Movies like The Spirit Within (1990)
The best movies like The Spirit Within (1990) are Baraka (1992), Killer: A Journal of Murder (1996) and Starred Up (2014). If The Spirit Within hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBaraka (1992)8.2/10 from 735 votes
- NewestBlue Miracle (2021)Released 2021
Baraka (1992)
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKiller: A Journal of Murder (1996)
Carl Panzram is sent to Leavenworth Prison for burglary. While there, he is brutally beaten by a guard. Neophyte guard Henry Lesser feels sympathy for Panzram, befriends him, and gets him to write his life story. Lesser learns that Panzram's past is much more violent than he thought, but also that he's capable of being a much better person than the rest of the prison staff believes - or so Lesser thinks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisStarred Up (2014)
19-year-old Eric, arrogant and ultra-violent, is prematurely transferred to the same adult prison facility as his estranged father. As his explosive temper quickly finds him enemies in both prison authorities and fellow inmates — and his already volatile relationship with his father is pushed past breaking point — Eric is approached by a volunteer psychotherapist, who runs an anger management group for prisoners. Torn between gang politics, prison corruption, and a glimmer of something better, Eric finds himself in a fight for his own life, unsure if his own father is there to protect him or join in punishing him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTime (2020)
Fox Rich, indomitable matriarch and modern-day abolitionist, strives to keep her family together while fighting for the release of her incarcerated husband. An intimate, epic, and unconventional love story, filmed over two decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mustang (2019)
While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalk to Me (2007)
The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJamesy Boy (2014)
Based on the true story of teenager James Burns who goes from a suburban street gang to a maximum-security prison cell surrounded by hardened criminals. He turns his life around in prison thanks to the unexpected friendship he forms with a convicted murderer who becomes his mentor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSongs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEllie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt) (2020)
School captain Ellie is seriously crushing on her rebellious classmate Abbie. Determined to ask her first love to the year 12 formal, Ellie devises a plan to go public with the invitation but before she can go through with it, her dead aunt Tara reappears from beyond the grave. Believing she's been brought back from the dead to be Ellie's fairy godmother, Tara dishes out unwanted dating advice based on her life as an out lesbian in the '80s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhale Rider (2003)
A contemporary story of love, rejection, and triumph as a young Māori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDog Pound (2010)
Three juvenile delinquents arrive at a correctional center and are put under the care of an experienced guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLemonade (2016)
The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlue Miracle (2021)
To save their cash-strapped orphanage, a guardian and his kids partner with a washed-up boat captain for a chance to win a lucrative fishing competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Longest Yard (1974)
A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release, but he is also concerned about the inmates' lack of self-esteem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGridiron Gang (2006)
Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBut I'm a Cheerleader (2000)
Megan is an all-American girl. A cheerleader. She has a boyfriend. But Megan doesn't like kissing her boyfriend very much. And she's pretty touchy with her cheerleader friends. Her conservative parents worry that she must be a lesbian and send her off to "sexual redirection" school, where she must, with other lesbians and gays learn how to be straight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGet the Gringo (2012)
A career criminal nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoing Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
The film profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Your Eyes (2014)
Two seemingly unconnected souls from different corners of the United States make a telepathic bond that allows them to see, hear, and feel the other's experiences, creating a connection that cannot be broken.
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 The Spirit Within?
The closest matches to The Spirit Within are Baraka (1992), Killer: A Journal of Murder (1996) and Starred Up (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Spirit Within?
Start with Baraka (1992), the closest match to The Spirit Within.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Spirit Within?
Baraka (1992), rated 8.2/10 by 735 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Spirit Within?
Blue Miracle (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Spirit Within?
Yes: Baraka (1992), Killer: A Journal of Murder (1996) and Starred Up (2014).
How are movies similar to The Spirit Within chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Spirit Within, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.