Movies like Crossing Borders (2006)
The best movies like Crossing Borders (2006) are The Movie Teller (2023), Zama (2017) and Radium Girls (2020). If Crossing Borders hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Swear (2025)8.3/10 from 674 votes
- NewestMy Dearest Señorita (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Movie Teller (2023)Also in Spanish
The Movie Teller (2023)
María Margarita is the youngest of four siblings in a family living in a mining town in the Atacama Desert (Chile). The most special time of the week for this family is Sunday, when they all go to the movies to enjoy stories that let them escape their everyday lives by transporting them to other worlds. The girl’s parents soon realise that the little girl has a very special gift: an almost uncanny ability to recount movies. The girl’s extraordinary talent will spread throughout the village, changing the fortunes of her family as the country is transformed forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZama (2017)
In a remote South American colony in the late 18th century, officer Zama of the Spanish crown waits in vain for a transfer to a more prestigious location. He suffers small humiliations and petty politicking as he increasingly succumbs to lust and paranoia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Swear (2025)
Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at 15, John Davidson navigates his way against the odds through troubled teenage years and into adulthood, finding inspiration in the kindness of others to discover his true purpose in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMemories of My Father (2020)
In the polarized and violent Medellín (Colombia's 'City of Eternal Spring') of the 1970s, doctor Héctor Abad Gómez is concerned about both his children and children from less favored classes. After a devastating loss in the family, Héctor gives himself to the greater cause of public health programs for the poor in Medellín to the consternation of the city's authorities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Nevenka (2024)
In the year 2000, Nevenka Fernández, 24 years old, Councilor for Finance in the Ponferrada City Council, suffered relentless persecution, both sentimental and professional, by the mayor, a man accustomed to doing his will politically and personally. She never decides to report, although she knows that she will have to pay a very high price: her environment does not support her, the society of Ponferrada turns its back on her and the media subjects her to a public trial. A story inspired by real events that turns its protagonist into a pioneer by taking an influential and popular politician to court for sexual and workplace harassment for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Twelve-Year Night (2018)
Uruguay, 1973. Having been crushed by the military dictatorship, surviving members of the Tupamaro guerillas are imprisoned and tortured. They must find a way to endure the coming 12 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOranges and Sunshine (2010)
The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures of a Mathematician (2021)
The warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and the first computer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 33 (2015)
Based on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Daniel (2013)
Taken into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel is forced to serve the most powerful king in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. Faced with imminent death, Daniel proves himself a trusted Advisor and is placed among the king's wise men. Threatened by death at every turn Daniel never ceases to serve the king until he is forced to choose between serving the king or honoring God. With his life at stake, Daniel has nothing but his faith to stand between him and the lions' den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalt of the Earth (1954)
At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero helps organize the strike, but he is shown to be a hypocrite by treating his pregnant wife, Esperanza, with a similar unfairness. When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and women find themselves on the picket lines while the men stay at home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUpon Entry (2023)
Diego, a Venezuelan urbanist, and Elena, a contemporary dancer from Barcelona, move to the United States with their approved visas to start a new life. Their intention is to boost their professional careers and start a family in 'the land of opportunities'. But upon entering New York airport's immigration area, they are taken to the secondary inspection room, where border officers will subject them to an unpleasant inspection process and a psychologically grueling interrogation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Artist and the Model (2012)
In occupied France in summer 1943, a world-weary famous sculptor finds the desire to work again with the arrival of a beautiful young Spanish refugee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadrid, 1987 (2012)
In 1987 Madrid, the unexpected encounter between a seasoned journalist and a young student leads to a profound exploration of love, desire, politics, power, and discovery of each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChinas (2023)
In Madrid, Spain, Lucía and Xiang, two nine-year-old Chinese girls, meet at the beginning of the school year.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPacto de Fuga (2020)
During the last years of Pinochet's military regime, a group of militants from the "Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front" plan a prison break of political prisoners, through a tunnel that will take them 18 months to dig.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTalk to Her (2002)
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Education (2004)
When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man of Earth (1984)
Sokol is a middle-aged Kosovar Albanian who, together with his family, emigrates from Kosovo to Turkey, and faces the foreign and unknown world. After some time he becomes homesick, eventually leaving his last will he gave to his son that when he dies, his bones will be returned to his native country. He dies near of a cliff at the Black Sea coast. In his native village, the news that Sokol has been returned from emigration are being spread.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lili Marleen (1981)
The story of a German singer named Willie, who while working in Switzerland, falls in love with a Jewish composer named Robert, whose family is helping people to flee from the Nazis. Robert’s family is skeptical of Willie, thinking she could be a Nazi as she becomes famous for singing the song “Lili Marleen”.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe White Sound (2001)
Lukas, a young schizophrenic man, has to deal with a new town, a new relationship, and the paranoia in his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dearest Señorita (2026)
A young woman from a traditional family learns she's intersex, sparking a journey of self-discovery, gender identity and love found in unexpected places.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaked Weapon (2002)
A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPelle the Conqueror (1987)
In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere (2017)
A film about people who are leaving Serbia for economic reasons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Carmen (2003)
A French writer documents the seductive power of the beautiful Carmen, who has enchanted José, a young soldier, awakening his most fervent passions leading to tragedy. A path chained to obsession, jealousy, betrayal, and blood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this
Like Crossing Borders and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Crossing Borders?
The closest matches to Crossing Borders are The Movie Teller (2023), Zama (2017) and Radium Girls (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Crossing Borders?
Start with The Movie Teller (2023), the closest match to Crossing Borders.
What is the highest-rated movie like Crossing Borders?
I Swear (2025), rated 8.3/10 by 674 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Crossing Borders?
My Dearest Señorita (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Crossing Borders?
Yes: The Movie Teller (2023), Zama (2017) and Memories of My Father (2020).
How are movies similar to Crossing Borders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Crossing Borders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.