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Movies like Past Perfect (2002)

The best movies like Past Perfect (2002) are 28 Up (1985), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) and 35 Up (1991). If Past Perfect hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. 28 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 this
  2. 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 this
  3. 35 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 this
  4. 21 Up (1977)

    After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. 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 this
  5. The Class of ‘92 (2013)

    A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Naqoyqatsi (2002)

    A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978)

    Martin Scorsese spends an evening with larger-than-life raconteur Steven Prince—a former drug addict, road manager for Neil Diamond, and actor—as he recounts stories from his colorful life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Anna 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 this
  9. Ex 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 this
  10. Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)

    Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. 180° South (2010)

    The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. McQueen (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 this
  13. Directed 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 this
  14. Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)

    In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. A Toxic Love Story (2026)

    A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Trainwreck: The Real Project X (2025)

    A night of drunken chaos rocks a quiet Dutch town in this shocking documentary about a teen's birthday invite that accidentally went viral on Facebook.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

  17. Fuck (2006)

    A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. My Mom Jayne (2025)

    Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  19. To 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 this
  20. Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)

    An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Heliorama (2004)

    A collage of newsreels, trailers, clips and other visionary and unseen fragments of sight and sound regarding the late plastic artist Helio Oititica.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  22. 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)

    An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. Leonora Carrington or The Ironic Spell (1965)

    Cinema and painting establish a fluid dialogue and begins with introspection in the themes and forms of the plastic work of a woman tormented by the elongated specters, originating from her obsessions and nightmares.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. On the Various Nature of Things (1996)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. The Island (2017)

    The Island is a short film shot entirely on Pulau Bidong, an island off the coast of Malaysia that became the largest and longest-operating refugee camp after the Vietnam War. The artist and his family were some of the 250,000 people who inhabited the tiny island between 1978 and 1991; it was once one of the most densely populated places in the world. After the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shuttered the camp in 1991, Pulau Bidong became overgrown by jungle, filled with crumbling monuments and relics. The film takes place in a dystopian future in which the last man on earth - having escaped forced repatriation to Vietnam - finds a United Nations scientists who has washed ashore after teh world’s last nuclear battle. By weaving together footage from Bidong’s past with a narrative set in its future, Nguyen questions the individual’s relationship to history, trauma, nationhood, and displacement.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  26. Atlantis (2014)

    A documentary portrait of Utopia, loosely framed by Plato’s invocation of the lost continent of Atlantis in 360 BC and its re-resurrection via a 1970s science fiction pulp novel.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. The Emblazoned Apparitions (2013)

    An alchemically treated lullaby to the end of cinema, featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. Pluto Declaration (2011)

    Restore the classical definition of planet! Bring back planet Pluto! The solar system is twelve!

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Pyramid (2014)

    Pyramid is a single screen work on Abraham Maslow's theory on the hierarchy of human needs filmed through the rhythms and choreography of middle class South England. Filmed in color and b&w on 16mm film, it continues Salmon's interest in the performance of the artist/cinematographer within both spontaneous and constructed situations and incorporates methods developed by various movements within documentary and avant-garde history. Using an array of sounds, music and conversation as well as silence, Salmon constructs an abstract documentary which both develops and challenges the themes presented in Maslow's theory as well as her own interest in human iconography, stereotype and domestic rhythm. The image of Maslow's pyramid and his pragmatic dissection of human needs and possible motivations provide a system of organization for the family and a philosophical framework for the video.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  30. París #1 (2008)

    A group of friends share a cinematographical experience in a particular region of Spain, Galicia. The goal is simple: to film what they like, without preconceived ideas about what should be filmed. They want their images to reflect the feelings that unite them with the people they find along the way.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Like Past Perfect and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Past Perfect?

The closest matches to Past Perfect are 28 Up (1985), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) and 35 Up (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Past Perfect?

Start with 28 Up (1985), the closest match to Past Perfect.

What is the newest movie like Past Perfect?

A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Past Perfect?

Yes: 28 Up (1985), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) and 35 Up (1991).

How are movies similar to Past Perfect chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Past Perfect, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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