Movies like The Skin and the Soul (2012)
The best movies like The Skin and the Soul (2012) are Desire (2017), Newness (2017) and Not Easily Broken (2009). If The Skin and the Soul hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)8.3/10 from 1,570 votes
- NewestBoulevard (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishDesire (2017)Also in Spanish
Desire (2017)
Lucía and Ofelia, two sisters, finally meet after 7 years of cold relationships upon Lucia 's wedding. But when Juan, Lucia's husband, and Ofelia meet, they feel like a disruptive fantasy have enchanted their minds and bodies...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFollow My Voice (2025)
After a health crisis that keeps her home, Klara does nothing but listen to her favorite radio show, Follow My Voice. But one day she wonders: is it possible to fall in love with someone she has only heard on the radio but never met? Could she really have feelings for Kang, the radio show host whose voice she has only heard once, and will she overcome her fears to step out into the world again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)
Professor Gabriel Emerson finally learns the truth about Julia Mitchell's identity, but his realization comes a moment too late. Julia is done waiting for the well-respected Dante specialist to remember her and wants nothing more to do with him. Can Gabriel win back her heart before she finds love in another's arms?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Fugitive Kind (1960)
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like this3some (2009)
In an attempt to help his friend Marcos with his impotence, Jaime sets up him up with another friend Josita. But the sex date fails, and so he comes in to help. What first appears to be just another sexual experience for all three evolves to a full romantic relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Hurts (2002)
Family and friends try to sabotage the budding romance between a young upper class girl and a humble student.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTell Me Softly (2025)
Kamila has everything under control: studies, social life, her image... Everything except the unexpected return of her neighbors, the Di Bianco brothers, after seven years of absence. Thiago stole her first kiss, and Taylor was her best friend, but now their return will turn Kami's world upside down. Can the three overcome the past that binds them? Or will everything explode into pieces once again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Golden Bowl (2000)
Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an affair, which Maggie discovers and navigates through a silent, psychological battle of wills, ultimately using her cunning to preserve her marriage and protect her father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)
The final part of the film adaption of the erotic romance novel Gabriel's Inferno written by an anonymous Canadian author under the pen name Sylvain Reynard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSylvie's Love (2020)
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTear This Heart Out (2008)
A young girl recounts her girlhood and eventual marriage to a general of the Mexican revolution. by one of the most outstanding writers of the new feminist Mexican literature, it is at once a haunting novel of one woman's life and a powerful account of post-revolutionary Mexico from a female perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBoulevard (2026)
Hasley, a girl with a list of unfulfilled dreams, and Luke, a complex and vulnerable boy marked by a tragic past, find refuge on the boulevard where they discover if love can conquer all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOur Fault (2025)
Jenna and Lion's wedding brings about the long-awaited reunion between Noah and Nick after their breakup. Nick's inability to forgive Noah stands as an insurmountable barrier. He, heir to his grandfather's businesses, and she, starting her professional life, resist fueling a flame that's still alive. But now that their paths have crossed again, will love be stronger than resentment?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnnalyn (2012)
Agnes is not satisfied with her life. She wants a change, but her relationship with her single parent father and dominant girlfriend inhibit her to do something about it. When the father introduces his new wife, Annalyn, everything changes. The same-aged Filipino stepmother helps Agnes see a new path. Soon emerges something that no one could have foreseen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Here (2025)
In East Riding, Yorkshire, seventeen-year-old Kaden reluctantly takes a job at the local strawberry field over the Summer. A quiet introvert, Kaden doesn’t fit in with the other farmhands, who are all older, and more experienced, and treat him with contempt. It is here he encounters Lucas, an aloof eighteen-year-old who has worked at the farm for several Summers now. Underneath his initial indifference, Lucas hides a deeper curiosity for Kaden. Desires disentangle in this new, uninhibited, and sun-drenched environment, as the two boys tentatively begin to explore their feelings towards one another in secret, a kinship that forces them to confront their own internalized homophobia, shame, and sense of belonging.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Nur die Sehnsucht bleibt (1976)
Early short film by Wolfgang Büld
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Piss (2010)
Kurtis Conner and his friends embark on a pissy adventure through the piss forest to find Prague and Lucifer to see how particular he actually is about his cheese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays (2022)
Hungry for sun, light and warmth, a group of teenagers embark on a dream trip to the Balearic Islands.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
An Arabian Night (2020)
Spending his last night as a civilian in his dream-like local tennis club, Michael, a young British soldier confronts a glimpse of the near future waiting for him on the other side of the night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Those Who Never Left (2025)
Two years after the Beirut blast, a girl continually revisits the last night she spent with her family in their home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Manivald (2018)
Manivald is a fox in his early 30s. He is still living at home with his mother. One day a young hot wolf called Toomas comes to fix the washing machine. A love triangle develops between the three of them. Things get out of hand and Manivald realizes that it is time to move out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Boy Who Couldn’t Feel Pain (2022)
The Boy Who Couldn't Feel Pain is set in Grants, New Mexico and tells the fictional small-town legend of Chester, a street fighter who can't feel any pain. When Annie, a bowling alley employee who just moved into town challenges him for a fight, things begin to change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lamb (2002)
A poor father lives with his blind son, dog and sheep. When he can't find any food, he is forced to make a hard decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Skin and the Soul and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Skin and the Soul?
The closest matches to The Skin and the Soul are Desire (2017), Newness (2017) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Skin and the Soul?
Start with Desire (2017), the closest match to The Skin and the Soul.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Skin and the Soul?
Gabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020), rated 8.3/10 by 1,570 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Skin and the Soul?
Boulevard (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Skin and the Soul?
Yes: Desire (2017), Follow My Voice (2025) and 3some (2009).
How are movies similar to The Skin and the Soul chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Skin and the Soul, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.