Movies like Bitter Thorns (1993)
The best movies like Bitter Thorns (1993) are The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019), His House (2020) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006). If Bitter Thorns hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Bitter Thorns
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Forge (2024)8.2/10 from 365 votes
- NewestThe Forge (2024)Released 2024
The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019)
Sudan, East Africa, 1980. A team of Israeli Mossad agents plans to rescue and transfer thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. To do so, and to avoid raising suspicions from the inquisitive and ruthless authorities, they establish as a cover a fake diving resort by the Red Sea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHis House (2020)
After making a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, a young refugee couple struggle to adjust to their new life in a small English town that has an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Lie (2014)
A young refugee of the Sudanese Civil War who wins a lottery for relocation to the United States with three other lost boys. Encountering the modern world for the first time, they develop an unlikely friendship with a brash American woman assigned to help them, but the young man struggles to adjust to this new life and his feelings of guilt about the brother he left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeptembers of Shiraz (2015)
In this adaptation of the critically acclaimed debut novel by Iranian American author Dalia Sofer, a secular Jewish family is caught up in the maelstrom of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCinderella Man (2005)
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMachine Gun Preacher (2011)
The true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker who finds God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been kidnapped and pressed into duty as soldiers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Wishes (1995)
While Jane Holman is driving with her two sons, she accidentally runs into a drifter, Jack McCloud, who breaks his leg. Being responsible, Jane invites Jack, and his dog, to stay at her home until his leg has healed. Jack struggles to adapt their lifestyle, and finds himself loved by the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sheltering Sky (1990)
An American couple drift toward emptiness in postwar North Africa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegends of the Hidden Temple (2016)
Three siblings who break away from a lackluster temple tour in a jungle finds themselves immersed in a real-life mission comprised of obstacles that they must complete in order to escape alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Forge (2024)
19 year old Isaiah Wright lives for basketball and video games. A year out of high school, he has no job, no plans, and no idea how to be a man. At odds with his single mother Cynthia, Isaiah is given an ultimatum – to step up or move out. Feeling the pull from his friends and the push from his mom, Isaiah is hired by Moore Fitness, unaware of how the owner will personally impact his life. With the prayers of his mother and unexpected guidance from his new mentor, Isaiah is forced to deal with his past, sacrifice his selfishness and discover how God might have a greater purpose for his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMarcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)
Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. When a documentarian discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, his resulting short film brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCauseway (2022)
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (2024)
Led by Donna and Reverend W.C. Martin, 22 families from a rural Black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt 77 of the most difficult-to-place kids in the foster system and kickstart a movement in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod Bless the Broken Road (2018)
The story of a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter in his absence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Love Song (2022)
Two childhood sweethearts, now both widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Old Oak (2023)
A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the town when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses in the community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMississippi Masala (1991)
Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their Uganda home, twentysomething Mina finds herself co-operating a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. Her passionate romance with charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African-American communities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shack (2017)
A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesert Flower (2009)
The autobiography of a Somalian nomad who was sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bitter Thorns?
The closest matches to Bitter Thorns are The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019), His House (2020) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bitter Thorns?
Start with The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019), the closest match to Bitter Thorns.
What is the highest-rated movie like Bitter Thorns?
The Forge (2024), rated 8.2/10 by 365 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bitter Thorns?
The Forge (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Bitter Thorns?
Yes: The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019), His House (2020) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006).
How are movies similar to Bitter Thorns chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bitter Thorns, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.