Movies like The impossible cities (2018)
The best movies like The impossible cities (2018) are Lee (2024), Night Will Fall (2014) and The Photographer of Mauthausen (2018). If The impossible cities hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Pianist (2002)8.4/10 from 10,617 votes
- NewestBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Photographer of Mauthausen (2018)Also in Spanish
Lee (2024)
The true story of photographer Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Will Fall (2014)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Photographer of Mauthausen (2018)
Spanish photographer Francesc Boix, imprisoned in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, works in the SS Photographic Service. Between 1943 and 1945, he hides, with the help of other prisoners, thousands of negatives, with the purpose of showing the freed world the atrocities committed by the Nazis, exhaustively documented. He will be a key witness during the Nuremberg Trials.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bang Bang Club (2011)
In the early to mid '90s, when the South African system of apartheid was in its death throes, four photographers - Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and João Silva - bonded by their friendship and a sense of purpose, worked together to chronicle the violence and upheaval leading up to the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as president. Their work is risky and dangerous, potentially fatally so, as they thrust themselves into the middle of chaotic clashes between forces backed by the government (including Inkatha Zulu warriors) and those in support of Mandela's African National Congress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pianist (2002)
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSherman's March (1986)
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Empty Rooms (2025)
A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this49 Up (2006)
49 Up is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49.In this latest chapter, more life-changing decisions are revealed, more shocking announcements made and more of the original group take part than ever before, speaking out on a variety of subjects including love, marriage, career, class and prejudice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParallel Mothers (2021)
Two unmarried women who have become pregnant by accident and are about to give birth meet in a hospital room: Janis, in her late-thirties, unrepentant and happy; Ana, a teenager, remorseful and frightened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCabrini (2024)
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society's most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl of Your Dreams (1998)
During the Spanish Civil War, a troupe of Spanish filmmakers is invited to shoot a film at UFA Studios in Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Backbone (2001)
Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl Rising (2013)
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLucky Them (2013)
More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTrees of Peace (2021)
Four women from different backgrounds forge an unbreakable sisterhood while trapped and in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLalia (1999)
Lalia is a Saharaui girl who lives in a refugee camp in Algiers. She has only heard her grandmother and grandfather talk about her country, about the Sahara, that was taken away by Morroco. She dreams of one day seeing the ocean, seeing her real country. The reality she lives in is different... the uncertainty of the refugee camps, the political unbalance... but she is strong... and she knows that there can be change... she won't stop dreaming, and she won't stop longing..
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Little Church That Could (2022)
Amidst a mostly Catholic community, a small tiny Anglican church offers more to the community of Placentia than people may think, and holds many connections and history to the rest of the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Catching Pinecones (2025)
Jan and Herb Conn were the original American dirtbag couple, pioneering rock climbers and cave explorers who rejected a conventional lifestyle in pursuit of adventure and fun. The Conns’ story reveals a legacy of renowned discoveries and their philosophies for a rewarding, well-lived life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Blair County: A People's History (2024)
A look at the history of Blair County, Pennsylvania, celebrating centuries of stories, valor and courageous actions of the area’s peoples.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Tough Old Broads (2026)
Kathrine Switzer, Siila Watt-Cloutier, and Sharon Farmer. They are the first woman to run the Boston Marathon officially, the first woman to connect climate change to human rights, and the first woman to serve as Chief White House Photographer. These trailblazing women broke barriers in their time and continue to pursue their passions to this day. They’re living proof that you can follow your dreams and maybe change the world in the process.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Tivoli (2024)
In the 1970s, the Spanish dictatorship opened up to the outside world and allowed a group of Danes to build Tivoli World, the first amusement park on the Costa del Sol, a copy of Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Le cas Meloni (2026)
Who is Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s Prime Minister since 2022, and how does she carry out her duties as head of state? How has a 45-year-old woman managed to win over a fragmented and deeply patriarchal Italy by ascending to the most powerful political office in her country and making her mark on the international stage? What fascist legacy does she carry?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Man Who Wanted to See It All (2021)
Heinz Stücke left Germany in 1962 with a bike, a tent and a goal: to see everything in the world. Now for the first time in 50 years, he's come home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
La France de l'épuration, entre vengeance et justice (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The impossible cities?
The closest matches to The impossible cities are Lee (2024), Night Will Fall (2014) and The Photographer of Mauthausen (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The impossible cities?
Start with Lee (2024), the closest match to The impossible cities.
What is the highest-rated movie like The impossible cities?
The Pianist (2002), rated 8.4/10 by 10,617 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The impossible cities?
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The impossible cities?
Yes: The Photographer of Mauthausen (2018), Parallel Mothers (2021) and The Girl of Your Dreams (1998).
How are movies similar to The impossible cities chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The impossible cities, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.