Movies like The Sultan of the Medina (1993)
The best movies like The Sultan of the Medina (1993) are Òlòtūré (2019), The Padre (2018) and Hardball (2001). If The Sultan of the Medina hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDogville (2003)7.7/10 from 2,828 votes
- NewestBitter Taste (2024)Released 2024
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Padre (2018)
American retired Judge Randall Nemes and his hired gun, Gaspar, track down a con man posing as a priest in a small Colombian town only to be thrown off-course by a scrappy 16-year-old girl intent on reuniting with her sister in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Still Hide to Smoke (2017)
Α tragi-comedy about 9 women of different ages and various backgrounds that gather in an Algerian hammam to talk about their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Not a Witch (2017)
Convicted of witchcraft, 8-year-old Shula is brought to live in a penal colony where witches do hard labour in service of the government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch (2008)
A mysterious woman comes in to town and inhabits the local haunted mansion, making everyone wonder if she's a witch or "The Grey Lady".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMuch Loved (2015)
A social drama about four marginalized prostitutes in Marrakech and their complex relations with their families and society at large.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCairo Station (1958)
Qinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed with Hanuma, an attractive young woman who sells drinks. While she jokes with him about a possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at the station who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss' exploitative and abusive treatment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGoal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Family (2011)
A young witch visits her cousin in a small town during a heated mayoral election race. Her kind-hearted cousin, the town’s beloved “good witch” and newlywed with two teenage step-kids, is running for office, but must keep her family from falling apart when their visitor uses her magic to put them—and the whole town—under her bitter spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.I.S.T. (1978)
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Son (2020)
Tunisia, summer 2011. The holiday to the South of the country ends in disaster for Fares, Meriem and their 10-year-old son Aziz, when he is accidentally shot in an ambush. His injury will change their lives: Aziz needs a liver transplant, which leads to discovery of a long-buried secret. Will Aziz and the relationship survive?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdam (2020)
A hard-living salesman becomes a quadriplegic after an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDogville (2003)
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlatonic Sex (2001)
When Aoi is gang-raped by her classmates and kicked out of her home by her own parents she sees no reason to continue living. Before she commits suicide, however, she receives an email on her cellphone from a man named Toshi addressed to a girl named Ai. The message simply thanks the girl for being alive, but this specific message has an effect on Aoi and she decides to keep on living. Without many options, Aoi resorts to everything from paid dating to porn to earn money and meets a lot of less than reputable characters. Throughout it all though she looks toward Toshi as her hope for happiness and the two form a relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gully Boy (2019)
Murad, an underdog, struggles to convey his views on social issues and life in Dharavi through rapping. His life changes drastically when he meets a local rapper, Shrikant alias MC Sher.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBitter Taste (2024)
In the wake of Glasgow’s rapid deindustrialization and economic decline in the 90s, a young Fraser falls victim to knife crime and is indelibly marked with a “Glasgow smile”, irrevocably impacting his sense of self and relationship to food.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Spitfire (1934)
Dirt-poor mountain girl Trigger Hicks is a loner. Her faith-healing is mistaken for witchcraft by the community. She falls for an engineer building a dam, who protects her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lady Joker (2004)
Men and women caught up in a downward spiral of corruption, discrimination, poverty and death are the focus of this detective-thriller/social-drama inspired by the unsolved 1984 kidnapping of a Japanese candy company president.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Off Limits (1988)
McGriff and Albaby are probably doing the worst law enforcement job in the world - they are plain clothes U.S. military policemen on duty in war-time Saigon. However, their job becomes even harder when they start investigating the serial killings of local prostitutes. Their prime suspect is high ranking U.S. Army officer which brings their lives in danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Beginning at Fifteen (1978)
A story of the sexual adventures of three fifteen year old girls: Elisa, Marian and Susi.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Angels of the Sun (2006)
In Northeastern Brazil, twelve-year-old Maria is sold to have a better life as a housemaid. However, Maria is resold and sent to a brothel in the Amazon gold fields and put to work by the despicable Saraiva.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of the Blue (1981)
A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLake Paliastomi (1964)
Ivane, a Gurian peasant is struggling with social inequality, trying to feed an impoverished family, pay state and rent taxes with extreme physical exertion and timber production. There is little hope for the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Sultan of the Medina?
The closest matches to The Sultan of the Medina are Òlòtūré (2019), The Padre (2018) and Hardball (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Sultan of the Medina?
Start with Òlòtūré (2019), the closest match to The Sultan of the Medina.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Sultan of the Medina?
Dogville (2003), rated 7.7/10 by 2,828 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Sultan of the Medina?
Bitter Taste (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Sultan of the Medina chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Sultan of the Medina, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.