Movies like The Shadow of Utopia (2017)
The best movies like The Shadow of Utopia (2017) are The Three Caballeros (1944), Papillon (2017) and Moon Over Parador (1988). If The Shadow of Utopia hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)7.9/10 from 1,853 votes
- NewestLocked (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)Also in German
The Three Caballeros (1944)
For Donald's birthday he receives a box with three gifts inside. The gifts, a movie projector, a pop-up book, and a pinata, each take Donald on wild adventures through Mexico and South America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPapillon (2017)
Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, where he forges a strong friendship with Louis Dega, a counterfeiter who needs his protection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoon Over Parador (1988)
Underappreciated actor Jack Noah is on location in Parador at the time the dictator dies. The dictator's right-hand man makes Jack an offer he cannot refuse... to play the dictator. Jack's acting skills fool the masses but not close friends and employees of the dictator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisReminiscence (2021)
Nicolas Bannister, a rugged and solitary veteran living in a near-future Miami flooded by rising seas, is an expert in a dangerous occupation: he offers clients the chance to relive any memory they desire. His life changes when he meets a mysterious young woman named Mae. What begins as a simple matter of lost and found becomes a passionate love affair. But when a different client's memories implicate Mae in a series of violent crimes, Bannister must delve through the dark world of the past to uncover the truth about the woman he fell for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark City (1998)
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBurden of Dreams (1982)
The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaludos Amigos (1942)
A whimsical blend of live action and animation, "Saludos Amigos" is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba beat. From high Andes peaks and Argentina's pampas to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, your international traveling companions are none other than those famous funny friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. They keep things lively as Donald encounters a stubborn llama and "El Gaucho" Goofy tries on the cowboy way of life....South American-style.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisWoman on Top (2000)
Set to the intoxicating rhythms of Brazil, "Woman on Top" is a spicy, sexy comedy about the magic of food, love and music. Meet Isabella, a sultry enchantress born with the special gift of melting the palates and hearts of men everywhere. When she decides to break free from her rocky marriage and the stifling kitchen of her husband's restaurant in Brazil, she spirits off to San Francisco in pursuit of her dreams of a real culinary career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleep, My Love (1948)
A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got there. Danger and suspense ensue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Grudge (2004)
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSergio (2020)
A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Brazilian Sérgio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)
The life story of Brazilian football legend, Pele.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNotorious (1946)
In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLisbon Story (1994)
Wim Wenders' homage to Lisbon and films. A sound engineer obtains a mysterious postcard from a friend who at the moment is filming a film in Lisbon. He sets out across Europe to find him and help him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLocked (2025)
When Eddie breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by William, a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWait Until Dark (1967)
After a flight back home, Sam Hendrix returns with a doll he innocently acquired along the way. As it turns out, the doll is actually stuffed with heroin, and a group of criminals led by the ruthless Roat has followed Hendrix back to his place to retrieve it. When Hendrix leaves for business, the crooks make their move -- and find his blind wife, Susy, alone in the apartment. Soon, a life-threatening game begins between Susy and the thugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTime Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeavy Traffic (1973)
A white dropout struggles to become a cartoonist and filmmaker, drawing inspiration from the harsh, gritty world around him. Still sharing his rundown apartment with his middle-aged parents, an oafish slob of an Italian father and a ditzy nutcase of a Jewish mother, he's ridiculed and looked down upon by his friends, hypocrites who run with violent gangs and the Italian Mafia, and a shallow Black girl who makes her living downtown with the pimps and pushers. The cartoonist gets a chance to pitch a film idea to a movie mogul, but the story proves too outrageous: a far-future Earth, depleted by war and pollution, where a mutant antihero challenges and kills God.
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 this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Shadow of Utopia?
The closest matches to The Shadow of Utopia are The Three Caballeros (1944), Papillon (2017) and Moon Over Parador (1988). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Shadow of Utopia?
Start with The Three Caballeros (1944), the closest match to The Shadow of Utopia.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Shadow of Utopia?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), rated 7.9/10 by 1,853 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Shadow of Utopia?
Locked (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like The Shadow of Utopia?
Yes: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
How are movies similar to The Shadow of Utopia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Shadow of Utopia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.