Movies like Moving to Mars (2009)
The best movies like Moving to Mars (2009) are Human Flow (2017), 35 Up (1991) and The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019). If Moving to Mars hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFlee (2021)7.7/10 from 422 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
Human Flow (2017)
More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this49 Up (2006)
49 Up is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49.In this latest chapter, more life-changing decisions are revealed, more shocking announcements made and more of the original group take part than ever before, speaking out on a variety of subjects including love, marriage, career, class and prejudice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this42 Up (1999)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023)
As Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the Harry Potter films, David Holmes' work has been seen worldwide by millions of people. Tragically an on-set accident ended what David calls "the best job in the world," leaving him paralyzed. Like the on-screen character he helped bring to life, David is determined to continue seeking adventure and living life to the fullest despite mounting obstacles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNational Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe (2008)
In one single, epic camera move we journey from Earth's surface to the outermost reaches of the universe on a grand tour of the cosmos, to explore newborn stars, distant planets, black holes and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (2015)
A documentary directed by Winding Refn's wife, Liv Corfixen, and it follows the Danish-born filmmaker during the making of his 2013 film Only God Forgives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear (2022)
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSalinger (2013)
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this21 Up (1977)
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherman's March (1986)
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Night Oppy (2022)
The inspirational true story of Opportunity, a rover that was sent to Mars for a 90-day mission but ended up surviving for 15 years. Follow Opportunity’s groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans millions of miles away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this14 Apples (2018)
Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
This Kind of Love (2015)
This Kind of Love follows Burmese human rights and LGBT activist, Aung Myo Min, as he returns home after 24 years in exile. Set against Myanmar's historical transition from half a century of brutal military rule, Myo shares his vision for equality for all - from children to transgender people to ethnic nationalities with his countrymen, to be part of his homeland's emergence from the darkness of dictatorship. Myo's story celebrates his belief that community and inclusion are fundamental to creating meaningful political and social change in Burma/Myanmar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Fadia’s Tree (2022)
While millions of birds migrate freely in the skies above, Fadia, a Palestinian refugee stranded in Lebanon, yearns for the ancestral homeland she is denied. When a chance meeting introduces her to the director, Sarah, she challenges her to find an ancient mulberry tree that once grew next to her grandfather’s house in historic Palestine, a tree that stands witness to her family’s existence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Burma's Saffron Revolution (2008)
Ashin Yevata, a humble monk from Burma (Myanmar), helped lead the massive protests that spread throughout the country calling for change. Burma is one of the poorest countries in the world, strangled by its own despotic government. Forced labor, torture and systematic genocide are practiced by the ruthless Junta. Ashin was able to escape to the Burma-Thai border, where thousands of Burmese refugees live in fear of deportation and at the will of a corrupt police. He gathered footage from what he and his friends had as well as what he could find on the news.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Dyab (2016)
12-year-old Dyab is a Kurdish Yazidi boy living at Arbat refugee camp, after the horrendous attacks by the Islamic States on their villages at Shingal Mountains (Sinjar). However, Dyab’s dream is, to become a filmmaker and actor and tell the stories and sufferings of his people to the outside world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Life on the Farm (2023)
A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Here I Belong (2025)
Flora and Louise met in Yaoundé (Cameroon). They fell in love and ever since then have never left each other's side. By pushing open the door of the nonprofit housing them, I discovered the story behind their refugee status and the reasons behind their exile.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Flee (2021)
Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thiswhere we used to sleep (2024)
Long ago, Geamăna was a Romanian village in the Apuseni Mountains, home to about 1000 people. Today, only the church spire rises from the poisonous mud of a neighbouring copper mine. Almost all the houses have sunk and their inhabitants fled. On the edge of the past, Valeria Praţa strives for her present - and is threatened by the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
La Babel des enfants perdus (2020)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Moving to Mars?
The closest matches to Moving to Mars are Human Flow (2017), 35 Up (1991) and The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Moving to Mars?
Start with Human Flow (2017), the closest match to Moving to Mars.
What is the highest-rated movie like Moving to Mars?
Flee (2021), rated 7.7/10 by 422 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Moving to Mars?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Moving to Mars?
Yes: Human Flow (2017), 35 Up (1991) and The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019).
How are movies similar to Moving to Mars chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Moving to Mars, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.