Movies like This Is the Way We Rise (2021)
The best movies like This Is the Way We Rise (2021) are Powaqqatsi (1988), Baraka (1992) and Naqoyqatsi (2002). If This Is the Way We Rise hooked you with its documentary, these 30 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
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Powaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBaraka (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 · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl Rising (2013)
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJunun (2015)
A documentary capturing the creation of the album Junun inside Rajasthan’s 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. Paul Thomas Anderson follows Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, Nigel Godrich, and the Rajasthan Express as they record a cross-cultural fusion of Indian, Israeli, and Western music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome 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 thisLove, Marilyn (2013)
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTupac: Resurrection (2003)
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like this14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFeminists: What Were They Thinking? (2018)
In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
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 thisOLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022)
Grammy® winner singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes a familiar road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album “SOUR,” to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo recounts the memories of writing and creating her record-breaking debut album and shares her feelings as a young woman navigating a specific time in her life. Through new live arrangements of her songs, intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage from the making of the album, audiences will follow Olivia along on a cinematic journey exploring the story of “SOUR.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElvis - Aloha from Hawaii (1973)
A 1973 concert by Elvis Presley that was broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973. The concert took place at the Honolulu International Center in Honolulu and aired in over 40 countries across Asia and Europe. Viewing figures have been estimated at over 1 billion viewers world wide, and the show was the most expensive entertainment special at the time, costing $2.5 million.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRiding Giants (2004)
Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Up! (1985)
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa vie au temps de Cro-Magnon (2019)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Land Without Bread (1933)
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSerial Killer, Autopsy of a Fascination (2023)
An uneasy interest alive and kicking : directors Céline Chassé and Paul Sanfourche question works of fiction to find out to what extent they can be inspired by a true criminals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Venerable W. (2017)
A view of the religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhist through the portrait of the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, leader of anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Aryans (2014)
THE ARYANS is Mo Asumang's personal journey into the madness of racism during which she meets German neo-Nazis, the US leading racist, the notorious Tom Metzger and Ku Klux Klan members in the alarming twilight of the Midwest. In The ARYANS Mo questions the completely wrong interpretation of "Aryanism" - a phenomenon of the tall, blond and blue-eyed master race.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
In Fact, There is not Future (1988)
Documentary about young people who are dedicated to cleaning windshields in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl to survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
NARC. Mini-Doc – North East Cultural Activism (2022)
This documentary speaks to local activist groups in the music industry and culture scene to find out why people are driven to fight back and speak out on subjects they’re passionate about. With an aim of inspiring the next generation, each activist gives their advice on how you can put a cause you are passionate about in the local scene into action. Hope Lynes spoke to Phil Douglas from LGBTQIA+ organisation Curious Arts; grassroots promoter Hana Harrison from Art Mouse; Tracks' Sarah Wilson, who campaigns for better female representation in the music scene with her project Noisy Daughters; Chantal Herbert from feminist Black and queer-led organisation Sister Shack; and disability activist and musician Ruth Lyon. It’s hoped that this intimate and personal documentary will explore the starting points to beginning your own activism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ez, eskerrik asko! Gladys' Window (2019)
At the beginning of the 80s, the antinuclear movement was in full expansion internationally and also in the Basque Country. In addition to the three plants that were about to be built on the coast (Lemoiz, Ea-Ispaster and Deba), a fourth was planned to be built in Arguedas. To protest against this, mobilizations were organized in Tudela. Gladys del Estal Ferreño traveled to Tudela, but did not return. In that peaceful demonstration, she was killed by the gunshot of a Civil Guard. This documentary, following the Gladys incident, tries to make a portrait of a social movement that attracted the majority of Basque society at that time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Wandering Spirit Survival School (1978)
Wandering Spirit School, organized by concerned parents, broke with tradition by introducing subjects that are of particular relevance to its pupils. Traditional Indigenous stories, traditions, languages and crafts balance the program of academic subjects required by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The experience of the children at Wandering Spirit is contrasted with the very different life experienced by their parents, educated in the old residential schools.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Inside My Heart (2018)
A documentary film by Canadian Director Debra Kellner, produced by Frank Giustra, Serge Lalou, and Richard Copans. Inside My Heart chronicles the plight of three refugee families fleeing their war torn countries over a period of nearly 3 years. Despite having lost everything and their harrowing stories about the atrocities of war, each family continues their fight to stay alive. Unable to return to their countries without the risk of being killed, today they are forced to live with the consequences of their broken dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like This Is the Way We Rise?
The closest matches to This Is the Way We Rise are Powaqqatsi (1988), Baraka (1992) and Naqoyqatsi (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after This Is the Way We Rise?
Start with Powaqqatsi (1988), the closest match to This Is the Way We Rise.
What is the highest-rated movie like This Is the Way We Rise?
Baraka (1992), rated 8.2/10 by 735 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like This Is the Way We Rise?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like This Is the Way We Rise?
Yes: Powaqqatsi (1988), Baraka (1992) and Naqoyqatsi (2002).
How are movies similar to This Is the Way We Rise chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside This Is the Way We Rise, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.