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Movies like The Cat and the Moon (2019)

The best movies like The Cat and the Moon (2019) are Permanent Vacation (1981), The Color Purple (1985) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). If The Cat and the Moon hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Permanent Vacation (1981)

    In downtown Manhattan, twentysomething Allie, whose father is not around and whose mother is institutionalized, is a big Charlie Parker fan. He almost subconsciously searches for meaning in his life and meets some idiosyncratic characters along the way.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  2. The Color Purple (1985)

    An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

    New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

    In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. The Saint of Fort Washington (1993)

    Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. The Yards (2000)

    In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Newsies (1992)

    A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

    Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

    The story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Louder Than Bombs (2015)

    Three years after his wife, acclaimed photographer Isabelle Reed, dies in a car crash, Gene keeps everyday life going with his shy teenage son, Conrad. A planned exhibition of Isabelle’s photographs prompts Gene's elder son, Jonah, to return to the house he grew up in — and for the first time in a very long time, the father and the two brothers are living under the same roof.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. August Rush (2007)

    Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. 25th Hour (2002)

    On the eve of a seven-year prison sentence, a New York drug dealer spends his final day of freedom confronting his past, his relationships, and the choices that led to his downfall in a city still reeling from 9/11.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Fruitvale Station (2013)

    Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the platform at Fruitvale Station, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Killer's Kiss (1955)

    Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. James White (2015)

    James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Soul (2020)

    Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  17. The Drop (2014)

    Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. You Were Never Really Here (2017)

    A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered—leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. The Wanderers (1979)

    The streets of the Bronx are owned by '60s youth gangs where the joy and pain of adolescence is lived. Philip Kaufman tells his take on the novel by Richard Price about the history of the Italian-American gang ‘The Wanderers.’

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. The 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 this
  21. Maria Full of Grace (2004)

    A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. Popular Music (2004)

    Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  23. Klute (1971)

    A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  24. My Own Private Idaho (1991)

    Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. Grill Point (2002)

    Christian is a presenter at a small radio station. His wife Katrin directs traffic in a car park. Both are friends with Uwe, who runs a fast food kiosk, and Ellen, who works in a perfume shop. Their four lives are stuck in a rut. Until the day Chris and Ellen sleep together and upset the balance of the two couples...

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. Shaft (1971)

    Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  27. Breathless (1960)

    A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  28. Ronia: The Robber's Daughter (1984)

    Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  29. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

    Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  30. Night on Earth (1991)

    A quintet of cabbies in five cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like The Cat and the Moon and something else?

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Cat and the Moon?

The closest matches to The Cat and the Moon are Permanent Vacation (1981), The Color Purple (1985) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Cat and the Moon?

Start with Permanent Vacation (1981), the closest match to The Cat and the Moon.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Cat and the Moon?

The Shawshank Redemption (1994), rated 8.7/10 by 31,829 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Cat and the Moon?

Soul (2020) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Cat and the Moon?

Yes: Permanent Vacation (1981), The Color Purple (1985) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957).

How are movies similar to The Cat and the Moon chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Cat and the Moon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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