Movies like Will o' the Wisp (1973)
The best movies like Will o' the Wisp (1973) are The River (1984), Tigertail (2020) and Eleanor the Great (2025). If Will o' the Wisp hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Good Neighbor (2022)6.7/10 from 215 votes
- NewestGoodbye June (2025)Released 2025
The River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWonderstruck (2017)
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaked as We Came (2013)
After an unexpected phone call, Laura and her brother Elliot rush to their family’s country estate to find their mother, Lilly, gravely ill and living with a handsome young stranger named Ted. Estranged for some time, their mother’s condition sets Laura and Elliot on a path to realizing where their own lives have gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Road Dance (2022)
A young girl lives in the Outer Hebrides in a small village in the years just before WWI. Isolated and hard by the shore, her life takes a dramatic change when a terrible tragedy befalls her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Zoe (2022)
Tess enlists her biological father – a lovable slacker from the wrong side of the tracks – and the charming juvenile delinquent next door to help her come to grips with the death of her little sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunshine State (2002)
A woman and her new husband returns to her hometown roots in coastal northern Florida, and must deal with family, business, and encroaching real estate development.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFedora (1978)
Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement, only to discover the horrifying truth behind her success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Angry Toy (1984)
Silvio, a young poet and inventor, struggles to find employment and to give meaning to his life. Silvio has a homosexual relationship, which leaves him traumatized.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Left Bank (2008)
When Marie moves into her boyfriend's apartment, she uncovers a disturbing mystery about the fate of the previous tenant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Aardwolf (1985)
A building contractor and his spouse are driven apart by financial worries. Tony is an energetic personality well on in his 30s, presuming upon having everything under control. He's married to Nora, and they have two kids. Tony frequents tough assertiveness training sessions, owing to which he boosts up his self-confidence and considers himself to be the never-failing businessman and the perfect husband. As a result of his excessive investments and his haughty attitude, his company gets under a heavy cloud. When bankruptcy has become inevitable, his problems also affect family life. He starts taking his problems out on his wife who seems to be able to cope with the new situation more easily. She makes him see how vulnerable he really is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Harbor (1992)
After an oil field is discovered nearby the small Dalmatian town of Murvice, the local goverment wastes no time and throws all of the town's expenses towards building an oil tanker harbor. Urged by his wife, a local engineer named Slobodan Despot applies himself for the position of the chief engineer on the project, which her lover uses as an excuse to ruin Despot's reputation. Furious by this reputation and questioning all of his ideas, Despot decides to start an affair with a woman far younger than him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dempsey (1983)
Nominated for two primetime Emmy Awards in 1984, this made-for-TV movie follows the true story of American boxer Jack Dempsey, who became a media sensation in the 1920s as the world heavyweight champion. Based upon the book by Jack Dempsey and Barbara Piatelli Dempsey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
In Which We Serve (1942)
The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Two Orphans (1919)
Early Croatian film adaptation of the play "The Two Orphans", a five-act melodrama set during French Revolution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Love & Friendship (2016)
From Jane Austen’s novella, the beautiful and cunning Lady Susan Vernon visits the estate of her in-laws to wait out colorful rumors of her dalliances and to find husbands for herself and her daughter. Two young men, handsome Reginald DeCourcy and wealthy Sir James Martin, severely complicate her plans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaterfront (1939)
A hard-living dockworker finds religion until his brother is murdered.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Darbaan (2020)
Based on the 1891 short story by Rabindranath Tagore, follows life of a caretaker whose life is disturbed due to a single act of carelessness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Will o' the Wisp and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Will o' the Wisp?
The closest matches to Will o' the Wisp are The River (1984), Tigertail (2020) and Eleanor the Great (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Will o' the Wisp?
Start with The River (1984), the closest match to Will o' the Wisp.
What is the highest-rated movie like Will o' the Wisp?
The Good Neighbor (2022), rated 6.7/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Will o' the Wisp?
Goodbye June (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Will o' the Wisp chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Will o' the Wisp, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.