Movies like La ballerine (2016)
The best movies like La ballerine (2016) are Houria (2023), Between Two Worlds (2022) and My Dinner with Hervé (2018). If La ballerine 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
- NewestParoxysm (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchHouria (2023)Also in French
Houria (2023)
A young woman who is passionate about ballet dancing and experiences a trauma, and then she meets other women who have experienced similar situations and they find a creative way to pursue their passion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBetween Two Worlds (2022)
Marianne Winckler relocates to the port city of Caen in order to pass herself off as a member of a large community of itinerant workers desperate to make ends meet. She gains employment as a cleaner on a ferry travelling between Ouistreham and Portsmouth, recording the drudgery of the work she and her colleagues are required to do.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolina (2016)
Polina is a young dancer from a modest family. After years of ballet academy, she is accepted by the Bolshoi; still, she decides to try and audition of a modern dance company in France. She makes it, but her journey will not end there...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisChaos (2001)
A bourgeois couple, modern yet conventional. One night by accident, a young prostitute barges into their lives. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well off lady, first for her survival-her resurrection-then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters for everyone involved.
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 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 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 thisMalabar Princess (2004)
A man leaves his 8-year old son with his father-in-law who lives near the glacier where the boy's mother died.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinal Set (2021)
Thomas was once renowned as a young tennis prodigy, but never had the career he hoped for. At 37, despite his declining physical fitness and shattered knee he decides to compete in the intense qualifying rounds of the French Open at Roland-Garros for one last attempt at glory. Although his wife Eve and mother Judith advise him to give up, Thomas obsessively pushes forward. He will have to fight his own demons and will ultimately face a determined young player who reminds him of his younger self.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisResurrecting the Champ (2007)
Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Passengers of the Night (2022)
On election night in 1981, celebrations spill out onto the street and there is an air of hope and change throughout Paris. But for Elisabeth, her marriage is coming to an end and she will now have to support herself and her two teenage children. She finds work at a late-night radio show and encounters a troubled teenager named Talulah whom she invites into her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCéline (1992)
After the death of her father, 22-year-old Céline inherits most of his estate, but gives it to her stepmother, causing her greedy fiancé to leave her. Following several failed suicide attempts, Céline is hospitalized and comes to the attention of a nurse, Genevieve, who has struggled with depression. Under her personal care, Céline gradually recovers, and the two women grow close.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut of Season (2024)
Mathieu lives in Paris, Alice in a small seaside resort in Western France. He is a famous actor, about to turn fifty. She is a piano teacher in her forties. They were in love fifteen years ago, then separated. Time has passed. They each went their ways and slowly healed. When Mathieu goes try to overcome his melancholia in a thermal spa, he stumbles upon Alice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHeaven Will Wait (2016)
Mélanie, 16 years old, lives with her mother. She likes going to school, her friends, playing the cello, and she wants to change the world. But when she meets a boy on the Internet and falls in love with him, her world changes as she is gradually recruited by Daesh. Sonia is 17 years old, and she almost did something irrevocable to “guarantee” her family a place in paradise. These teenage girls might be called Anaïs, Manon or Leila, and one day they all might go some way down the recruitment process. But can they ever come back from it?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Your Dreams (2026)
Waking up from a dream he can’t seem to forget, Faizan struggles to maintain the newly structured life he’s built for himself, dazed and lost in thought. And as more memories from his past continue to resurface, he soon learns that the nightmarish ones still refuse to let him go.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bird Trap (TBA)
Hala, an 8-year-old girl, lives a difficult life with her brother Amir and their cruel stepmother. To escape her painful reality, Hala retreats into a fantasy world, finding solace from the harshness around her. However, one question continues to haunt her: Do the dead fly?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Love Peru (2025)
In the relentless pursuit of success, a quirky actor leaves behind his closest allies. Alone facing himself, he is struck by a disturbing vision. Off to Peru for a spiritual journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCalling You (2026)
After a middle-aged father falls mysteriously into a coma that transports him to an idealised version of his past, his daughter must do all things necessary to rescue him from an eternal trap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Unchoosing Yourself (2025)
Presenting a short film I made during a 24-hour filmmaking challenge at my university. The theme was "Unchosen Dream," and we had a maximum duration of 5 minutes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Paroxysm (2026)
After a drug deal goes horribly wrong, Celia is pulled into a surreal odyssey of self-discovery. Drifting through a distorted world, she encounters temptation, desire, and paranoia as her sense of self begins to unravel and the line between reality and fantasy begin to blur around her
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bye Bye Glitter (TBA)
Escaping another disappointing party, two inseparable best friends wander the city’s gray underbelly shimmering in glitter, searching for a spark of wonder to jolt them out of their thirties crisis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tout ce qu'il reste d'orange (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Night of Firefly (2026)
While directing a Caravaggio film, a filmmaker is drawn to his lead actor as a romance unfolds among the cast. Heartbroken, he escapes into fantasy, seeing himself as the painter's beloved model as the line between cinema and desire fades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like La ballerine?
The closest matches to La ballerine are Houria (2023), Between Two Worlds (2022) and My Dinner with Hervé (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after La ballerine?
Start with Houria (2023), the closest match to La ballerine.
What is the highest-rated movie like La ballerine?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like La ballerine?
Paroxysm (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like La ballerine?
Yes: Houria (2023), Between Two Worlds (2022) and Polina (2016).
How are movies similar to La ballerine chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside La ballerine, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.