Movies like The Saltmen of Tibet (1997)
The best movies like The Saltmen of Tibet (1997) are Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006), Into the Inferno (2016) and Baraka (1992). If The Saltmen of Tibet hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBaraka (1992)8.2/10 from 735 votes
- NewestWolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026)Released 2026
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInto the Inferno (2016)
With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBaraka (1992)
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalk with Me (2017)
Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Walk With Me is a cinematic journey into the world of a monastic community who practice the art of mindfulness with Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like this28 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 thisAlone in the Wilderness (2004)
Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGhost Elephants (2026)
In Angola's mist-shrouded highlands, three KhoiSan master trackers embark on a spiritual quest to rediscover the legendary "ghost elephants" of Lisima, creatures presumed lost but remembered in ancestral trance, ritual, and memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonkey Kingdom (2015)
A newborn monkey and its mother struggle to survive within the competitive social hierarchy of the Temple Troop, a dynamic group of monkeys who live in ancient ruins found deep in the storied jungles of South Asia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo 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 thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeal (2017)
A documentary film that takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that by changing one's perceptions, the human body can heal itself from any disease.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026)
Reconnecting with a pack of wolves he has followed for seven years, Bertie sets out to capture one of the Arctic's most dangerous and rarely filmed hunts: wolves taking on a bull moose, prey roughly ten times their size. Led by Kona, a striking white breeding male, the pack faces a critical winter as dwindling food supplies, an encroaching rival wolf and an aging leader threaten its survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this180° 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 thisNight Will Fall (2014)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unbelievers (2013)
Scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss travel the globe promoting a scientific worldview and the rational questioning of religious belief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBecoming Warren Buffett (2017)
The story of the evolution of a boy from Nebraska who became one of the most respected men in the world, and the heroes who helped guide him along the way. By allowing access to his life and never-before-released home videos, Buffett offers a glimpse into his unique mind to help us understand what is truly important when money no longer has meaning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBRATS (2024)
In the 1980s, Andrew McCarthy was part of a young generation of actors who were set to take over Hollywood after a string of successful teen movies. However, when the New York magazine cover story in 1985 dubs them the Brat Pack, stars in the making suddenly find themselves losing control over the trajectory of their careers. Now, almost forty years later, McCarthy looks to reconnect with peers and co-stars so that together they can reflect on their respective legacies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond Utopia (2023)
A courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they risk their lives to embrace freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)
A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Knowledge of Healing (1997)
A documentary film about Tibetan traditional medicine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tibet: Roof of the World (2020)
Join us as we explore life on the highest mountain plateau on Earth. This beautiful and other worldly place is also one of the harshest on the planet. We follow the lives of some of the iconic creatures that call it home. From Tibetan wolves struggling to raise pups in the rugged peaks, and rare snub nosed monkeys facing family dramas on the forest slopes to chiru antelopes that travel hundreds of miles to give birth while facing death, and hardy pika who tough out the elements all year, whilst under constant attack. Discover how these extraordinary animals manage to not only survive, but also thrive on the roof of the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tibet - Les nourritures terrestres (2011)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (2023)
After Kai saves a woman's life, he turns into an overnight hero and viral sensation — until disturbing truths about his erratic behavior come to light. This shocking documentary chronicles a happy-go-lucky nomad's ascent to viral stardom and the resulting steep downward spiral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Journey to Haifa (2014)
An openly gay filmmaker goes on a conservative religious pilgrimage to Haifa, Israel with his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Journey Into Buddhism: Vajra Sky Over Tibet (2006)
This documentary is the third part of The Yatra Trilogy created by John Bush. Vajra is the Sanskrit word signifying the thunderbolt of illumination, and yatra is the word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. This film offers a cinematic pilgrimage to central Tibet, bearing witness to the indomitable faith of its endangered Buddhist community and the imminent threat to its very survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Desert Wagon (2024)
A couple of artists travels through the Mexico desert to present their puppet show.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Amin (2010)
AMIN portrays Qashqai musician Amin Aghaie, a young modern nomad and his family who despite facing steep financial, cultural and political obstacles are dedicated to their art and culture. Amin travels to remote towns and villages to record the music of the surviving masters whose numbers decline each year. His nomadic family are selling their meager belongings to help support their son's education in performance and ethnomusicology at Tchaikovsky's Conservatory in Kyiv, Ukraine, but it is not enough. Amin, desperate to finish his academic education, sells his violins one at a time just to pay for his tuition.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Orphans of Tibet (2010)
Each year, groups of Tibetan children secretly flee their homeland over the Himalayas to reach schools in India founded by the government in exile. Entrusted to smugglers, they are risking their lives by illegally crossing the great Himalayan range, a towering rampart between Tibet and India. The director will take us in the Mussorie school, in North India, where two thousand four hundred children have been rescued. They have left behind their family childhood and are now considered as orphans. We will discover the itineraries of Sonam, aged nine, and Dholma, the little new girl of the school. Here in India, they are taught about Tibetan culture and will find out about the history of their country and their ancestors. Sonam and Dholma's story is that of thousands of Tibetan children. Are they orphans of a lost country or bearers of hope who will save an endangered culture?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Saltmen of Tibet?
The closest matches to The Saltmen of Tibet are Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006), Into the Inferno (2016) and Baraka (1992). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Saltmen of Tibet?
Start with Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006), the closest match to The Saltmen of Tibet.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Saltmen of Tibet?
Baraka (1992), rated 8.2/10 by 735 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Saltmen of Tibet?
Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Saltmen of Tibet?
Yes: Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006), Into the Inferno (2016) and Baraka (1992).
How are movies similar to The Saltmen of Tibet chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Saltmen of Tibet, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.