Movies like Triumph of the Spirit (1989)
The best movies like Triumph of the Spirit (1989) are Walking with the Enemy (2014), Sometimes in April (2005) and Pork Chop Hill (1959). If Triumph of the Spirit hooked you with its drama and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Deer Hunter (1978)8.0/10 from 4,474 votes
- NewestHarvest (2025)Released 2025
Walking with the Enemy (2014)
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSometimes in April (2005)
Two brothers are divided by marriage and fate during the 100 horrifying days of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPork Chop Hill (1959)
Korean War, April 1953. Lieutenant Clemons, leader of the King company of the United States Infantry, is ordered to recapture Pork Chop Hill, occupied by a powerful Chinese Army force, while, just seventy miles away, at nearby the village of Panmunjom, a tense cease-fire conference is celebrated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasualties of War (1989)
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIke: Countdown to D-Day (2004)
The story of the senior-level preparations for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 from the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower's appointment as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to the establishment of the beachhead in Normandy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape from Sobibor (1987)
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMen in War (1957)
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
In 1971, Stanford's Professor Philip Zimbardo conducts a controversial psychology experiment in which college students pretend to be either prisoners or guards, but the proceedings soon get out of hand. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn on the Fourth of July (1989)
Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHamburger Hill (1987)
The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarvest (2025)
Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShooting Dogs (2006)
Two westerners, a priest and a teacher find themselves in the middle of the Rwandan genocide and face a moral dilemna. Do they place themselves in danger and protect the refugees, or escape the country with their lives? Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMissing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Deer Hunter (1978)
Three steelworkers enlist in the army and are sent to Vietnam, one leaving behind a rushed marriage, the others a shared love. What they encounter during the war changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWarhorse One (2023)
A gunned down Navy SEAL Master Chief must guide a child to safety through a gauntlet of hostile Taliban insurgents and survive the brutal Afghanistan wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNightwatching (2007)
An extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, and the controversy he created by the identification of a murderer in the painting The Night Watch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalvador (1986)
In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDarfur (2009)
American journalists in Sudan are confronted with the dilemma of whether to return home to report on the atrocities they have seen, or to stay behind and help some of the victims they have encountered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Krays (1990)
Twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are raised in east London, under the influence of their hateful but doting mother Violet. As they grow up, Ronnie's violent nature takes over, and Reggie follows his brother's lead. The two become notorious crime lords who rule over the East End club scene. But at the height of their power, the brothers veer into different lives, giving the older crime bosses a chance to reclaim what the Krays took from them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Vermeer (2019)
A soldier and member of the Dutch resistance investigates stolen art in the wake of the Second World War, including a Vermeer sold to the Nazis by a flamboyant forger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAge of Heroes (2011)
The true story of the formation of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisTombstone of the Fireflies (2008)
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Gandhi, My Father (2007)
Unable to live in his father's gigantic shadow, Mahatma Gandhi's eldest son, Harilal, gets distraught and resorts to alcoholism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Judy (2019)
Thirty years after starring in 'The Wizard of Oz', beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHistoria de un director idiota (2010)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Closed to the Light (2021)
In a moment captured in time, die-hard Italian fascists conduct reprisal executions of civilians in Lombardy during World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Gie (2005)
Indonesian activist Soe Hok Gie experiences a political awakening during the tumultuous regimes of Soeharto and Soekarno.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Blonde (2022)
From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, this reimagined fictional portrait of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTomorrow's Joe The Movie (1980)
An abridged remake of the first Ashita no Joe TV series, released in 1980 to provide back-story for the second TV series to new fans who were not familiar with the first TV series or the manga.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Real Steel (2011)
Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who retired from the ring when robots took over the sport. After his robot is trashed, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son to rebuild and train an unlikely contender.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Triumph of the Spirit?
The closest matches to Triumph of the Spirit are Walking with the Enemy (2014), Sometimes in April (2005) and Pork Chop Hill (1959). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Triumph of the Spirit?
Start with Walking with the Enemy (2014), the closest match to Triumph of the Spirit.
What is the highest-rated movie like Triumph of the Spirit?
The Deer Hunter (1978), rated 8.0/10 by 4,474 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Triumph of the Spirit?
Harvest (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Triumph of the Spirit?
Yes: Walking with the Enemy (2014), Sometimes in April (2005) and Pork Chop Hill (1959).
How are movies similar to Triumph of the Spirit chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Triumph of the Spirit, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.