Movies like A Whole Life (2012)
The best movies like A Whole Life (2012) are My Best Friend (2026), Rich in Love 2 (2023) and The Way He Looks (2014). If A Whole Life hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLife in a Year (2020)8.2/10 from 2,027 votes
- NewestMy Best Friend (2026)Released 2026
My Best Friend (2026)
When empty nest syndrome hits, two BFFs follow their teen daughters to Portugal and find love, fun and a whole new meaning of friendship along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRich in Love 2 (2023)
When the idealistic Paula resumes her work as a volunteer doctor in the Amazon, Teto convinces his partners to establish their tomato cooperative in a village in the region. But to win back Paula's heart and save the company from bankruptcy, Teto must definitely overcome his spoiled playboy habits and face the interests of a powerful farmer, who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way He Looks (2014)
Leonardo is a blind teenager dealing with an overprotective mother while trying to live a more independent life. To the disappointment of his best friend, Giovana, he plans to go on an exchange program abroad. When Gabriel, a new student in town, arrives at their classroom, new feelings blossom in Leonardo making him question his plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLife in a Year (2020)
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBody Electric (2017)
Elias is a handsome young deputy manager in a garment factory in São Paulo. When he’s not working, he enjoys casual encounters in the big city. The arrival of a young African, Fernando, on the production line piques his interest and Elias finds himself increasingly drawn into socialising with his work colleagues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDriver's Ed (2026)
A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaking Life (2001)
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInvisible Life (2019)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Spectacular Now (2013)
Sutter, a popular party animal, unexpectedly meets the introverted Aimee after waking up on a stranger's lawn. As Sutter deals with the problems in his life and Aimee plans for her future beyond school, an unexpected romance blossoms between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuita Calma Nessa Hora (2010)
Three young friends, Tita, Mari and Aninha decide to change their situations and travel to a beach place for a weekend. On the road, they meet Estrella, a hippie that wants a hide to try to find her unknown father. Together, they will live hilarious, absurd and moving situations. More than a change the air, they change themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharm City Kings (2020)
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Movie of My Life (2017)
The sierras of southern Brazil, 1963. The son of an French man and a Brazilian woman, Tony is a young man with a profound love of cinema and poetry. After graduating from college he returns to his small town in rural Brazil, to find out that his father had left for good, back to France. Tony then looks for the company of his fathers friends in search of information and references of a lost male role-model. He becomes a school teacher and a male figure to kids, in an attempt to provide them with something he lacks himself. A series of developments lead him to a surprising final lead on his fathers' whereabouts and reasons for leaving.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMacunaima (1969)
Born a fully grown black man in a village in the Brazilian jungle, Macunaíma later magically transforms into a white man before making an adventure-filled trip to the city of São Paulo. Once there, he becomes something of a dandy, falling in love with Ci, a revolutionary who dies in an accidental bombing. After robbing a ruthless industrialist, Macunaima returns to his village where he finds his newly acquired knowledge and possessions of little use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gang's All Here (1943)
A soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDìdi (弟弟) (2024)
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Meteor Man (1993)
One night Jefferson Reed gets hit in the chest by a souped-up chunk of meteor. So he can fly, but he's scared of heights. He can master the information in any book ... for about thirty seconds. Now his friends and family want him to protect their community from the dreaded Golden Lords.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Starling Girl (2023)
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGary (2026)
Two friends go on a work trip and encounter unexpected challenges and local personalities as they navigate their assignment. Their efforts to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings highlight moments of humor, small-town culture and the unpredictable nature of work travel. Their experience offers new perspectives on their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Whole Life?
The closest matches to A Whole Life are My Best Friend (2026), Rich in Love 2 (2023) and The Way He Looks (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Whole Life?
Start with My Best Friend (2026), the closest match to A Whole Life.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Whole Life?
Life in a Year (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 2,027 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Whole Life?
My Best Friend (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to A Whole Life chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Whole Life, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.