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Movies like The Essential Spark of Jewishness (1912)

The best movies like The Essential Spark of Jewishness (1912) are Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Holy Lands (2019). If The Essential Spark of Jewishness hooked you with its drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)

    A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  2. What Maisie Knew (2013)

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  3. Holy Lands (2019)

    When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. Strange Weather (2016)

    Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  5. Most (2003)

    A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. Magpie (2024)

    A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)

    In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  8. Skin (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

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  9. Hungry 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

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  10. Embattled (2020)

    The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  11. The Safety of Objects (2002)

    In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  12. The Young One (1960)

    A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. A Dry White Season (1989)

    During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  14. Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)

    Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  15. The Visit (1964)

    Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. The Attack (2012)

    An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  17. The Color of Friendship (2000)

    Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. The Padre (2018)

    American retired Judge Randall Nemes and his hired gun, Gaspar, track down a con man posing as a priest in a small Colombian town only to be thrown off-course by a scrappy 16-year-old girl intent on reuniting with her sister in the United States.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  19. Luce (2019)

    A star athlete and top student, Luce's idealized image is challenged by one of his teachers when his unsettling views on political violence come to light, putting a strain on family bonds while igniting intense debates on race and identity.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

    Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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Like The Essential Spark of Jewishness and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Essential Spark of Jewishness?

The closest matches to The Essential Spark of Jewishness are Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Holy Lands (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Essential Spark of Jewishness?

Start with Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), the closest match to The Essential Spark of Jewishness.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Essential Spark of Jewishness?

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), rated 7.3/10 by 326 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Essential Spark of Jewishness?

Magpie (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to The Essential Spark of Jewishness chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Essential Spark of Jewishness, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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