Movies like The Immigrant (1990)
The best movies like The Immigrant (1990) are Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989), The Yellow Birds (2018) and The Wall (2017). If The Immigrant hooked you with its drama and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)8.0/10 from 1,150 votes
- NewestJichung's Diary (2025)Released 2025
Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989)
During the Iran-Iraq War, young Bashu loses his home and family. Orphaned, he sneaks into a truck leaving the area, and gets off in the Northern country, where everything from landscape to language is different. He meets Naii, trying to raise her two young children on a farm while her husband is away. Despite cultural differences and a language barrier, Bashu and Naii slowly form a strong bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Yellow Birds (2018)
Two young soldiers, Bartle and Murph, navigate the terrors of the Iraq war under the command of the older, troubled Sergeant Sterling. All the while, Bartle is tortured by a promise he made to Murph's mother before their deployment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wall (2017)
An American sniper and his spotter engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with an Iraqi sniper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStop-Loss (2008)
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCourage Under Fire (1996)
A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness to be awarded the Medal of Honor. At first all seems in order. But then he begins to notice inconsistencies between the testimonies of the witnesses...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBehold a Pale Horse (1964)
Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCast a Giant Shadow (1966)
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kill Team (2019)
When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Ordinary Man (2017)
A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world - his maid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndivisible (2018)
Upon returning from serving in the U.S. Army, Chaplain Darren Turner faces a crisis that shatters his Family and Faith in God but through the help of his fellow soldiers, he returns to his faith and family
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSand Castle (2017)
Set during the occupation of Iraq, a squad of U.S. soldiers try to protect a small village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJarhead: Law of Return (2019)
Major Ronan Jackson, an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator, is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres, risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSahara (1995)
After the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, U.S. Army sergeant Joe Gunn leads his tank into the Sahara desert, in order to evade advancing Rommel's forces and reach Allied lines. Along the way he picks up few Allied soldiers, but soon they are running out of water. They find water at the ancient well, but the well is a goal of an entire German battalion. Despite the impossible odds, Sergeant Gunn decides to defend the well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinoo Watch Tower (1996)
Minoo who is married to Moosa recently, is moving to the new house. But Moosa receive a letter in which he being told to get back to the Minoo Island (a border island between Iran and Iraq), to dispatch a watch tower there from the period of war. Moosa who has a lot of memories of that place refuses to go there but his wife Minoo is insisting. Finally she manages to convince him and both go there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
The Scout (1990)
In Iran-Iraq's war, a young scout joins the front-line to help his comrades single-handed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Goodbye Friend (2003)
The First Tale, "Goodbye Friend": Years after the Iran-Iraq war, a midnight, Moslem, a chemically poisoned veteran, decides to go to the Behesht-e Zahra. In Behesh-e Zahra, Moslem meets his martyred friends and rides around the city on a motorcycle with them. In the morning, his mother finds the Moslem’s dead body on his bed. The Second Tale, "The Momentary Rainbow": A film crew is filming the memorials of the war. Suddenly two Basij members demand the crew to listen to their memories of the war. The crew made an appointment for tomorrow but they don’t show up. The crew goes on a search to find them. They were martyrs. The Third Tale, "The Glass Flower": A young girl spends hours in the train station with a lantern and a bouquet of flowers. She is waiting to hand the flowers to one of the soldiers on their way to the war. Later, everyone finds out that she only hands her flowers to a soldier that will soon become a martyr.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Sheyda (1999)
Farhad has lost his eyesight due to an injury sustained in battle. As part of his recovery, he is transferred to a temporary hospital, where he encounters young nurse Sheida. Sheida is surprised by his tolerance to the pain of his injury, but soon realises that her recitation of Quran verses has a miraculous calming effect on him. And as the two start to grow closer and Farhad begins to heal, they find themselves on the path between faith and hope, and the true nature of both is revealed to them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Amaran (2024)
A heroic true story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an Indian Army officer who displayed extraordinary bravery during a counterterrorism mission in Kashmir’s Shopian district. The film captures his courage in protecting his nation and the devotion of his wife Indhu Rebecaa Varghese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Wave (2001)
Even after ten years, Lieutenant Morteza Rashed still has nightmares of corpses and dolls floating around after the fall of the Airbus plane by those who served aboard USS Vincennes at 1988. He has been holding a grudge towards them ever since they attacked this plane, and is always looking for an opportunity to take revenge...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Jichung's Diary (2025)
In Confucian Joseon, three pioneers risk everything for a forbidden faith—but can they survive the cost of their conviction?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJoan of Arc (1900)
A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYağlı boya ilə ailə portreti (2020)
The film depicts the life of a man named Chingiz, a student-artist whose only son was martyred in the Karabakh War. His wife also died, unable to bear the loss of her son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Immigrant and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Immigrant?
The closest matches to The Immigrant are Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989), The Yellow Birds (2018) and The Wall (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Immigrant?
Start with Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989), the closest match to The Immigrant.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Immigrant?
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), rated 8.0/10 by 1,150 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Immigrant?
Jichung's Diary (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Immigrant chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Immigrant, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.