Movies like The Ephemeral (2020)
The best movies like The Ephemeral (2020) are Memories of a Teenager (2019), My Brother the Devil (2012) and Pretty Boy (2015). If The Ephemeral hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Little Matchgirl (2006)7.4/10 from 204 votes
- NewestUntil the End of the World (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishMemories of a Teenager (2019)Also in Spanish
Memories of a Teenager (2019)
After the suicide of his best friend and the fire of a local dance called Cromañón, including recitals, illegal parties in an abandoned warehouse and high school, a year passes by in the life of Zabo who writes everything he feels and lives in his blog, "Memories of a teenager".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Boy (2015)
Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. "Pretty Boy" is a coming of age story of a young bullied teen, Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his father finds some questionable magazines in his room, this devout Christian will go to any lengths to get his son to find the light and "perform" the way a man should. Sean is introduced to Katie, a prostitute that understands the stigmas of modern society and helps him see the true light that is within him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Is Not Berlin (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Carlos doesn't fit in anywhere, not in his family nor with the friends he has chosen in school. But everything changes when he is invited to a mythical nightclub where he discovers the underground LGBTQ nightlife scene: punk, sexual liberty and drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen of Hard Skin (2019)
Ariel is a good-looking farm boy who lives with his father and sister in a rural part of Buenos Aires province. He has become familiar with sex thanks to Omar, a priest with whom he has a secret affair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil the End of the World (2026)
Manuel's life is upended when Esmeralda, his lost love from 15 years ago, calls unexpectedly. Despite being set to marry another, he rediscovers Esmeralda, and they realize their love transcends time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMartin (Hache) (1997)
After having a nearly fatal drug overdose, 19-year-old Argentine Martin is sent to Madrid, where his film director father lives with his new, younger lover, Alicia, and his bisexual actor friend, Dante.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn the Road (2026)
Veneno, a rebellious young drifter, frequents roadside diners where he sleeps with truck drivers. Urgently needing a ride, he meets Muñeco, a hard-edged driver who keeps to himself. He convinces Muñeco to take him deep into the hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking across the north of Mexico. As they travel together and an unexpected intimacy builds between them, shadows from Veneno’s past resurface, putting both their lives at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Human Voice (2020)
A woman watches time pass beside the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeseo (2013)
Eight short stories of seduction and illicit encounters between lovers, filled with humor and eroticism, which use a circular structure located in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a colonial city of Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnuja (2024)
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlow (1996)
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King of Havana (2015)
Recently escaped from reformatory, Reinaldo struggles to get by in the streets of Havana in the late 90s, one of the worst decades for Cuban society. Hopes, disillusionment, rum, good humor and above all hunger, accompany him in his wanderings, until he meets Magda and Yunisleidy, survivors like himself. In one or the other's arms, he will try to escape the material and moral misery surrounding him, living love, passion, tenderness and uninhibited sex to the limit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Little Matchgirl (2006)
An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Father's Miracle (2025)
After being falsely accused of a terrible crime, Hector, a man with a neurological disability, goes to a secret prison. His goodness conquers the prisoners, who plan to prove their innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSee Me Live (2018)
Student Bex is thrust into a difficult situation after a one-night stand leads to an online altercation that will change her life forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ozon: Remastered & Uncut (2022)
He thrilled you with 'Swimming Pool', tickled you with '8 Women' and beguiled you with 'Young and Beautiful'. Dive into the the erotic twists and transgressive turns of the early short films of auteur director François Ozon. The 5 short films are: A Summer Dress [Une robe d'été] (1996); X2000 (1998); Truth or Dare [Action vérité] (1994); See the Sea [Regarde la mer] (1997); Little Death [La petite mort] (1995).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
It's Nice When People Take the Time to Say Goodbye (2023)
Three siblings return to their hometown for the funeral of their beloved uncle Bernard with one hope - to get through the day without any mention of their estranged mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Only Good Things (2025)
Catalão, Brazil, 1984. The rural region of Batalha dos Neves is made up of large crop pastures, a few farms and divided in half by the São Marcos River. Antonio lives alone and isolated taking care of his small farm until the day he encounters Marcelo, a lonely motorcycler who suffers an accident crossing the region. Antonio takes care of Marcelo’s wounds. The two fall in love and live a story that transforms, destabilizes, and causes ruptures in each of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Gay Agenda 26 (2024)
In this anthology of shorts, the phrase “Gay Agenda” is reclaimed from the religious right and transformed into a celebration of gay culture. Sit back and enjoy “The Carer,” “Into the Storm,” and “Floating Melon.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gracie Turns 15 (TBA)
Gracie's 15th birthday lunch with her family takes a turn after she mistakenly eats one of her mother's edibles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Remains (2013)
Itamar and Thomas share a bed, walls, an apartment and electricity bills. Thomas commands, manages, and criticizes; Itamar is silent and listens. Between the apartment walls, frustration and loneliness unfold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Naughty Boys (1984)
After debuting in 1983 with Casta Diva, Eric de Kuyper immediately made Naughty Boys in 1984, a film that he himself described as “a sad musical comedy” in which he pays homage to the old musicals and comedies. The film is set in an unspecified time, somewhere between both World Wars in a large English country house. Six gentlemen in dinner jackets try to maintain the atmosphere of a party that has just ended. Naughty Boys was the second film De Kuyper made with friends and students, but here for the first time they were joined by a “professional” actress, Linda Polan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pink Ulysses (1990)
A homoerotic exploration of the Odyssey mixing black and white, color, and old film clips.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Ephemeral?
The closest matches to The Ephemeral are Memories of a Teenager (2019), My Brother the Devil (2012) and Pretty Boy (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Ephemeral?
Start with Memories of a Teenager (2019), the closest match to The Ephemeral.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Ephemeral?
The Little Matchgirl (2006), rated 7.4/10 by 204 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Ephemeral?
Until the End of the World (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Ephemeral?
Yes: Memories of a Teenager (2019), This Is Not Berlin (2019) and Men of Hard Skin (2019).
How are movies similar to The Ephemeral chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Ephemeral, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.