Movies like Absent Friends (1985)
The best movies like Absent Friends (1985) are The Kill Team (2019), Outlaw King (2018) and Queen of Katwe (2016). If Absent Friends hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Hill (2023)7.7/10 from 327 votes
- NewestHamilton (2025)Released 2025
The 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaw King (2018)
Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQueen of Katwe (2016)
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hill (2023)
The story of Rickey Hill, who overcomes his physical disability and repairs his relationship with his father in a quest to become a major league baseball (MLB) player.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBehind the Candelabra (2013)
Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Game (2009)
Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarvest (2025)
Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King (2019)
England, 15th century. Hal, a capricious prince who lives among the populace far from court, is forced by circumstances to reluctantly accept the throne and become Henry V.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJude (1996)
In late 19th-century England, Jude aspires to be an academic, but is hobbled by his blue-collar background. Instead, he works as a stonemason and is trapped in an unloving marriage to a farmer's daughter named Arabella. But when his wife leaves him, Jude sees an opportunity to improve himself. He moves to the city and begins an affair with his married cousin, Sue, courting tragedy every step of the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSafety (2020)
The story of Ray-Ray McElrathbey, a freshman football player for Clemson University, who secretly raised his younger brother on campus after his home life became too unsteady.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
This film is a glimpse into the life, love and the unconquerable spirit of the legendary Bruce Lee. From a childhood of rigorous martial arts training, Lee realizes his dream of opening his own kung-fu school in America. Before long, he is discovered by a Hollywood producer and begins a meteoric rise to fame and an all too short reign as one the most charismatic action heroes in cinema history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Beauty (1994)
The fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamilton (2025)
Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDownton Abbey: A New Era (2022)
The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa. Meanwhile, a Hollywood director seeks to film his latest production at Downton.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSergio (2020)
A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Brazilian Sérgio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVanya on 42nd Street (1994)
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmancipation (2022)
Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Absent Friends?
The closest matches to Absent Friends are The Kill Team (2019), Outlaw King (2018) and Queen of Katwe (2016). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Absent Friends?
Start with The Kill Team (2019), the closest match to Absent Friends.
What is the highest-rated movie like Absent Friends?
The Hill (2023), rated 7.7/10 by 327 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Absent Friends?
Hamilton (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Absent Friends?
Yes: The Kill Team (2019), Outlaw King (2018) and Queen of Katwe (2016).
How are movies similar to Absent Friends chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Absent Friends, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.