale has a life most teenagers would envy. He spends his days endlessly playing video games, surfing the net, eating junk food and watching cable. He has complete free reign of the house, and a beautiful young hottie named Ashley has just moved in next door. There’s only one problem—he’s not allowed to leave the house. Kale’s under court-ordered house arrest for three months, and if he takes one step beyond a 100-foot perimeter of the house, his next confinement will be in a real prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Courier (2020)
Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dark Corner (1946)
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnowden (2016)
CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Operative (2019)
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRelay (2025)
A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010)
Brad has committed murder and barricaded himself inside his house. With the help of his friends and neighbours, the cops piece together the strange tale of how this nice young man arrived at such a dark place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand of the Blind (2006)
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCloak and Dagger (1946)
Italian partisans help a professor sent by the OSS to find an atomic scientist held by Nazis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother Is an Only Child (2007)
Accio and Manrico are siblings from a working-class family in 1960s Italy: older Manrico is handsome, charismatic, and loved by all, while younger Accio is sulky, hot-headed, and treats life as a battleground — much to his parents' chagrin. After the former is drawn into left-wing politics, Accio joins the fascists out of spite, but his flimsy beliefs are put to test when he falls for Manrico's like-minded girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dreamers (2003)
When Isabelle and Theo invite Matthew to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and everything is possible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King Is Alive (2000)
Stranded in the heat of a barren African desert, eleven bus-passengers shelter in the remnants of an abandoned town. As rescue grows more remote by the day and anxiety deepens, an idea emerges: why not stage a play. However the choice of King Lear only manages to plunge this disparate group of travelers into turmoil as they struggle to overcome both nature's wrath and their own morality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)
Terry works for a bank, and uses computers to communicate with clients all over the world. One day, she gets a strange coded message from an unknown source. After decoding the message, Terry becomes embroiled in an espionage ring. People are killed, and Terry is chased. Throughout, she remains in contact with this mysterious person, who needs Terry's help save his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girls (2014)
Four lucid grandmothers tell their story forgotten by history: the militancy and resistance of the young women of the leftist youth against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
Successful surgeon Tomas leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza, and brings her back with him. Tereza is surprised to learn that Tomas is already having an affair with the bohemian Sabina, but when the Soviet invasion occurs, all three flee to Switzerland. Sabina begins an affair, Tom continues womanizing, and Tereza, disgusted, returns to Czechoslovakia. Realizing his mistake, Tomas decides to chase after her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConspiracy Theory (1997)
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanda (1990)
Sanda spends all her time working in a plastic factory, raising her two small children and catering to an indifferent husband, leaving little room for herself. A chance encounter with another man may offer her an escape from her daily chores.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Irresistible (2006)
A wife and mother is consumed by the thought that her husband's co-worker is trying to win him away from her and their family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this100 Days Before the Command (1991)
Hussein Erkenov's courageous and stinging indictment of communism. Five young Red Army recruits struggle for survival against the merciless violence that surrounds them on a daily basis. Their only means of saving their dignity is by preserving the humanity and compassion they share for each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Balkan Spy?
The closest matches to Balkan Spy are The Truman Show (1998), The Death of Stalin (2017) and A Thousand Words (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Balkan Spy?
Start with The Truman Show (1998), the closest match to Balkan Spy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Balkan Spy?
The Truman Show (1998), rated 8.2/10 by 21,212 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Balkan Spy?
Relay (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Balkan Spy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Balkan Spy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.