Movies like Papa (2002)
The best movies like Papa (2002) are Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020), Heart of a Dog (2015) and Come See Me in the Good Light (2025). If Papa hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBillie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021)8.2/10 from 352 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)
With this inventive portrait, director Kirsten Johnson seeks a way to keep her 86-year-old father alive forever. Utilizing moviemaking magic and her family’s dark humor, she celebrates Dr. Dick Johnson’s last years by staging fantasies of death and beyond. Together, dad and daughter confront the great inevitability awaiting us all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeart of a Dog (2015)
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVal (2021)
For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood's most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors, has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Art of the Steal (2010)
A gripping tale of intrigue and mystery in the art world, this film traces the history of a collection of Post-Impressionist paintings - worth billions - which became the subject of a power struggle after the death of its owner. Dr. Albert Barnes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtremis (2016)
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMore Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)
Retrospective documentary about the making of the horror cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBukowski: Born Into This (2003)
Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of John), Bono, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in grainy black and white by Bukowski’s friend, Taylor Hackford, due to lack of funding, the old films edited into this movie paint Bukowski’s life of boozing and brawling romantically, securing Bukowski’s legendary status.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCutie and the Boxer (2013)
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, this film is constructed in a form that allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of Us (2017)
Penetrating the insular world of New York's Hasidic community, focusing on three individuals driven to break away despite threats of retaliation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Other Side of the Wall (2017)
Honduran immigrants living in Mexico, teenage siblings Rocío and Ale must take over care of their two younger siblings after their mother is sentenced to prison on dubious grounds. Tensions grow between the pair as the decision must be made on whether to stay together in Mexico or split the family up to cross into the US to work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Day After (TBA)
A terrorist attack hits Shira's homeland shortly after she moves to the United States. Picking up a camera, she looks for ways to cope with the tragedy, thousands of miles away from those she loves and lost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Homes We Carry (2022)
Hammer and compass in Mozambique. We see a GDR flag waved at a rally in Maputo, carried by "Madgermanes", contract workers who once toiled in eastern Germany. Some of them founded families there, like Eulidio. His daughter Sarah grows up with her mother in Berlin. The relationship with her "second home" is slow in growing, partly thanks to Luana, Sarah's baby, whose father, Eduardo is also from Mozambique.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
This Beggar's Description (2006)
It's a sensitive, moving doc chronicling the life of Tétrault's brother Philip , a Montreal poet, musician and diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. A promising athlete as a child, Philip began experiencing mood swings in his early 20s. His extended family, including his daughter, share their conflicted feelings love, guilt, shame, anger with the camera. They want to make sure he's safe, but how much can they take?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
An Oscar nominated documentary about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Jarecki interviews people from different sides of this tragic story and raises the question of whether they were rightfully tried when they claim they were innocent and there was never any evidence against them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoreen (2024)
A heartfelt look at the life of a wonderful person and the legacy she has left behind, looking into her love, patience, kindness and the grief of her passing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021)
This documentary offers a deeply intimate look at extraordinary teenager Billie Eilish. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler follows her journey on the road, onstage, and at home with her family as the writing and recording of her debut album changes her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAnother World (1948)
St. Ives and the painters based in the town, and the surrounding areas, are showcased in this fascinating documentary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Timuti (2012)
In this short film, artist Jobie Weetaluktuk turns his gaze on his family and the power of ritual through the story of a young woman and her unplanned child. In Inukjuak, an Inuit community in the Eastern Arctic, a baby boy has come into the world and they call him Timuti, a name that recurs across generations of his people, evoking other Timutis, alive and dead, who will nourish his spirit and shape his destiny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007)
Documentary about brother and sister duo The Carpenters, one of the biggest-selling pop acts of the 1970s, but one with a destructive and complex secret that ended in tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Papa?
The closest matches to Papa are Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020), Heart of a Dog (2015) and Come See Me in the Good Light (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Papa?
Start with Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020), the closest match to Papa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Papa?
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021), rated 8.2/10 by 352 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Papa?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Papa?
Yes: Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020), Heart of a Dog (2015) and Come See Me in the Good Light (2025).
How are movies similar to Papa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Papa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.