Movies like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians (1971)
The best movies like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians (1971) are The Encounter (2010), Anniversary (2025) and When Nietzsche Wept (2007). If Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFather Stu (2022)7.1/10 from 772 votes
- NewestWardriver (2026)Released 2026
The Encounter (2010)
When five strangers with nothing in common come together at a remote roadside eatery, they place their orders with the diner's omniscient owner, who seems to know everything about them ... and is eerily reminiscent of Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnniversary (2025)
A close-knit family is caught in the turmoil of a controversial rising movement known as "The Change.” Ellen and Paul witness their lives fall apart when Ellen's former student Liz reappears and starts dating their son. As Liz becomes a part of the Taylor family, tensions rise and loyalties are tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen Nietzsche Wept (2007)
Viennese doctor Josef Bruer meets with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to help him deal with his despair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFather Stu (2022)
The true-life story of boxer-turned-priest. When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long moves to Los Angeles to find money and fame. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. However, a motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others, leading to the surprising realization that he's meant to be a Catholic priest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNineteen Eighty-Four (1954)
A man who works for 'The Party' (an all powerful empire led by a man known only as 'Big Brother') begins to have thoughts of rebellion and love for a fellow member. Together they look to help bring down the party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
Winston Smith is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. His trysts with Julia provide his only measure of enjoyment, but lawmakers frown on the relationship -- and in this closely monitored society, there is no escape from Big Brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trouble with Angels (1966)
Mary and her friend, Rachel, are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by the iron fist of Mother Superior. The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Way We Were (1973)
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWardriver (2026)
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHouse Party (1990)
Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn't know that three of the thugs at school have decided to give him a lesson in behavior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Thing Mary Saw (2021)
Winter, 1843. A young woman is under investigation following the mysterious death of her family's matriarch. Her recollection of the events sheds new light on the ageless forces behind the tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPope Joan (2009)
A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeretic (2024)
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdventures in Public School (2018)
A socially-awkward, home-schooled kid forces his way into public school against his suffocating, but loving, mother's wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisO.G. (2018)
Louis Menkins is five weeks away from being released after 26 years in prison. He is faced with the decision to put his own release at risk in order to protect a young man named Beecher from growing gang controversies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSteve (2025)
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians?
The closest matches to Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians are The Encounter (2010), Anniversary (2025) and When Nietzsche Wept (2007). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians?
Start with The Encounter (2010), the closest match to Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians?
Father Stu (2022), rated 7.1/10 by 772 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians?
Wardriver (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.