Movies like The Light That Failed (1923)
The best movies like The Light That Failed (1923) are Gigi & Nate (2022), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Battleground (1949). If The Light That Failed hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
Gigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCardboard Boxer (2016)
Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlay Dirty (1969)
During World War II in North Africa, a group of British commandos disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital Nazi oil depot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMindwalk (1991)
On the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, Jack, a failed presidential candidate, Tom, a poet and Sonia, a physicist, engage in an intellectual conversation about politics, philosophy and life over the course of a single day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Adventure in Hearts (1919)
American agent Captain Dieppe gets involved in the affairs of lonely Count Fieramondi in Northern Italy. Dieppe, hired to help the count reconcile with his wife who has gone to Rome to pay off gambling debts mistakenly falls in love with her cousin, Lucia, who is impersonating her. After Dieppe retrieves evidence of the debts and the real identities are revealed, he makes a final sacrifice to ensure the count and countess can reunite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Street of Sin (1928)
"Basher Bill," a retired prizefighter turned criminal, pretends to reform by joining a Salvation Army shelter in London run by a pious wraith named Elizabeth. Attracted to Elizabeth (although he is engaged to a street girl named Annie), Bill confesses to a bank robbery, has a spiritual revelation, and decides to go straight. His cast-off sweetheart reports him to the police; then, contrite, she warns Bill of the impending danger. Bill is captured immediately, but he escapes and sacrifices his life to save Elizabeth and the Salvation Army nursery when the rest of the gang use them as a human barricade against the police.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Heart in Pawn (1919)
Toyama wants to go to college in America but his alcoholic father won't supply the funds. He gets the money to go, however, from Sada, whom he has married in secret. But Sada has a secret of her own -- she told Toyama that she got the money from a relative, but the truth is that she has signed up to do a four-year stint as a Geisha girl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Double Speed (1920)
Auto racer Speed Carr enters a marathon race across the United States, from New York to Los Angeles. He encounters numerous obstacles not related to the race and must switch identities and vehicles before he can finish.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Snob (1924)
Two schoolteachers, married for love, are parted by the husband's obsessive desire for wealth and social position.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Mystery of the Black Domino (1931)
"The Mystery of the Black Domino" was the first film directed in Brazil by a woman, the pioneer Cleo de Verberena. Marcos and Virgílio are medical students and share the same room. At the end of the first night of carnaval, Marcos finds the corpse of a woman, dressed as a black domino, inside the closet and accuses Virgílio of murder. Virgílio defends himself by saying that that was Cleo, wife of Commander Fernando Almeida, and that he found her in the corso asking for help, but Marcos questions Virgílio about the veracity of the story. Lost Film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Franchise (1916)
When Gilbert Warren discovers his law partner Arthur Fenton making crooked deals, he severs their relationship and opens an office of his own. Louise Talcott, daughter of Colonel Talcott, is loved by both. She favors Warren. Out of jealousy, when Warren leaves town, Fenton schemes to blacken his name. Warren is appointed to vet the street railway franchise. When Fenton hears of this, he reports to Colonel Talcott and the Mayor that Warren is a grafter. The Colonel floats a deal to test Warren and finds him honest. Later, the Colonel and the Mayor apologize to Warren as he embraces Louise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Citizens All (1916)
Estranged after an argument, music teacher Johann Wagner and fencing master Henri Dupin attempt to separate their engaged children, Karl and Elsie. Seeking new quarters, they come to the same boarding house unbeknownst to each other. Thus reunited, Karl and Elsie determine to marry. Following the advice of their landlady Mrs. Flannigan they elope and are wed. The two old fathers remain at odds with each other and the couple until one day Mrs. Flannigan comes with the good news, a child has been born to the young house of Wagner. All is forgiven and reunited Grandfather Wagner and Grandfather Dupin leave arm in arm for the clerk's office to become US citizens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Trail of the Thief (1916)
Detective Martin Gale, tough with criminals but awkward with women, secretly loves Dorothy Baird, a clever operative at the agency he manages. He gives her a small revolver engraved with his name as a token. Dorothy is assigned to cover a party for a society debutante, where she meets James Vallon, a popular and wealthy young man, and they are attracted to each other. While he flirts with her a valuable necklace goes missing and as Dorothy digs deeper into the incident she begins to suspect Vallon is involved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Come Again Smith (1919)
Joe Smith Jr., the son of a millionaire, is challenged by his father to earn his own living instead of depending on his father's money. One year later Joe is broke, dirty, homeless and hanging out with other derelicts on a New York City park bench. A chance meeting with businessman Ned Stervens results in Joe being invited to stay in Stevens' house for a week, to make Stevens' point to his acquaintance Frank Overton---a shady stockbroker--that given a chance, even a tramp like Joe can better himself. Joe finds himself in love with Stevens' sister Lucy and unwittingly becomes party to a scheme by Overton to swindle Lucy out of her money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Light That Failed and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Light That Failed?
The closest matches to The Light That Failed are Gigi & Nate (2022), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Battleground (1949). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Light That Failed?
Start with Gigi & Nate (2022), the closest match to The Light That Failed.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Light That Failed?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Light That Failed?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Light That Failed?
Yes: Gigi & Nate (2022), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Battleground (1949).
How are movies similar to The Light That Failed chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Light That Failed, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.