Movies like An Instant (2017)
The best movies like An Instant (2017) are My Brother the Devil (2012), Memories of a Teenager (2019) and Men of Hard Skin (2019). If An Instant hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEndless Poetry (2016)7.4/10 from 204 votes
- NewestUntil the End of the World (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishMemories of a Teenager (2019)Also in Spanish
My Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemories of a Teenager (2019)
After the suicide of his best friend and the fire of a local dance called Cromañón, including recitals, illegal parties in an abandoned warehouse and high school, a year passes by in the life of Zabo who writes everything he feels and lives in his blog, "Memories of a teenager".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMen of Hard Skin (2019)
Ariel is a good-looking farm boy who lives with his father and sister in a rural part of Buenos Aires province. He has become familiar with sex thanks to Omar, a priest with whom he has a secret affair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThis Is Not Berlin (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Carlos doesn't fit in anywhere, not in his family nor with the friends he has chosen in school. But everything changes when he is invited to a mythical nightclub where he discovers the underground LGBTQ nightlife scene: punk, sexual liberty and drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartin (Hache) (1997)
After having a nearly fatal drug overdose, 19-year-old Argentine Martin is sent to Madrid, where his film director father lives with his new, younger lover, Alicia, and his bisexual actor friend, Dante.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPretty Boy (2015)
Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. "Pretty Boy" is a coming of age story of a young bullied teen, Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his father finds some questionable magazines in his room, this devout Christian will go to any lengths to get his son to find the light and "perform" the way a man should. Sean is introduced to Katie, a prostitute that understands the stigmas of modern society and helps him see the true light that is within him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlow (1996)
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUntil the End of the World (2026)
Manuel's life is upended when Esmeralda, his lost love from 15 years ago, calls unexpectedly. Despite being set to marry another, he rediscovers Esmeralda, and they realize their love transcends time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2019)
A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he once shared with the former, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXXY (2007)
Alex, an intersexed 15-year-old, is living as a girl, but she and her family begin to wonder whether she's emotionally a boy when another teenager's sexual advances bring the issue to a head. As Alex faces a final decision regarding her gender, she meets both hostility and compassion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Month in the Country (1987)
A destitute WWI veteran is hired to help carry out restoration work on a medieval mural in a rural Yorkshire church. While living in the quiet village, he forms a close friendship with an archaeologist and begins to come to terms with his trauma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn the Road (2026)
Veneno, a rebellious young drifter, frequents roadside diners where he sleeps with truck drivers. Urgently needing a ride, he meets Muñeco, a hard-edged driver who keeps to himself. He convinces Muñeco to take him deep into the hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking across the north of Mexico. As they travel together and an unexpected intimacy builds between them, shadows from Veneno’s past resurface, putting both their lives at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDeseo (2013)
Eight short stories of seduction and illicit encounters between lovers, filled with humor and eroticism, which use a circular structure located in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a colonial city of Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller'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 thisAnuja (2024)
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Poetry (2016)
A portrait of the director’s young adulthood, set in the 1940s–1950s, in the electric capital city of Santiago. There, he decides to become a poet and is introduced, by destiny, into the foremost bohemian and artistic circle of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Human Voice (2020)
A woman watches time pass beside the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavage Fire (2017)
In the city of Cajamar, in the middle of ruined nature, lonely characters deal with the police, rodeos and mysterious fires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Boys On Film 16: Possession (2017)
Golden boys, teen lust, self-conscious dolls, chance encounters, a vengeful creature, holiday romance, hidden sexuality — Boys On Film celebrates it's (not so) sweet sixteen with an astonishing selection of the latest international gay short films. Volume 16: Possession features ten complete films: Kai Stänicke's "Golden" with Christian Tesch and Maximilian Gehrlinger; Christopher Manning's "Jamie" starring Sebastian Christophers and Raphael Verrion; Kai Stänicke's "B." starring Susanne Bormann and Andreas Jähnert; Blake Mawson's "PYOTR495" starring Alex Ozerov; Charlie Francis's "When A Man Loves A Woman" starring Tommy Jay Brennan, Jemima Spence, and Diane Brooks Webster; Anthony Schatteman's "Follow Me" starring Ezra Fieremans and Maarten Ketels; Jake Graf's "Chance" starring 'ABS' and Clifford Hume; Andrew Keenan-Bolger's "Sign" starring John McGinty and Preston Sadleir; Oliver Mason's "Away With Me" starring Chris Polick and Lee Knight; and "We Could Be Parents" by Björn Elgerd.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Love (2014)
An offbeat love story about campus life around the An Zi Yan and Mai Ding who start military training as college acquaintances, Mai Ding was the one who made the first move to An Zi Yan, they have a good relationship and gradually felt sparks. After their relationship strengthens, their relationship is obstructed by their family and friends, like An Zi Yan’s sister Ansul who has a difficult attitude. An Zi Yan secretly asks help from his ex-girlfriend Bai Xiao Si. Based off the best-selling novel of the same name by Angelina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shannon Amen (2019)
Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Adiós, Roberto (1985)
Roberto separates from his wife and needs a place to stay. When he moves in with gay Marcelo, he is clueless about Marcello's sexuality and the two become close friends. One night after many drinks Roberto has sex with Marcelo and must confront his feelings and the potential ridicule of his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Drifting (1981)
Guttman's best short film, Afflicted tells the story of a young, closeted Israeli man who visits a drag bar one night in search of sexual expression.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Teacher (2019)
When the 26-year-old Civics teacher, Kevin, openly voices his stance on marriage equality at school, he stirs up a storm. His being madly in love with an HIV positive man doesn't sit well with all the people around him. When a rumour breaks out about his HIV status, he is forced to make choices no one should have to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Robin Hood (1913)
Robin Hood and his followers aid the poor and oppressed from their hideout in Sherwood Forest, pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Oi! Warning (1999)
A young man gets caught up in a conflict between his friends, a skinhead and a gay anarchist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like An Instant?
The closest matches to An Instant are My Brother the Devil (2012), Memories of a Teenager (2019) and Men of Hard Skin (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after An Instant?
Start with My Brother the Devil (2012), the closest match to An Instant.
What is the highest-rated movie like An Instant?
Endless Poetry (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 204 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like An Instant?
Until the End of the World (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like An Instant?
Yes: Memories of a Teenager (2019), Men of Hard Skin (2019) and This Is Not Berlin (2019).
How are movies similar to An Instant chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside An Instant, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.