Movies like A Pearl in the Forest (2008)
The best movies like A Pearl in the Forest (2008) are The Edge of Love (2008), The Invisible Woman (2013) and Not Easily Broken (2009). If A Pearl in the Forest hooked you with its history and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBreathe (2017)7.4/10 from 822 votes
- NewestTime of Hurtle (2025)Released 2025
The Edge of Love (2008)
When the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his flirtatious wife Caitlin sweep into war-torn London, the last thing they expect is to bump into Dylan's childhood sweetheart Vera. Despite her joy at seeing Dylan after so many years, Vera is swept off her feet by a dashing officer, William Killick, and finds herself torn between the open adoration of her new found beau and the wily charms of the exotic Welshman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invisible Woman (2013)
In 1857, at the height of his fame and fortune, novelist and social critic Charles Dickens meets and falls in love with teenage stage actress Nelly Ternan. As she becomes the focus of his heart and mind, as well as his muse, painful secrecy is the price both must pay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAshes in the Snow (2018)
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaria's Lovers (1984)
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreathe (2017)
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli and Nino (2016)
Muslim prince Ali and Georgian aristocrat Nino have grown up in the Russian province of Azerbaijan. Their tragic love story sees the outbreak of the First World War and the world’s struggle for Baku’s oil. Ultimately they must choose to fight for their country’s independence or for each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChinese Box (1997)
The story of Hong Kong, from New Year's Day to June 30th, 1997, when the British left their colony and turned it over to the People's Republic of China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThey Won't Believe Me (1947)
On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Passionate Friends (1949)
A woman is torn between the love of her life, who's married to someone else, and her older husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Journal for Jordan (2021)
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Program (1993)
Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secrets We Keep (2020)
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrishna (2011)
When her father is killed in a road accident, Trishna's family expect her to provide for them. The rich son of an entrepreneur starts to restlessly pursue her affections, but are his intentions as pure as they seem?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Beautiful Jinjiimaa (2003)
My Beautiful Jinjiimaa is an emotional romantic drama in a setting few in the U.S. have ever seen. A deaf woman, Jinjiimaa, is raped by the local party Chairman, and shoots her attacker. Her lifelong friend, lame farmer Sukhee, goes to prison for six years for Jinjimaa’s crime. The film begins with his return, where Sukhee and Jinjiimaa meet—each with a secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Khadak (2006)
Set in the frozen steppes of Mongolia, a young nomad is confronted with his destiny after animals fall victim to a plague which threatens to eradicate nomadism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Time of Hurtle (2025)
In 1911, Bogd Khan, with the help of his trusted spy Natsag, declares Mongolia’s independence. However, by 1928, the rise of the Comintern introduces a new threat. Under the guise of eliminating Baruuntan influence, the Comintern forces its control over Mongolia, shutting down religious monasteries and seizing private property. Riots erupt, forcing many to flee as the country descends into chaos. Natsag’s family, once secure, is swept into this storm, facing a personal and political unraveling as Mongolia enters its dark time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Passer By (2017)
Sukhee is a man returning to his homeland in rural Mongolia after his father has passed away. During his two weeks there he catches up with his brother, Sainaa, as well as a woman he's known from childhood, Ariunaa.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
The Warrior (2001)
In 1375, China was in chaos between Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Coryo (an ancient kingdom of Korea then) sent a delegation of many diplomats, soldiers and a silent slave to make peace with the new Chinese government. However, this delegation got charged as spies and sent in exile to a remote desert.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Horde (2012)
It is the word "horde" that had meant, for many countries and nations, bloody raids and being under humilating contribution for centuries - a strange and scary world with its own rules and customs. To be or not to be for Rus (Ruthenia), that is the price of the one-man mission as he is departing to this world to accomplish a feat. The film tells the story of how Saint Alexius, the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, healed the Tatar Queen Taidula, Jani-Beg's mother, from blindness, in 1357.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Norjmaa's Destiny (1938)
Ulaanbaatar, 1930s. Neighbors Norjmaa and Tserendulam are both pregnant. Having had two consecutive miscarriages, Norjmaa asks a lama to oversee her third pregnancy, while Tserendulam trusts modern medicine. She very often goes to hospital for proper follow-up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2004)
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005)
The little nomad girl, Nansal, finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend - against all rejections of her parents. A story about a Mongolian family of nomads - their traditional way of life and the rising call of the City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007)
The story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan, a slave who went on to conquer half the world in the 11th century.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Pearl in the Forest?
The closest matches to A Pearl in the Forest are The Edge of Love (2008), The Invisible Woman (2013) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Pearl in the Forest?
Start with The Edge of Love (2008), the closest match to A Pearl in the Forest.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Pearl in the Forest?
Breathe (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 822 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Pearl in the Forest?
Time of Hurtle (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to A Pearl in the Forest chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Pearl in the Forest, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.