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Movies like La vie des bêtes (2008)

The best movies like La vie des bêtes (2008) are Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), Thick as Thieves (1999) and Breaking News in Yuba County (2021). If La vie des bêtes hooked you with its drama and crime, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)

    Misanthropic novelist François writes gripping crime stories – “Agatha Christie meets The Scarlet Pimpernel” – but outside of the swashbuckling imaginary world of his Marquis la Rose-novels, life is far from thrilling. His partner Colette, a professor at the Sorbonne and world-renowned expert on Alfred Hitchcock, is tired of watching François sit around their apartment in his pyjamas and yearns for the excitement of the classic films she watches with her students. When Colette begins to suspect their flamboyant actor neighbour of murdering his wife, the couple’s mundane lives are turned upside down – and their stale relationship is jolted back to life.

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

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  2. Thick as Thieves (1999)

    Two master thieves go at odds with one another as one sets the other up for a crime. The first, a suave pro who does his job and then hides in his own privacy, listening to old jazz records and caring for his ailing dog, Wally. The other is a local gangster with a taste for the finer life, who decides to eliminate the competition. This ignites a war between the two men and their aides. An angry mob boss and a female police officer try to sort the mess before things get too out of hand.

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

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  3. Breaking News in Yuba County (2021)

    An overlooked pencil-pusher catches her husband in bed with another woman, the shock of which causes him to die of a heart attack. So she buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But she quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister, a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story.

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

  4. Intermission (2003)

    A raucous story of the interweaving lives and loves of small-town delinquents, shady cops, pretty good girls and very bad boys. With Irish guts and grit, lives collide, preconceptions shatter and romance is tested to the extreme. An ill-timed and poorly executed couple's break-up sets off a chain of events affecting everyone in town.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

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  5. Small Apartments (2012)

    When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

  6. The First, the Last (2016)

    Apocalyptic neo-western about two gangsters, a town full of crazy people and Jesus...

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

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  7. Perrier's Bounty (2010)

    A gangster named Perrier looks to exact his revenge on a trio of fugitives responsible for the accidental death of one of his cronies.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

  8. Where the Money Is (2000)

    Henry Manning has come up with a new way to break out of prison: fake a stroke and get transferred to a nursing home. It's a perfect plan, except for one thing: the woman assigned to take care of him at the nursing home, Carol Ann McKay, has a plan of her own.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

  9. Bloody Oranges (2021)

    Simultaneously, a retired couple overwhelmed by debt tries to win a dance contest, as the minister of economy is suspected of tax evasion, and a teenage girl encounters a sexual maniac, while a young lawyer attempts to climb the social ladder. When the shoe drops, the winner won’t necessarily be the one we expected.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

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  10. Things Change (1988)

    Jerry, a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino, a shoe repairman fingered by the Mob to confess to a murder he didn't commit. But Gino's mistaken for a Mafia boss, and the two are suddenly catapulted to the highest levels of mobster status. Only friendship will see them through this dangerous adventure alive!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

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  11. Blindspotting (2018)

    Collin must make it through his final three days of probation for a chance at a new beginning. He and his troublemaking childhood best friend, Miles, work as movers, and when Collin witnesses a police shooting, the two men’s friendship is tested as they grapple with identity and their changed realities in the rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood they grew up in.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Defendor (2009)

    A crooked cop, a mob boss and the young girl they abuse are the denizens of a city's criminal underworld. It's a world that ordinary Arthur Poppington doesn't understand and doesn't belong in, but is committed to fighting when he changes into a vigilante super-hero of his own making, Defendor. With no power other than courage Defendor takes to the streets to protect the city's innocents.

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

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  13. Pasha (1968)

    Six months before his retirement from the criminal police, inspector Joss finds his colleague Gouvion dead, in a poorly faked suicide attempt. Joss loses his temper, and investigates on his own, which leads him through the bas-fond of Paris...

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

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  14. Only the Animals (2019)

    Following the disappearance of the glamorous and secretive Evelyne Ducat during a blizzard in the highlands of southern France, the lives of five people inextricably linked to Evelyne are brought together to devastating effect as the local police investigate the case.

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

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  15. An Ordinary Case (2024)

    Jean Monier is a disillusioned lawyer, appointed to defend Nicolas Milik, a man accused of murdering his wife. While everything points to his guilt, Monier takes up the case, convinced of his innocence.

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

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  16. True Believer (1989)

    Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.

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

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  17. The Insult (2017)

    After an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.

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

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. The Parts You Lose (2019)

    An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.

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

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  19. Òlòtūré (2019)

    In Lagos, Nigeria, young, naive Nigerian journalist Òlòtūré goes undercover to expose the shady underworld of human trafficking. Unused to this brutal environment, crawling with ruthless traders and pimps, Òlòtūré finds warmth and friendship with Blessing, Linda and Beauty, the prostitutes she lives with. However, she gets drawn into their lifestyle and finds it difficult to cope. In her quest to uncover the truth, she pays the ultimate price - one that takes her to the verge of no return.

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

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  20. In Her Name (2016)

    In 1982, André Bamberski learns about the death of his 14 year-old daughter, Kalinka, while she was on vacation with her mother and stepfather in Germany. Convinced that Kalinka’s death was not an accident, Bamberski begins to investigate. A botched autopsy report raises his suspicions and leads him to accuse Kalinka’s stepfather, Dr Dieter Krombach, as the murderer. Unable to indict Krombach in Germany, Bamberski attempts to take the trial to France, where he will dedicate his life to Kalinka’s justice and the imprisonment of Krombach.

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

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like La vie des bêtes?

The closest matches to La vie des bêtes are Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), Thick as Thieves (1999) and Breaking News in Yuba County (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after La vie des bêtes?

Start with Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), the closest match to La vie des bêtes.

What is the highest-rated movie like La vie des bêtes?

The Insult (2017), rated 7.5/10 by 496 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like La vie des bêtes?

Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there French movies like La vie des bêtes?

Yes: Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), The First, the Last (2016) and Bloody Oranges (2021).

How are movies similar to La vie des bêtes chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside La vie des bêtes, 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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