Movies like The Boatman (2016)
The best movies like The Boatman (2016) are The Man in the Moon (1991), The Quiet Man (1952) and About Schmidt (2002). If The Boatman hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Man in the Moon (1991)7.4/10 from 401 votes
- NewestTrain Dreams (2025)Released 2025
The Man in the Moon (1991)
Maureen Trant and her younger sibling Dani share a strong connection, but local boy Court Foster threatens to throw their bond off balance. Dani and Court meet first and have a flirtatious rapport -- but when he meets Maureen, he falls hard and they begin a passionate affair. The new couple try to keep their love hidden from Dani, but she soon learns the truth, disavowing her sister. But a heartbreaking accident later reunites the girls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Quiet Man (1952)
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbout Schmidt (2002)
A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrain Dreams (2025)
A logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Week with Marilyn (2011)
London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his upcoming movie, premiered in 1957 as The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe. Young Colin Clark, who dreams on having a career in movie business, manages to get a job on the set as third assistant director.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElsa & Fred (2014)
After his daughter persuades him to move into a new apartment, aged widower Fred strikes up a friendship with his eccentric 74-year-old neighbour Elsa, who convinces him it's never too late to keep enjoying life. Although he seemed resigned to a miserable bedridden existence, Fred embraces Elsa's youthful enthusiasm as she introduces him to the path of life and entertains him with outlandish stories about her past life. But when he discovers Elsa's terminally ill, Fred decides to accompany her on the trip of her dreams to the eternal city of Rome to help her fulfil a lifelong ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStill Mine (2012)
Craig, a fiercely determined New Brunswick farmer, sets out to build a more suitable house for his ailing wife, Irene, despite their children's concerns. As he starts building, he is blindsided by the bureaucratic codes and officials. As Irene becomes increasingly ill, Craig fights back. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
An airline pilot and his wife are forced to face the consequences of her alcoholism when her addictions threaten her life and their daughter's safety. While the woman enters detox, her husband must face the truth of his enabling behavior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSteel Magnolias (1989)
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOur Souls at Night (2017)
Addie Moore and Louis Waters, a widow and widower, have lived next to each other for years. The pair have almost no relationship, but that all changes when Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile We're Young (2015)
An uptight documentary filmmaker and his wife find their lives loosened up a bit after befriending a free-spirited younger couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Walk in the Woods (2015)
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIris (2001)
True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Rode Together (1961)
Two tough westerners bring home a group of settlers who have spent years as Comanche hostages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo for the Road (1967)
Architect Mark Wallace and his wife, Joanna, travel to France to meet with an affluent client. While there, they reflect on their first decade of marriage -- memories of when they first met, of courtship, and of road trips through the French countryside. As flirtation and playful quarreling turn to boredom with the banality of married life, the Wallaces struggle to rekindle their passion, while mutual infidelity threatens to tear them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSome Kind of Heaven (2021)
Behind the gates of a palm-tree-lined fantasyland, three residents and one interloper at America's largest retirement community strive to find happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Asses on the Bayou (2015)
The third installment in the successful Bad Ass action-comedy franchise. Bad Asses on the Bayou reunites the dynamic duo, Frank Vega and Bernie Pope, as they travel to Louisiana to attend the wedding of their dear friend Carmen Gutierrez. What was pictured as a wedding weekend escape to the south turns violently ugly as madness and mayhem ensue, pressing our senior heroes to once again serve justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSome Came Running (1958)
A former novelist returns to his small Midwest town after serving in the Army during WWII, to the chagrin of his social-climbing brother, and becomes close with an easy-going professional gambler and torn between two very different women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCauseway (2022)
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Whales of August (1987)
Two aged sisters reflect on life and the past during a late summer day in Maine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Boatman?
The closest matches to The Boatman are The Man in the Moon (1991), The Quiet Man (1952) and About Schmidt (2002). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Boatman?
Start with The Man in the Moon (1991), the closest match to The Boatman.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Boatman?
The Man in the Moon (1991), rated 7.4/10 by 401 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Boatman?
Train Dreams (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Boatman?
Yes: The Man in the Moon (1991), The Quiet Man (1952) and About Schmidt (2002).
How are movies similar to The Boatman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Boatman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.