Movies like Essay on love (2014)
The best movies like Essay on love (2014) are Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010), A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) and Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002). If Essay on love hooked you with its romance and documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIndie Game: The Movie (2012)7.5/10 from 512 votes
- NewestWho Cares (2025)Released 2025
Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010)
A drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)
The egocentric documentary-maker Chris Waitt traces his romantic ineptitude and sexual impotence through awkward interviews with irate ex-girlfriends and stunts involving S&M parlours, Harley Street doctors and Viagra overdoses. The results are often hilarious, sometimes moving and speak directly to the hapless paramour in all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTen Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
Ten Minutes Older is a 2002 film project consisting of two compilation feature films entitled The Trumpet and The Cello. The project was conceived by the producer Nicolas McClintock as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of the Millennium. Fifteen celebrated film-makers were invited to create their own vision of what time means in ten minutes of film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Breathes (2022)
Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Metamorphosis of Birds (2021)
Filmmaker Catarina Vasconcelos sifts through the memories of her ancestors. Her naval officer grandfather, Henrique, who married her grandmother, Beatriz, on her 21st birthday, spent extended periods at sea, leaving her with six children. This is the beginning of a generational saga.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee (2016)
The strange story of John McAfee, who went from millionaire software mogul to yogi, Kurtz-like jungle recluse to potential murderer, and most recently a prospective presidential candidate for the American Libertarian Party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrazy Love (2007)
Filmmaker Dan Klores examines the strange love affair of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss. Pugach is a successful attorney in 1950s New York when he meets much-younger Riss. The pair date, but Riss breaks off contact with Pugach upon learning his claims of divorce are false. Discovering that Riss was engaged to another man, Pugach hires some men to throw lye in her face, and he serves 14 years in prison for the crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife in a Day (2011)
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this20,000 Days on Earth (2014)
A semi-fictionalized documentary about a day in the life of Australian musician Nick Cave's persona.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter Death (2023)
Based on real near-death experiences, the afterlife is explored with the guidance of New York Times bestselling authors, medical experts, scientists and survivors who shed a light on what awaits us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDerek DelGaudio's In & of Itself (2020)
Storyteller and Conceptual Magician Derek DelGaudio attempts to understand the illusory nature of identity and answer the deceptively simple question 'Who am I?'
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyson (2008)
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Arbor (2010)
The lives of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and Lorraine, one of her daughters, and the community of Bradford, in the 30 years since the 18-year-old Andrea penned a play about growing up in the community titled "The Arbor".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShowbiz Kids (2020)
A documentary chronicling the shared experiences of prominent former child stars and the personal and professional price of fame and failure on a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil on Trial (2023)
Explore the first – and only – time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a U.S. murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeyond the Edge (2013)
A 3D feature film about Sir Edmund Hillary's monumental and historical ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 - an event that stunned the world and defined a nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElena (2013)
A Brazilian actress travels to New York in search of her long-lost sister, piecing together fragments of the past while confronting the lasting scars of the Brazilian dictatorship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeep Water (2006)
DEEP WATER is the stunning true story of the fateful voyage of Donald Crowhurst, an amateur yachtsman who enters the most daring nautical challenge ever – the very first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndie Game: The Movie (2012)
Follows the dramatic journeys of video game developers as they create and release their games to the world. It's about making video games, but at its core, it's about the creative process, and exposing yourself through your work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWormwood (2017)
In this genre-bending tale, Errol Morris explores the mysterious death of a U.S. scientist entangled in a secret Cold War program known as MK-Ultra.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Venerable W. (2017)
A view of the religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhist through the portrait of the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, leader of anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLondon Recruits (2024)
The story of the Londoners recruited to be freedom fighters during the South African apartheid during the 1960s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland (2020)
Peels back centuries of legend and myth to tell the story of Saint Patrick through historical reenactments, expert interviews and Patrick’s own writings, tracing his journey from man to saint. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i95AQhvtzsA
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
The White Reindeer (2019)
Imagine one of the most remote wildernesses in the world. Granddaughter Masha and Vladimir, the protagonists of this story from Central Siberia try the impossible to keep their nomadic traditions alive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
Malartic (2024)
Ten years after an enormous open-pit gold mine began operations in Malartic, the hoped-for economic miracle is nothing more than a mirage. Filmmaker Nicolas Paquet explores the glaring contrast between the town’s decline and the wealth of the mining company, along with the mechanisms of an opaque decision-making system in which ordinary people have little say. Part anthropological study, part investigation into the corridors of power, Malartic addresses the fundamental issue of sustainable and fair land management.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
Reds (1981)
An account of the revolutionary years of the legendary American journalist John Reed, who shared his adventurous professional life with his radical commitment to the socialist revolution in Russia, his dream of spreading its principles among the members of the American working class, and his troubled romantic relationship with the writer Louise Bryant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGolden Dreams (2001)
Califia, the Queen and spirit of California, gives the audience a quick and somewhat romanticized look at history of California, as well as trials and tribulations, but also hopes and dreams of its various ethnicites and cultures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Who Cares (2025)
In the CHUV training center in Lausanne, ‘fake’ patients and ‘real’ carers simulate medical consultations, to learn how to perform kindness. But in an increasingly liberal hospital system, which itself exerts violence on medical staff, is this relational ideal really possible?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Winter Journey (2019)
Tucson, Arizona, September 1996. At the request of his son Martin, George Goldsmith tells him of his past in Nazi Germany as a member of a family of Jewish musicians and the strange history of the Jüdischer Kulturbund, a Jewish organization sponsored by Reichsminister Joseph Goebbels.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Essay on love and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Essay on love?
The closest matches to Essay on love are Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010), A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) and Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Essay on love?
Start with Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010), the closest match to Essay on love.
What is the highest-rated movie like Essay on love?
Indie Game: The Movie (2012), rated 7.5/10 by 512 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Essay on love?
Who Cares (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Essay on love chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Essay on love, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.