Movies like A Short Essay on Men (2019)
The best movies like A Short Essay on Men (2019) are Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), Looking for Richard (1996) and Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018). If A Short Essay on Men hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Am Heath Ledger (2017)7.4/10 from 233 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Come 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 thisLooking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGilbert (2017)
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChris Brown: Welcome to My Life (2017)
This compelling Documentary moves beyond the spotlight and past the attention-grabbing headlines to give pop superstar Chris Brown a chance to tell his own story. New interviews with the international phenomenon reveal long-awaited answers about his passion for making music, his tumultuous and much publicized relationships, and the pitfalls of coming of age in the public eye. Also included is new concert footage, behind-the-scenes access, and special interviews from Usher, Jennifer Lopez, DJ Khaled, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx and others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 this28 Up (1985)
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhitney: Can I Be Me (2017)
The life and tragic death of Whitney Houston.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 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 thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUnknown Number: The High School Catfish (2025)
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
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 thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bridge (2006)
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHanging by a Thread (2025)
Filmmaker Tobias Hermansen has battled depression for years, facing moments of darkness that shaped his perspective on life. Through his struggles, he discovered the power of storytelling as both an escape and a means of self-expression. Now, he channels his personal experiences into powerful, deeply emotional films that illuminate mental health and human resilience, inspiring others through storytelling.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Suicide (2001)
A look at the growing epidemic of suicide in the America. It looks at those effected by suicide and talks to people who have attempted suicide. It also talks to service professionals (EMT crews, workers at suicide hot-lines, and psychologists) who are attempting to confront this problem.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Documents on Giuseppe Pinelli (1970)
The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, after being stopped following the Piazza Fontana bombing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Viikinki (2022)
Documentary film about Tony Halme, masculinity and populism. The film follows how Tony Halme created a mythical, highly masculine freestyle wrestling character, The Viking, who gained fame both in the ring and in the public eye and eventually became captivated by it. With his brash speeches, Halme fired the starting shot for the rise of the Finns Party. The voice of a forgotten section of the population, a protest against the ruling elite, were the building blocks of Halme's popularity. Halme's great popularity has served as a good example of a populist figure, admired within the deep ranks of the nation, who comes from outside the political elite and changes the direction of politics. Also, despite - or perhaps because of - his openly racist statements, he was part of changing the political climate in Finland to a more acrimonious one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Mechanics of Fluids (2022)
In 2018, a user called AnathematicAnarchist published a suicide note in an online forum for incels – a subculture of heterosexual men whose self-pity, misogyny and fantasies of violence dominate the internet in many places and trigger offline actions in some. Did he really take his own life? Is America responsible for his death, as he claims in his text? A search for clues in the darkest corners of the net, an essay about pain and loneliness in the age of algorithms.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Marching in the Dark (2024)
In a drought-struck region in India, suffering from climate change and a high suicide rate amongst farmers, a group of resilient women farmers, who recently lost their husbands, is coming together with a local psychologist to learn counselling and help others in grief.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Shannon Amen (2019)
Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Satan in the Suburbs (2000)
Satan in the Suburbs tells the shocking story of a grisly ritualistic murder in the quiet bedroom community of Northport, Long Island in the summer of 1984. The killing, it soon emerged, was linked to a teen satanic cult. Perhaps more disturbing than the details of the murder itself was the revelation of a conspiracy of silence among the town's teenagers, many of whom had been aware of the, e killing in the two weeks before an anonymous call finally tipped off local police. 17- year-old Ricky Kasso was arrested and confessed to the crime; five days later, he hung himself in his holding cell. Kasso's friend Jimmy Troiano also. confessed, but was acquitted after jurors learned that he was beaten by local police. The murder shocked the local community and reverberated nationally, with some uninformed observers rushing to scapegoat rock music as the cause.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Stunned, I Remain Alert (2020)
Journalist Dermi Azevedo has never stopped fighting for human rights and now, three decades after the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, he's witnessing the return of those same practices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Short Essay on Men?
The closest matches to A Short Essay on Men are Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), Looking for Richard (1996) and Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Short Essay on Men?
Start with Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), the closest match to A Short Essay on Men.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Short Essay on Men?
I Am Heath Ledger (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Short Essay on Men?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Short Essay on Men?
Yes: Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), Looking for Richard (1996) and Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018).
How are movies similar to A Short Essay on Men chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Short Essay on Men, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.