Movies like Goddess of the Fireflies (2020)
The best movies like Goddess of the Fireflies (2020) are 20th Century Women (2016), Daddy Longlegs (2010) and And Their Children After Them (2024). If Goddess of the Fireflies hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMommy (2014)8.2/10 from 2,925 votes
- NewestBeginnings (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchAnd Their Children After Them (2024)Also in French
20th Century Women (2016)
In 1979 Santa Barbara, California, Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour – to help with Jamie's upbringing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd Their Children After Them (2024)
In eastern France, two teenage cousins have the summer of their lives when they paddle a purloined canoe to the far shore of a lake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen (2003)
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMommy (2014)
A peculiar neighbor offers hope to a recent widow who is struggling to raise a teenager who is unpredictable and, sometimes, violent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFirstborn (1984)
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCustody (2018)
Miriam and Antoine have recently separated. While she’s willing to permit their 17-year-old daughter Josephine to decide living arrangements for herself, Miriam is desperate to keep her youngest, 11-year-old Julien, away from his father. But the magistrate rules in favour of joint custody, and suddenly the boy is thrown directly into the middle of an escalating parental conflict, where it seems inevitable that sides must be chosen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Florida Project (2017)
The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFish Tank (2009)
Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kingdom (2024)
Lesia, a teenager, is taken by a man to a villa where her fugitive father and his men are hiding. A war erupts, leading to death and a chase where father and daughter bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
In a rural Utah town, David, a father of four, grapples with his separation from wife Nikki as she pursues a new relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Summer (2023)
One summer, a French teenager who has been living with his mother in the city moves in with his estranged father’s family in the countryside, where he clashes with his stepmother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fallout (2021)
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAmerican Beauty (1999)
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWinter Boy (2022)
Lucas is a 17-year-old gay teenager coping with the sudden and unexpected death of his father in an accident that may or may not have been suicide. He views his life as a wild animal in need of taming. Between a brother settled in Paris and a mother with whom he now lives alone, Lucas will have to fight to rediscover hope and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl with a Bracelet (2020)
Lise (16 years old) is accused of murdering her best friend. As the trial starts, her parents stand right by her side. But once her secret life is revealed in court, the truth becomes indistinguishable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSliding Doors (1998)
Helen, a London ad executive, is fired from her job and rushes out to catch a train, but, as she runs down, her life suddenly splits off. In one version she catches the train; in the second, she misses it. Her whole life changes in that one second, and the rest of the film depicts what happens in each scenario.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolo for Clarinet (1998)
Berlin, Germany. A cruel murder took place in an appartment building. Somebody bit off quite a piece of the victim's penis, who then, of course, lost a lot of blood, before being struck down at the head. Leading investigator Bernhard Kominka, being in stress due to a mentally retarded son and a problematic wife, seems to be the only one to see a lady in a red coat. After a while, his theory of her being the murderer may prove to be true, but the Cop also kind of fell in love with this new, interesting person in both of his lives: professional and private as well. Borders dissolve. His decision may be disastrous in any way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Walk to Remember (2002)
When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's minister. Jamie has a "to-do" list for her life, as well as a very big secret she must keep from Landon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeginnings (2025)
Ane and Thomas are on the verge of being divorced when Ane suffers a stroke, forcing them to stay together and postpone telling their children about the split. Faced with this new reality, the two find hope where they least expect it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Grow Up (TBA)
Sophie is a small-town teenager taking an art scholarship program at Wyatt University in the summer. This summer will change Sophie's life forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bringing Down the House (2003)
Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating and lucks out when he starts chatting with a fellow lawyer. The two agree to meet in the flesh, but the woman he meets — an escaped African-American convict named Charlene — is not what he expected. Peter is freaked out, but Charlene tries to convince him to take her case and prove her innocence. Along the way, she wreaks havoc on his middle-class life as he gets a lesson in learning to lighten up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrazy/Beautiful (2001)
At Pacific Palisades High, a poor Latino falls hard for a troubled girl from the affluent neighborhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnything Else (2003)
Jerry Falk, an aspiring writer in New York, falls in love at first sight with a free-spirited young woman named Amanda. He has heard the phrase that life is like "anything else," but soon he finds that life with the unpredictable Amanda isn't like anything else at all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRaspberry Magic (2010)
An eleven-year-old science enthusiast turns her raspberry-growing project into an emotional mission to reunite her family after her father leaves and her mother falls into depression.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Goddess of the Fireflies?
The closest matches to Goddess of the Fireflies are 20th Century Women (2016), Daddy Longlegs (2010) and And Their Children After Them (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Goddess of the Fireflies?
Start with 20th Century Women (2016), the closest match to Goddess of the Fireflies.
What is the highest-rated movie like Goddess of the Fireflies?
Mommy (2014), rated 8.2/10 by 2,925 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Goddess of the Fireflies?
Beginnings (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Goddess of the Fireflies?
Yes: And Their Children After Them (2024), Mommy (2014) and Custody (2018).
How are movies similar to Goddess of the Fireflies chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Goddess of the Fireflies, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.