Movies like The Samuel Project (2018)
The best movies like The Samuel Project (2018) are Around the Bend (2004), White Bird (2023) and We the Animals (2018). If The Samuel Project hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJoseph (1995)8.3/10 from 238 votes
- NewestRedwood Diaries (2026)Released 2026
Around the Bend (2004)
A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhite Bird (2023)
After being expelled from Beecher Prep for his treatment of a classmate with a facial deformity, Julian has struggled to fit in at his new school. To transform his life, Julian's grandmother finally reveals her own story of courage of her youth in Nazi-occupied France, where a classmate shelters her from mortal danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe the Animals (2018)
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDad (1989)
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreedom Writers (2007)
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Jazz Singer (1927)
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoseph (1995)
Joseph, favored son of Jacob and great-grandson of Abraham, is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Rising to become prime minister of Egypt. Joseph governed the country during a seven year famine, during which his brothers visit Egypt seeking grain, only to encounter their brother, presumed long dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBoyhood (2014)
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack or White (2015)
A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArmageddon Time (2022)
In 1980, Queens, New York, a young Jewish boy befriends a rebellious African-American classmate to the disapproval of his privileged family and begins to reckon with growing up in a world of inequality and prejudice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Sang for My Father (1970)
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Unfinished Life (2005)
Stoic and heartbroken, Einar Gilkyson quietly lives in the rugged Wyoming ranchlands alongside his only trusted friend, Mitch Bradley. One day, the woman he blames for the death of his only son arrives at his door broke, desperate, and with a granddaughter he's never known. But even as buried anger and accusations resurface, the way is opened for unexpected connection, adventure, and forgiveness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Skeleton Twins (2014)
Estranged twins Maggie and Milo coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront the reasons their lives went so wrong. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tender Bar (2021)
JR is a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie, is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father — JR begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams, with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrisoner's Daughter (2023)
Released from prison with terminal cancer, Max tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter and the grandson he’s never known. When his daughter’s abusive, drug-addicted ex-husband reappears, Max’s violent past comes back to haunt them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFather Mother Sister Brother (2025)
Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRedwood Diaries (2026)
When strange entries begin appearing in her diary written in handwriting that isn't hers, new student Evie Quinn is pulled into a chilling mystery as the messages reveal secrets, predict impossible events, and point toward a truth someone has desperately tried to bury.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmall Faces (1996)
Three teenage brothers—gang-member Bobby, troubled mama's boy Alan and self-assured prankster Lex—reside in a downtrodden section of 1968 Glasgow. But as Bobby and Alan begin to experience the power of raging hormones, Lex begins a downward spiral after he accidentally shoots the leader of Bobby's gang, and his youthful cockiness and immaturity unfortunately prevent him from understanding the effect his subsequent crimes will have on not only himself, but also those around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Brownsville Bred (2025)
Set against the vibrant yet challenging backdrop of her urban neighborhood, the complexities of adolescence are explored as Elaine faces an unexpected upheaval in her life due to her father, Manny, an aspiring salsa musician whose struggles lead him away from his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Beautiful Thing (2013)
This 20th anniversary production of Jonathan Harvey's play about two working class teenage boys falling in love on a south east London council estate was captured by Digital Theatre live at the Arts Theatre in London's Leicester Square.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Invincible (2024)
Inspired by a true story, Invincible recounts the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest for freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
We (2018)
During a scorching summer in a Belgian-Dutch border village, eight teenagers play games of discovery to break the listless monotony. They challenge each other and themselves and pretty soon, their sexual curiosity starts to blur the lines between right and wrong. As innocence is crushed in depraved games and sexual exploitation, the teenagers soon turn into ruthless predators.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThree Wishes (2023)
Three teenagers, wandering the streets of Belfast at night, ask themselves what they would do if they had three magic wishes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Girls We Want (2025)
Marseille, the holidays. Omar, 20, oversees the children summer camp with his longtime friends. The adolescents are full of dreams, principles, and prejudices. When Carmen returns after years being away, the group dynamic is put to the test. In a group where reputation is everything, the electric and free spirit Carmen triggers everyone to question his own belief, desire, and sexuality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Chlorine (2015)
Seventeen-year-old Jenny dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Samuel Project?
The closest matches to The Samuel Project are Around the Bend (2004), White Bird (2023) and We the Animals (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Samuel Project?
Start with Around the Bend (2004), the closest match to The Samuel Project.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Samuel Project?
Joseph (1995), rated 8.3/10 by 238 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Samuel Project?
Redwood Diaries (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Samuel Project?
Yes: Around the Bend (2004), White Bird (2023) and We the Animals (2018).
How are movies similar to The Samuel Project chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Samuel Project, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.