Movies like Kandahar (2010)
The best movies like Kandahar (2010) are Dirty Angels (2024), Nowhere to Run (1993) and Salomé (2013). If Kandahar hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEmancipation (2022)7.7/10 from 1,322 votes
- NewestNight Always Comes (2025)Released 2025
Dirty Angels (2024)
During the United States' 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of female soldiers posing as medical relief are sent back in to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the Taliban.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuster's Mal Heart (2017)
An eccentric mountain man on the run from the local sheriff recalls the mysterious events that brought him to his present fugitive state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTopside (2022)
Deep in the underbelly of New York City, a five year-old girl and her mother live among a community that has claimed the abandoned subway tunnels as their home. After a sudden police-mandated eviction, the pair are forced to flee aboveground into a brutal winter night. Determined to return home, they fight to find shelter as their world is thrown into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrison Break: The Final Break (2009)
Michael and Sara wed, but the happiness is short-lived when the Feds apprehend her for the murder of Michael's mother, Christina. Once a hit is ordered on Sara, the team reunite to break out the increasingly vulnerable target.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 drama
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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKisses (2008)
Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Always Comes (2025)
Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCargo 200 (2007)
While returning to Leningrad from a visit to his brother, Professor Artyom's car breaks down and he finds assistance at an isolated farmhouse occupied by Alexey, his wife, a Vietnamese laborer, and a stranger who wanders around the farm. When his car is repaired, Artyom leaves, drunk on moonshine, and students Valera and Angelika arrive. After Valera gets drunk, the stranger abducts Angelika.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kite Runner (2007)
After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLone Survivor (2013)
Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSAS: Red Notice (2021)
An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the difference as to whether Buckingham and the civilian passengers make it out of the tunnel alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLions for Lambs (2007)
Three stories told simultaneously in ninety minutes of real time: a Republican Senator who's a presidential hopeful gives an hour-long interview to a skeptical television reporter, detailing a strategy for victory in Afghanistan; two special forces ambushed on an Afghani ridge await rescue as Taliban forces close in; a poli-sci professor at a California college invites a student to re-engage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Soldier's Star (2006)
A Russian guitarist was enlisted in 1984 in the Afghan war. Imprisoned, he will meet an Afghan musician and a French journalist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Third Eye (2001)
Michael is supposed to go to prison for 18 months, but escapes from the police officer. On the run, he meets Malika, who has also committed "stupid things." Together, they flee from the "third eye" of her mother, who, according to Malika, can see into the distance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gridlock'd (1997)
After a friend overdoses, Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their drug habits and attempt to enroll in a government detox program. Their efforts are hampered by seemingly endless red tape, as they are shuffled from one office to another while being chased by drug dealers and the police.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlotte Gray (2001)
This is a drama set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War II. Charlotte Gray tells the compelling story of a young Scottish woman working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot. Based on the best-selling novel by Sebastian Faulks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMama's Boy (2013)
Middle-aged cinephile and film projectionist Pera still lives with his mother - and best friend - Mara, in Belgrade. It's 1999 and when NATO bombs start raining down on Serbia, the two of them become refugees. After a surreal journey, they end up in New York, where Pera realizes that he can no longer do the old job he loved so much. While he and Mara were struggling to survive, the new age of digital projection was born. Then Pera stumbles upon some discarded projectors and his new mission in life becomes clear: he will travel around and show people the magic of Real Cinema - the magic that can only be created by celluoid, mechanical projectors, the silver screen and flickering light.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Capricorn One (1977)
In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of NASA administrators turn the first Mars mission into a phony Mars landing. Under threat of harm to their families the astronauts play their part in the deception on a staged set in a deserted military base. But once the real ship returns to Earth and burns up on re-entry, the astronauts become liabilities. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Letter to the President (2017)
Soraya, a low-level government official, is imprisoned when she defends a woman from village lords. Behind bars, she writes the Afghan President for help.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
Stuck in a rut, reporter Kim Baker decides to shake things up by leaving her desk job in New York and taking a dangerous assignment in Afghanistan. Far from home and completely out of her comfort zone, a culture-shocked Kim befriends an adventurous reporter Tanya Vanderpoel, a stern Colonel, and a charming photojournalist to help her navigate this crazy new world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLilya 4-ever (2002)
In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kandahar?
The closest matches to Kandahar are Dirty Angels (2024), Nowhere to Run (1993) and Salomé (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kandahar?
Start with Dirty Angels (2024), the closest match to Kandahar.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kandahar?
Emancipation (2022), rated 7.7/10 by 1,322 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kandahar?
Night Always Comes (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Kandahar chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kandahar, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.