Movies like Drifting City (2015)
The best movies like Drifting City (2015) are The Shift (2023), Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014) and Return of the Seven (1966). If Drifting City hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Drifting City
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSamsara (2011)8.1/10 from 719 votes
- NewestLove of Your Life (2026)Released 2026
The Shift (2023)
Following a tense encounter with a mysterious stranger with otherworldly powers, a man finds himself banished to a parallel, tyrannical Earth, where he fights to get back to the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara, he feels like a fraud: he hasn’t really tasted life, and yet he’s offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life. Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true happiness. And so begins a larger than life adventure with riotously funny results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn of the Seven (1966)
Chico, one of the remaining members of The Magnificent Seven, now lives in the town that they (The Seven) helped. One day someone comes and takes most of the men prisoner. His wife seeks out Chris, the leader of The Seven for help. Chris also meets Vin another member of The Seven. They find four other men and they go to help Chico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoetic Justice (1993)
Still grieving after the murder of her boyfriend, hairdresser Justice writes poetry to deal with the pain of her loss. Unable to get to Oakland to attend a convention because of her broken-down car, Justice gets a lift with her friend, Iesha, and Iesha's postal worker boyfriend, Chicago. Along for the ride is Chicago's co-worker, Lucky, to whom Justice grows close after some initial problems. But is she ready to open her heart again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamsara (2011)
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
A Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises havoc among a normally peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Book of Life (2014)
The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Church (2016)
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mexican (2001)
Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove of Your Life (2026)
After a chance encounter sparks a sweeping romance, Maya's future is suddenly upended, sending her on an unexpected journey to love and live again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSon of Rambow (2007)
Will is looking for an escape from his family when he encounters Lee, the school bully. Armed with a video camera and a copy of Rambo, Lee plans to make his own action-packed video epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Heights (2021)
The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923)
When Marie St. Clair believes she has been jilted by her artist fiance Jean, she decides to leave for Paris on her own. After spending a year in the city as a mistress of the wealthy Pierre Revel, she is reunited with Jean by chance. This leaves her with the choice between a glamorous life in Paris, and the true love she left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHis Kind of Woman (1951)
Career gambler Dan Milner agrees to a $50,000 deal to leave the USA for Mexico, only to find himself entangled with fellow guests at a luxurious resort and suspecting that the man who hired him may be the deported crime boss Nick Ferraro aiming to re-enter to the USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBanana Split (2018)
After a messy breakup with her high school boyfriend, April strikes up an unexpected platonic friendship with his new girlfriend, Clara.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoy Ride (2023)
When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo, her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat, her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye, Lolo's eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix Revisited (2001)
The film goes behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarmen (2023)
A young and fiercely independent woman, Carmen, is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother. She survives an illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard. When the border guard and his patrol partner Aidan become embroiled in a deadly standoff, the pair is forced to escape together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Drifting City?
The closest matches to Drifting City are The Shift (2023), Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014) and Return of the Seven (1966). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Drifting City?
Start with The Shift (2023), the closest match to Drifting City.
What is the highest-rated movie like Drifting City?
Samsara (2011), rated 8.1/10 by 719 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Drifting City?
Love of Your Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Drifting City?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Drifting City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Drifting City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















