Movies like Isla: The Young Version (1996)
The best movies like Isla: The Young Version (1996) are Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998). If Isla: The Young Version hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)6.7/10 from 3,302 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
Pimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSelina's Gold (2022)
Selina's father sells her to Tiago who makes her a sex slave. With the help of Domeng, Tiago's blind slave, she plans their way out of this living hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFanny Lye Deliver'd (2019)
On an isolated English farm in 1657, Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have been robbed and need a place to stay. But are these strangers really who they say they are?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier 3 (2017)
In the late 1980s, Pat Tate journeys from peddling pills in Marbella to his time in prison, where he solidifies his power before his release to reclaim his turf.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl padrino: The Latin Godfather (2004)
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPartisan (2015)
On the edge of a crumbling city, 11-year-old Alexander lives in a sequestered commune alongside other children, their mothers, and charismatic leader, Gregori. Gregori teaches the children how to raise livestock, grow vegetables, work as a community - and how to kill. With the birth of a new baby brother weighing on his mind, Alexander begins to question Gregori’s overpowering influence on the children and their training to become assassins. Threatened by his increasing unwillingness to fall in line, Gregori’s behavior turns erratic and adversarial toward the child he once considered a son. With the two set dangerously at odds and the commune’s way of life disintegrating, the residents fear a violent resolution is at hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Walk the Line (1970)
Henry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage seductress Alma, who is the daughter of local criminal and moonshiner Carl McCain. Henry's moral character comes further into question when he is tempted to conceal Carl's crimes in order to prolong his relationship with Alma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIll Manors (2012)
Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWasp (2003)
Zoë is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go out with her, she lies and tells him that she is just babysitting the kids. This will be her first date in years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this9 Songs (2004)
Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNaked and Betrayed (2004)
Hard-partying friends Talisa, Cory and city council candidate Mike Finnegan (minus wife Stephanie) celebrate with Claire and Jason on the eve of their wedding. The genders separate for stag and spa parties and the friends swing, but a tragic death closes the stag party, and relationships are troubled while police investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Am Your God (1983)
A traveling middle-aged woman plans to stay overnight in Bosnian town. In her dreams, she gets sexually aroused by a thought of young receptionist, whose father doesn't let him to meet with the girl he loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Brother's Wife 3: The Woman Downstairs (2017)
My sister and I moved into a new house. We didn't do much but the woman downstairs came up to ask us to keep it down. She said she was sensitive so we decided to keep it down. Her gangster husband would beat her when he came home drunk. Every time I heard her suffer from the beatings, I couldn't stand it and would stomp the floor to create a distraction. She would come up telling us to be quiet. I told her I did it intentionally. I also decided to do something about the woman who showed interest in me by memorizing my number.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dark Secrets (2012)
A woman convinces her boyfriend to go to couple therapy with her friend's and things go downhill from there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ticket Coffee Shop (2017)
A ticket war between sexy girls! There is a ticket coffee shop in a small town. Kang Cherry is the most popular girl here. The town men are desperate to get their tickets with Cherry everyday. However, Cherry doesn't easily give into them and she's haughty. One day, Moon-sik moves into the town to live a quiet life. Cherry recognizes a man with money right away and tries to seduce him. Moon-sik who visits the coffee shop out of curiosity falls for Cherry right away and can't seem to get enough of her...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Noraebang: Hot Women 2 (2019)
The special secret to a successful noraebang is revealed! The noraebang where Hee-jin works is for customers who want a call-girl. When they start turning around and leaving, Hee-jin decides to become a call-girl herself and even brings her friend Seong-hee in. Rumors of Hee-jin and Seong-hee's beauty and service quickly spread and more customers come. When they've made enough money, Hee-jin and Seong-hee decide to open their own noraebang and display a hidden special service.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Let's Go To Rose Motel (2013)
Seong-soo hasn't had any physical contact with his girlfriend yet after 6 months of being together so he's always excited to see her. One day, Seong-soo succeeds in getting Min-ae into Rose Motel. When he is about to shower, Seong-soo discovers a small hole in the wall leading to the next room and watches the couple next door having intercourse. Seong-soo continues to watch out of curiosity but realizes he just watched celebrity Sara giving sexual favors to a big shot politician...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Married Woman Boutique: Women Indulging in Scandalous Love Affair (2002)
Kimie steps into a boutique each day to support her household in place of her husband, who is unable to work due to heart disease—while her own spirit aches with longing. She surrenders willingly to the irresistible pull of Tsukuda, the dashing apparel‐maker’s salesman whose whispered promises slip between her legs like silk. Kenji, burning to reclaim his former glory, watches his world unravel when he discovers the affair that simmered beneath Kimie’s restraint. And as the truth of Kimie’s glowing secret—her pregnancy—dawns on him, his reproaches choke in his throat, meeting instead a startling, fervent embrace from the woman he thought he knew…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Game of Hearts (2025)
A tough guy is rare, and Robbie, the local heartthrob, is no exception. When he gets entangled with the girlfriend of a shady private investigator, he enters a world of excess and mystery. In the gritty nightlife of Los Angeles, these charming men will compete in nightclubs and bedrooms, leading one lucky woman to decide who wins in the Game of Hearts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Isla: The Young Version and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Isla: The Young Version?
The closest matches to Isla: The Young Version are Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Isla: The Young Version?
Start with Pimp (2018), the closest match to Isla: The Young Version.
What is the highest-rated movie like Isla: The Young Version?
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013), rated 6.7/10 by 3,302 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Isla: The Young Version?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Isla: The Young Version chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Isla: The Young Version, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.