Movies like The Perfect Absent (2019)
The best movies like The Perfect Absent (2019) are Midaq Alley (1995), Hateship Loveship (2014) and Dead for a Dollar (2022). If The Perfect Absent hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmores Perros (2000)7.7/10 from 3,054 votes
- NewestLove Lies Bleeding (2024)Released 2024
- In SpanishMidaq Alley (1995)Also in Spanish
Midaq Alley (1995)
Heated tempers, frustrated desires and dashed hopes plague a diverse group of individuals whose lives cross paths in Mexico City. There is the bar-owner's son, Chava, who yearns to emigrate to America. A poor barber, Abel, is madly in love with the gorgeous Alma, who eventually becomes a high-class prostitute. Finally, there is Susanita, the desperate spinster who pursues many love affairs in hopes of finding a husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHateship Loveship (2014)
A shy caretaker believes that the father of her teenage charge is falling in love with her, unaware that she is actually the victim of the girl's prank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead for a Dollar (2022)
In 1897, veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund is deep into Mexico where he encounters professional gambler and outlaw Joe Cribbens — a sworn enemy he sent to prison years before. Max is on a mission to find and return Rachel Kidd, the wife of a wealthy businessman, who as the story is told to Max, has been abducted by Buffalo Soldier Elijah Jones. Max is ultimately faced with a showdown to save honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBattle in Heaven (2005)
Set in Mexico City, Carlos Reygadas's sexually explicit drama centers on a man in turmoil over his past actions. Chauffer Marcos feels compelled to reveal a dark secret to his boss's daughter, Ana, a wealthy woman who works as a prostitute just for the thrill of it. Marcos confesses that he and his wife committed a crime that ended in horrible tragedy. Haunted by his past, Marcos searches for redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisLive Flesh (1997)
When Victor attempts to seduce Elena, all he gets for his trouble is a one-way, six-year ticket to prison, where he concentrates on strengthening his mind, his body... and his desire for vengeance on the man who put him there. After his release and still madly in love with her, Victor will stop at nothing to win her over even if means revenge, for Elena has married David, the cop who sent him to prison!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)
Two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoma (2018)
In 1970s Mexico City, two domestic workers help a mother of four while her husband is away for an extended period of time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmores Perros (2000)
A fatalistic car crash in Mexico city sets off a chain of events in the lives of three people: a supermodel, a young man wanting to run off with his sister-in-law, and a homeless man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisY Tu Mamá También (2001)
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLike Water for Chocolate (1992)
Tita is passionately in love with Pedro, but her controlling mother forbids her from marrying him. When Pedro marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares, infecting all who eat it with her intense heartbreak.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSecret Beyond the Door (1947)
After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in Red (1984)
When a happily married family man, who would never consider an affair, meets a beautiful woman in red, he is totally infatuated and desperate to make her acquaintance. However, as he tries out various schemes to sneak out to meet her, he realizes that adultery is not quite as easy as it looks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hitch-Hiker (1953)
Roy and Gilbert's fishing trip takes a terrifying turn when the hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a sociopath on the run from the law. He's killed before, and he lets the two know that as soon as they're no longer useful, he'll kill again. The two friends plot an escape, but the hitchhiker's peculiar physical affliction, an eye that never closes even when he sleeps, makes it impossible for them to tell when they can make a break for it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRosa's Wedding (2020)
Rosa is about to turn 45 and realises that she's always lived her life to serve everyone else. So she decides to leave it all behind, take charge of her life and fulfil her dream of starting her own business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Lies Bleeding (2024)
Reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
SnoozefestMovies like thisHis Kind of Woman (1951)
Career gambler Dan Milner agrees to a $50,000 deal to leave the USA for Mexico, only to find himself entangled with fellow guests at a luxurious resort and suspecting that the man who hired him may be the deported crime boss Nick Ferraro aiming to re-enter to the USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElegy (2008)
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSex and Lucía (2001)
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid who seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island after the loss of her longtime boyfriend. Amidst the fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to piece together the dark corners of her past relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeatwave (2022)
A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Perfect Absent?
The closest matches to The Perfect Absent are Midaq Alley (1995), Hateship Loveship (2014) and Dead for a Dollar (2022). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Perfect Absent?
Start with Midaq Alley (1995), the closest match to The Perfect Absent.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Perfect Absent?
Amores Perros (2000), rated 7.7/10 by 3,054 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Perfect Absent?
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Perfect Absent?
Yes: Midaq Alley (1995), Battle in Heaven (2005) and Live Flesh (1997).
How are movies similar to The Perfect Absent chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Perfect Absent, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.