Movies like Diary (1983)
The best movies like Diary (1983) are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017) and 35 Up (1991). If Diary hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWaltz with Bashir (2008)7.7/10 from 1,099 votes
- NewestYou Can See Everything (2026)Released 2026
As 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 · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this42 Up (1999)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this28 Up (1985)
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this56 Up (2012)
When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJim: The James Foley Story (2016)
In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria by Callas (2017)
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYou Can See Everything (2026)
Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending three-year journey into the abyss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove Majestic (2018)
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007)
The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Children of San Simon (TBA)
Sima Shimony, age 69, embarks on a mission to find her friends and staff from the "ALYN" Institute for Children with Disabilities, which was situated in the secluded San-Simon monastery in Jerusalem, during the 1960s. Armed with a small camera attached to her wheelchair, she sets off on a journey across the country together with her friend Pini Newirth, also a polio child, to unfold and reclaim the story of the children affected by the Polio epidemic. In a futile attempt to rebuild their bodies so they could walk, the children were subjected to excruciating medical procedures with no parents or family at their side. But growing up together forged a group of remarkable, self-driven women and men with disabilities who eventually launched the Disability Rights movement in Israel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
A film director from Israel interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWest of the Jordan River (2018)
Amos Gitai returns to the occupied territories for the first time since his 1982 documentary FIELD DIARY. WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER describes the efforts of citizens, Israelis and Palestinians, who are trying to overcome the consequences of occupation. Gitai's film shows the human ties woven by the military, human rights activists, journalists, mourning mothers and even Jewish settlers. Faced with the failure of politics to solve the occupation issue, these men and women rise and act in the name of their civic consciousness. This human energy is a proposal for long overdue change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Countdown to Eternity (1999)
Bible expert Bill Gallatin explores biblical prophecies from the Book of Revelation that have transpired, with a discussion of whether these events signify that we are now living in the End Times preceding the return of Jesus Christ. Gallatin touches on events such as the increasingly acute difficulties in the Middle East, numerous environmental catastrophes, earthquakes and more, explaining how they connect to scriptural writings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
We Will Dance Again (2024)
A music festival symbolizing peace, freedom, and eternal love transforms into a horrifying nightmare of terror. Survivors, marked by death and trauma, reconstruct the event through their perspectives, embodying the lost innocence and beauty of youth, forever scarred by the tragic events that unfolded. This is a horrifying glimpse through the eyes of the individuals who endured the brutal October 7th onslaught at the Nova Music Festival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Queer Country (2016)
Israel is governed by Orthodox civil law and yet hosts the world's biggest gay pride. Is this a cynical marketing ploy or a political awakening?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Praying for Armageddon (2023)
While much of the world struggles to keep the planet going, a frighteningly large group of American fundamentalist Christians are working to promote the apocalypse. The evangelical movement is convinced that they will be saved when Jesus appears in the state of Israel on horseback and, with a sword raised to heaven, kills the infidels so that the blood reaches the horses’ bridles. Natural fires, corona, wars and crises are evidence that the time is nigh. But for the prophecies to be realized, the state of Israel has to grow stronger, so they provide huge financial support and are so far inside the White House that they help influence US foreign policy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
To Cry For You (2025)
In a series of interviews with cultural and television figures, artists, and researchers, Shai Lahav attempts to deconstruct one of the most traumatic and formative moments in Israel's cultural and political history.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Syria: Israel's invisible Hand (2017)
A horrible six year conflict befell Syria with a multitude of factions fighting for territories backed by a score of foreign players. The script for war as with Iraq in 2003 originated with Zionist partisans with Israeli interests in mind. From Oded Yinon to the Israeli "Clean Break" papers, the Zionist regime made it very clear what their intentions were in Iraq and Syria. American mass media had a uniform message that "Assad must go" for years until the Trump administration took power. In Iraq, after the US made it clear that they did not back Kurdish secession and would not give them air support, the Iraqi forces chased out the Peshmerga in a mere 36hrs. The world must know that the US was dragged into these conflicts via Israeli pressure and deceptions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Israel's Arab Warriors (2016)
The last years have seen a steep rise in the number of Arabs signing up to Israel's army. Considered traitors by many in the Arab community, what drives these young men to fight for a country traditionally in conflict with Arab interests? Does this provide a path for Israeli/Arab integration? In this insightful doc, we follow the first Arab battalion fighting for Israel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Diary?
The closest matches to Diary are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017) and 35 Up (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Diary?
Start with As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), the closest match to Diary.
What is the highest-rated movie like Diary?
Waltz with Bashir (2008), rated 7.7/10 by 1,099 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Diary?
You Can See Everything (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Diary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Diary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.