Movies like Maria Del Norte (2012)
The best movies like Maria Del Norte (2012) are Born in East L.A. (1987), Carmen (2023) and The Mexican (2001). If Maria Del Norte hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMan on Fire (2004)7.5/10 from 6,012 votes
- NewestOne Battle After Another (2025)Released 2025
Born in East L.A. (1987)
Rudy, an American of Hispanic descent, whose south-of-the-border looks show him no mercy during an immigration raid in a migrant worker factory. As his luck goes, he is caught with neither money nor his ID and is deported to Mexico - without speaking a word of Spanish!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarmen (2023)
A young and fiercely independent woman, Carmen, is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother. She survives an illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard. When the border guard and his patrol partner Aidan become embroiled in a deadly standoff, the pair is forced to escape together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mexican (2001)
Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Border (1982)
A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Too Deep (1999)
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo One Gets Out Alive (2021)
An immigrant in search of the American dream is forced to take a room in a boarding house and soon finds herself in a nightmare from which she can't escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOne Battle After Another (2025)
Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Made (2017)
The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brother from Another Planet (1984)
A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMachete (2010)
After being set-up and betrayed by the man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDriven (2019)
FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColors (1988)
A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan on Fire (2004)
Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008)
A Texas cop battles ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Pretty Things (2002)
An undocumented immigrant finds a human heart in one of the toilets of the west London hotel where he works with other undocumented immigrants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder Fire (2025)
Story unfolds in the scorching heat of the Mexico border, where rival drug dealers Griff and Abbott arrive at a remote drop point for a routine drug deal. But when the exchange goes down, both reveal undercover badges — Griff is FBI, Abbott is DEA — and neither knew they were working the same case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Missing (2003)
When rancher and single mother of two Maggie Gilkeson sees her teenage daughter, Lily, kidnapped by Apache rebels, she reluctantly accepts the help of her estranged father, Samuel, in tracking down the kidnappers. Along the way, the two must learn to reconcile the past and work together if they are going to have any hope of getting Lily back before she is taken over the border and forced to become a prostitute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTraining Day (2001)
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWanted Man (2024)
Follows a police officer who must retrieve an eyewitness and escort her after a cartel shooting leaves several DEA agents dead, but then he must decide who to trust when they discover that the attack was executed by American forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.
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 Maria Del Norte?
The closest matches to Maria Del Norte are Born in East L.A. (1987), Carmen (2023) and The Mexican (2001). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Maria Del Norte?
Start with Born in East L.A. (1987), the closest match to Maria Del Norte.
What is the highest-rated movie like Maria Del Norte?
Man on Fire (2004), rated 7.5/10 by 6,012 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Maria Del Norte?
One Battle After Another (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Maria Del Norte?
Yes: Born in East L.A. (1987), Carmen (2023) and The Mexican (2001).
How are movies similar to Maria Del Norte chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Maria Del Norte, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.