Movies like Parallel Mothers (2021)
The best movies like Parallel Mothers (2021) are The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), If These Walls Could Talk (1996) and JOY (2024). If Parallel Mothers hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedForrest Gump (1994)8.5/10 from 30,857 votes
- NewestFireflies at El Mozote (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishThe Spirit of the Beehive (1973)Also in Spanish
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
In 1940, in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, a young girl living on the Castilian plain is haunted after attending a screening of James Whale's 1931 film Frankenstein and hearing from her sister that the monster is not dead, instead existing as a spirit inhabiting a nearby barn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf These Walls Could Talk (1996)
A powerful, intimate portrait of three women living in the same house during different eras who all face unplanned pregnancies. The vignettes follow a recently widowed nurse struggling to take control of her life in the early 50s, a mother of four balancing raising a family and maintaining a career in the 70s, and a student making a difficult decision with the help of one woman that will change the course of both their lives in the 90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJOY (2024)
A young nurse, a visionary scientist and an innovative surgeon face opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment, in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby’, Louise Joy Brown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Milk (2025)
Rose and her daughter Sofia travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the shamanic Dr. Gomez, a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair. But in the sultry atmosphere of this sun-bleached town Sofia, who has been trapped by her mother’s illness all her life, finally starts to shed her inhibitions, enticed by the persuasive charms of enigmatic traveller Ingrid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFreedomfighters (1996)
At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the nun Maria is forced to flee her convent. She takes refuge in a brothel, until it is liberated by a woman's anarchist group. Maria joins the group and eventually goes to the front. The women's group faces the problems of fighting not only the nationalists, but also factions on the left seeking to impose a more traditional military structure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 13 Roses (2007)
True story of thirteen totally normal young women that suffered harsh questioning and were put in prison under made up charges of helping the rebellion against Franco back in the 1940s. Despite of their innocence, the thirteen were soon executed without even a trace of evidence of any wrong doing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHope and Glory (1987)
A middle-aged man recalls his childhood growing up in and around London during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLullaby (2022)
Amaia has just become a mother, and the challenge is even more significant than she imagined. So when her partner has to leave for several weeks because of his job, she decides to spend time with her parents in a lovely coastal village in the Basque Country and hopefully share the responsibility of looking after her baby. However, she forgot that even when one becomes a parent, one never stops being a daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChile '76 (2022)
Chile, 1976. Carmen heads off to her beach house. When the family priest asks her to take care of a young man he is sheltering in secret, Carmen steps onto unexplored territories, away from the quiet life she is used to.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadrid, 1987 (2012)
In 1987 Madrid, the unexpected encounter between a seasoned journalist and a young student leads to a profound exploration of love, desire, politics, power, and discovery of each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorma Rae (1979)
Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMother (2019)
Ten years have gone by since Elena's six-year old son has disappeared. The last thing she heard of him was a phone call he gave her, saying that he was lost on a beach in France and couldn't find his father. Nowadays, Elena lives on this same beach and manages a restaurant. She is finally beginning to emerge from this tragic episode when she meets a French teenager who strongly reminds her of her lost son. The two of them will embark on a relationship which will sow chaos and distrust around them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Jane (2022)
A married woman with an unwanted pregnancy lives in a time in America where she can't get a legal abortion and works with a group of suburban women to find help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dig (2021)
As WWII looms, a wealthy widow hires an amateur archaeologist to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain's past resonate in the face of its uncertain future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Taste of Honey (1961)
While out to avoid spending time with her narcissistic and promiscuous mother, sixteen-year-old Jo has a brief affair that leaves her pregnant and abandoned. When her mother remarries, Jo's only support becomes her friend Geoffrey, a homosexual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFireflies at El Mozote (2025)
A boy seeks revenge after surviving El Mozote massacre in El Salvador, where government forces killed his family and destroyed his village - the deadliest civilian massacre in modern Latin America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDouble Mommy (2016)
After taking a break for the summer before their senior year, Ryan and Jess rekindle their relationship, and find out that Jess is pregnant with twins. When Ryan's mother demands a paternity test, they find out that Ryan is only the father of one baby... The other father is Ryan's best friend Brent, who Ryan discovers date-raped Jess at a party over the summer. With college recruiters and an overbearing father looming over Brent's head, he will stop at nothing to make sure that he clears his name--even if it means getting rid of Jess and her babies!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUndercover (2024)
Basque Country, Spain, late nineties. A young policewoman manages to infiltrate the ruthless terrorist gang ETA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSweetness in the Belly (2019)
Orphaned in Africa as a child, Lilly escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war in Ethiopia. Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families. But as her friend Amina discovers, Lilly's mission isn't purely selfless: a passionate lost love affair is revealed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung Adam (2003)
A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBed and Board (1970)
Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers and giving violin lessons while Antoine fitfully works on his long-gestating novel. As Christine becomes pregnant with the couple's first child, Antoine finds himself enraptured with a young Japanese beauty. The complications change the course of their relationship forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKüçük Sevgilim (1971)
Lale, who lost her parents at a young age and lives with her sister Nevin, is studying at medical school. Murat, a renowned brain surgeon, arrives at Lale's school as a teacher. All the girls at school have their eyes on Murat. However, the young man falls for Lale. Murat does everything he can to win Lale's trust and eventually wins her heart. The couple plans to get married after graduation. However, Nevin's illness complicates matters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Primrose Path (1931)
A naive high school girl falls for the school's star football player. Her ignorance in the matters of sex leads to pregnancy and heartbreak.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kingdom of Strangers (2022)
On the Pacific coast of Los Angeles, Ali and Yaffa struggle to remember the Arab Mediterranean cities they have left behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTalk to Her (2002)
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStork Staring Mad (1994)
A married couple, unable to conceive, search for a male donor, but jealousy creates problems when the husband spies on his wife while posing as her brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Forrest Gump (1994)
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Sheets Must Be Silk (2011)
A young photographer doesn't know it, but he is about to take one of the worlds beloved photos. During the course of the evening, two people find love encapsulated in a moment. But love like this was never meant to be, unless it is captured forever in time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Parallel Mothers?
The closest matches to Parallel Mothers are The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), If These Walls Could Talk (1996) and JOY (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Parallel Mothers?
Start with The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), the closest match to Parallel Mothers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Parallel Mothers?
Forrest Gump (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 30,857 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Parallel Mothers?
Fireflies at El Mozote (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Parallel Mothers?
Yes: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), Freedomfighters (1996) and The 13 Roses (2007).
How are movies similar to Parallel Mothers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Parallel Mothers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.