Movies like Against the Tides (2018)
The best movies like Against the Tides (2018) are My Octopus Teacher (2020), Life, Animated (2016) and Shark Whisperer (2025). If Against the Tides hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMy Octopus Teacher (2020)7.9/10 from 1,115 votes
- NewestThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)Released 2026
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLife, Animated (2016)
At three years old, a chatty, energetic little boy named Owen Suskind ceased to speak, disappearing into autism with apparently no way out. Almost four years passed and the only stimuli that engaged Owen were Disney films. Then one day, his father donned a puppet—Iago, the wisecracking parrot from Aladdin—and asked “what’s it like to be you?” And poof! Owen replied, with dialogue from the movie. Life, Animated tells the remarkable story of how Owen found in Disney animation a pathway to language and a framework for making sense of the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShark Whisperer (2025)
Marine conservationist and social media activist Ocean Ramsey fearlessly swims with sharks in this documentary about her risky mission to protect them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deepest Breath (2023)
Bonded by their love of freediving, a record-setting champion and a heroic safety diver try to make history with a remarkable feat, ready to risk it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Ali (2014)
Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeepsea Challenge 3D (2014)
Described as being a film about determination, danger and the ocean’s greatest depths, James Cameron's "Deepsea Challenge 3D" tells the story of Cameron’s journey to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming an explorer. The movie offers a unique insight into Cameron's world as he makes that dream reality – and makes history – by becoming the first person to travel solo to the deepest point on the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Breath (2019)
A commercial diver is stranded on the seabed with only five minutes of oxygen supply, but with no chance of rescue for more than 30 minutes. With access to amazing archival footage, this is the true story of one man’s impossible fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlackfish (2013)
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOcean with David Attenborough (2025)
David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAir Force Elite: Thunderbirds (2025)
The elite pilots of the Air Force Thunderbirds display exceptional skill, trust and courage during a high-stakes training season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarth (2007)
An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeep Blue (2003)
Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutisme : le petit chasseur de fantômes (2022)
The quest of a father seeking for a future for his son, Tom, affected by autistic disorders and passionate about haunted places. A sensitive and funny film that gives a voice to young autistic people around the world, who are fulfilled in their lives and jobs. A possible future for Tom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Hugo's Brain (2012)
The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Original Mermaid (2002)
Story of Annette Kellerman, the international swimming vaudeville and silent screen star whose life story inspired the MGM classic Million Dollar Mermaid starring Esther Williams, which featured lavish Busby Berkeley scenes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Reason I Jump (2020)
Based on the book by Naoki Higashida, filmmaker Jerry Rothwell examines the lives of five non-speaking, autistic youngsters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Mole Man (2017)
MOLE MAN follows RON, a 66-year-old autistic man who has spent the last five decades building a 50-room structure in his parents' backyard. Using no nails or mortar, Ron instead creates perfectly balanced structures from scavenged materials he finds in the woods outside his Western Pennsylvania home. When Ron's father passes away, leaving him living alone with his 90-year-old mother, Ron's siblings are left to figure out what's best for Ron - who has never been officially diagnosed with autism - when his mother can no longer care for him. In an effort to find the money to keep Ron in his home, his friends team up in search of a mythical mansion Ron insists lays abandoned in the forest. But will they be able to find it? And, more importantly, does it even exist? This is the story of an extraordinary life, a family, and the beauty of thinking differently.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Brief History of Circles (2024)
An experimental video essay which uses circles and waves to explore neurodivergent experience.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Against the Tides?
The closest matches to Against the Tides are My Octopus Teacher (2020), Life, Animated (2016) and Shark Whisperer (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Against the Tides?
Start with My Octopus Teacher (2020), the closest match to Against the Tides.
What is the highest-rated movie like Against the Tides?
My Octopus Teacher (2020), rated 7.9/10 by 1,115 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Against the Tides?
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Against the Tides?
Yes: My Octopus Teacher (2020), Life, Animated (2016) and Shark Whisperer (2025).
How are movies similar to Against the Tides chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Against the Tides, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.