Movies like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive (2009)
The best movies like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive (2009) are In Safe Hands (2018), Like Dandelion Dust (2009) and Anne of Green Gables (2016). If I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLion (2016)8.0/10 from 7,129 votes
- NewestCardboard Island (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchIn Safe Hands (2018)Also in French
In Safe Hands (2018)
Théo is given up for adoption by his biological mother on the very day he is born. After this anonymous birth, the mother has two months to change her mind… Or not. The child welfare services and adoption service spring into action… The former have to take care of the baby and support it during this limbo-like time, this period of uncertainty, while the latter must find a woman to become his adoptive mother. She is called Alice, and she has spent the last ten years fighting to have a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLike Dandelion Dust (2009)
Rip Porter is sentenced to seven years in prison for beating his wife, Wendy. When he is released, he discovers that Wendy gave up their child, and the privileged Campbell family adopted him. The two families are soon in a legal battle for the child they both love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnne of Green Gables (2016)
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (2024)
Led by Donna and Reverend W.C. Martin, 22 families from a rural Black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt 77 of the most difficult-to-place kids in the foster system and kickstart a movement in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShort Term 12 (2013)
Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLifemark (2022)
David's comfortable world is turned upside down when his birth mother Melissa unexpectedly reaches out, longing to meet the eighteen year old son she's only held once.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Home of Our Own (1993)
In 1960s Los Angeles an energetic widow and her six children try to make a dream of theirs come true: to have a home of their own. They leave L.A. and head for the countryside, all the while facing numerous difficulties and obstacles during their journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere Special (2020)
John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child's mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLion (2016)
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNaked Childhood (1969)
Handed over to foster care by his mother—who's unwilling to give up permanent custody—the now-adolescent François understands that nothing in life is permanent, and his increasingly erratic actions reflect this knowledge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvelyn (2002)
Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it clear to the authorities this is an untenable situation. The Catholic Church and the Irish courts decide to put the Doyle children into Church-run orphanages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle Run (2004)
Corinne is a single mother of twin 5-year-old boys, Steven and Phillip, who are diagnosed with autism. Public school officials threaten to remove them from school due to their behavior, but through therapy, the boys are able to make major strides in their capabilities. A decade later, teens Steven and Phillip seek to prove they can handle high school while still struggling with their disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGimme Shelter (2013)
After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo-Lane Blacktop (1971)
A driver and mechanic drag racing for money cross paths with a female hitchhiker and a drifter who challenges them to a cross-country race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLosing Isaiah (1995)
Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMommie Dearest (1981)
Renowned film star Joan Crawford's abuse towards Christina, her adopted daughter, intensifies as her professional and romantic relationships turn sour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFifteen and Pregnant (1998)
Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn her world apart, her pregnancy could re-unite her shattered family and help her find her true purpose in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecrets & Lies (1996)
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Camera (2024)
A young man spends most of his time recording self-tapes for parts he never gets. After multiple rejections for a series of nightmarish commercial auditions, he takes it upon himself to find a new part to play.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Unbelievable Truth (1990)
After serving time for murder, Josh Hutton returns to his home town where he meets Audry Hugo. No one can remember exactly what Josh did...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCardboard Island (2026)
After a freak accident leaves a young man in a surreal limbo, he must team up with a talking puppet to map a mysterious island from fragments of memory — a journey that forces him to confront his deepest regrets, reclaim lost connections, and decide if life is worth finding his way back to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ripley Under Ground (2007)
Now living a quiet, luxurious life at his French estate—funded by past crimes and his marriage to an heiress—Tom Ripley finds that an art scam he supports—selling forged paintings by a supposedly living artist named Derwatt—beginning to collapse. An inquisitive American collector suspects his Derwatt painting is fake and demands answers. As the situation escalates, Ripley turns to murder and elaborate identity deception to protect his reputation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGehenna (2025)
In this recently found and restored banned underground classic from 1984, four girls go into a bathroom to hide in the middle of a war and, after an impulsive act by one of them, they find themselves trapped there. As panic gives way to despair, tragedy approaches.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shattered (2017)
Shattered is a story based on true events about family betrayal, love lost, and a dark destructive secret that swirls around a high powered political family in the Deep South. Kate Stenson dreams of an enviable life as the quintessential Southern Belle. She marries Ken Burnett, the son of the town's powerful Mayor - a controlling father who will do anything to protect his position. Kate has two children with Ken - a biological daughter, and an adopted son, named Logan (Tate Birchmore). But Kate's seemingly perfect lifestyle begins to fray at the edges as she discovers that Logan suffers from severe mental health issues. Kate's journey to uncover the true story of Logan's past reveals a dark secret that can destroy the entire Burnett legacy. As Kate investigates - with the aid of a new friend - to unmask the history behind Logan's illness, these unimaginable family secrets surface, putting her in unforeseen danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sores of Emmanuel (2010)
Faced with mounting debt and the heartbreak of being unable to fund his children’s education, Emmanuel Mutema is a desperate single father pushed to the edge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pompo the Cinephile (2021)
Operating out of the movie capital "Nyallywood," Pompo has been shooting one B-grade entertainment flick after another that anyone would enjoy. One day, Pompo's "movie buff" assistant Gene spots a new script written by Pompo and is moved by its exquisite story. In a fit of passion, he proclaims, "I want to see this as a finished work in theaters as soon as possible!" However, Pompo tells him, "So you shoot this film." Thus, Gene takes on his first directing gig. Meanwhile, Natalie, an ordinary girl who just arrived in town with movie actress dreams, has been discovered by Pompo...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (2008)
The lives of twelve year old buddies Dustin, Albert, and Mark, sharing a carefree existence in the summer of 1970, suddenly changes when Dustin makes an unexpected friend after cutting the lawn of 75 year old Jonathan Sperry. As the old man shares lessons in faith with the preteen trio, a spiritual transformation occurs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
MARTYR (TBA)
Jon, an alcoholic man who seeks vengeance finds himself in a retreated town ruled by a violent cult that will unveil his inner demons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive?
The closest matches to I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive are In Safe Hands (2018), Like Dandelion Dust (2009) and Anne of Green Gables (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive?
Start with In Safe Hands (2018), the closest match to I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive.
What is the highest-rated movie like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive?
Lion (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 7,129 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive?
Cardboard Island (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive?
Yes: In Safe Hands (2018), Naked Childhood (1969) and MARTYR.
How are movies similar to I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.