Movies like Call Me from Afar (1978)
The best movies like Call Me from Afar (1978) are Show Boat (1951), A Patch of Blue (1965) and After We Collided (2020). If Call Me from Afar hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPurple Hearts (2022)8.0/10 from 2,977 votes
- NewestLa Bohème (2026)Released 2026
Show Boat (1951)
A dashing Mississippi river gambler wins the affections of the daughter of the owner of the Show Boat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Patch of Blue (1965)
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter We Collided (2020)
Tessa finds herself struggling with her complicated relationship with Hardin; she faces a dilemma that could change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlesh and the Devil (1926)
When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter Ever Happy (2022)
As a shocking truth about a couple's families emerges, the two lovers discover they are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin — any more than he is the cruel, moody boy she fell so hard for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung at Heart (1954)
The lives and romances of three sisters in a musical family; the youngest daughter's life is complicated by the subsequent arrival of a charming composer and a cynical music arranger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll of You (2025)
Laura and Simon have been best friends since college. Over the years, they've realized their bond is more than platonic. Can they—and should they—risk everything to explore a love that has existed all along?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mother (2003)
A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town. When her former boyfriend is found dead, Kya is instantly branded by the local townspeople and law enforcement as the prime suspect for his murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFifty Shades Darker (2017)
When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurple Hearts (2022)
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Jazz Singer (1980)
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
An airline pilot and his wife are forced to face the consequences of her alcoholism when her addictions threaten her life and their daughter's safety. While the woman enters detox, her husband must face the truth of his enabling behavior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Me Love Me (2026)
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in clandestine MMA fights—sparks a rivalry that quickly turns into irresistible attraction, June must choose between safety and a love that upends everything she thought she wanted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJason's Lyric (1994)
The story of a young man who must confront his own fears about love as well as his relationships with family and friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)
Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBunraku (2010)
In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter, a bartender and a young samurai plot revenge against a ruthless leader and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRomeo + Juliet (1996)
In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloser (2004)
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs Good as It Gets (1997)
A misanthropic author, a single mother and waitress, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMehman (TBA)
A joyous wedding dance rehearsal in a Pakistani immigrant household turns into a night of confrontation between a matriarch and her son when he brings home an unexpected guest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
La Bohème (2026)
In present day East End, an aspiring novelist falls in love with a Ukrainian cleaner whilst his best friend attempts to rekindle his romance with a social climbing sex bomb.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisČekanky (1940)
Intern Plichta arrives to work at a country estate, where there is a strict ban on marriage for officials, issued by the count. However, Plichta meets Jiřina Krátká on the way, falls in love with her and intends to marry her. Adjunct Ptáček and intern Ráček are also vying for Jiřina. All the officials already have brides in mind, whom they call chicaneries. The news of the count's death causes a stir, and twelve merry-making parties are planned at the estate at once...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Country Girl (1954)
An actor on the skids is given one more chance to regain his stardom, as well as his self-respect, yet his alcoholism may prevent that from happening.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScope (2018)
When a young man drops out of school to care for his agoraphobic mother he too finds himself increasingly insulated from the outside world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Vojnarka (1936)
Antonín Havel was unhappily in love with Madlena. She married the rich Sedlák Vojnar, and Havel went to war. But Madlena soon became a widow. Madlena is forced by her brother-in-law Jakub into a second marriage. She refuses this not only because of her son Jeník, but also because of her memories of Antonín.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Call Me from Afar and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Call Me from Afar?
The closest matches to Call Me from Afar are Show Boat (1951), A Patch of Blue (1965) and After We Collided (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Call Me from Afar?
Start with Show Boat (1951), the closest match to Call Me from Afar.
What is the highest-rated movie like Call Me from Afar?
Purple Hearts (2022), rated 8.0/10 by 2,977 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Call Me from Afar?
La Bohème (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Call Me from Afar chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Call Me from Afar, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.