Movies like Closely Watched Trains (1966)
The best movies like Closely Watched Trains (1966) are Forbidden Dreams (1987), Eroica (1958) and Diamonds of the Night (1964). If Closely Watched Trains hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBallad of a Soldier (1959)8.0/10 from 230 votes
- NewestDivided We Fall (2000)Released 2000
Forbidden Dreams (1987)
Leo Popper is a happy family man living in rural Bohemia in the years preceding the Nazi invasion. Out of economic necessity he moves with his family to the big city and becomes an enterprising vacuum cleaner salesman. There he embarks on a series of adulterous adventures, has encounters with boxing pros and famous portrait artists, and schemes to purchase the perfect pond to fulfill his passion for fishing. When the Nazis gain control, the comedy turns sour - he loses his lake, his job, and finally, his family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Eroica (1958)
Tells two tales set during WWII: A seemingly feckless and selfish man finally takes up arms in the national struggle against the Nazis. Set in a POW camp, Polish inmates cling to their hopes for an eventual escape, encouraged by the legendary escape of one of their own.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Diamonds of the Night (1964)
Two Jewish boys escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. Beyond themes of war and anti-Nazism, the film concerns itself with man's struggle to preserve human dignity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigher Principle (1960)
During the Nazi occupation of a Czech city civilians are being rounded up on the slightest of pretexts and shot. One day three high school boys who crack jokes about a recently deceased "hero of the Reich" are pulled out of school by the Gestapo.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Shop on Main Street (1965)
In a small town in Nazi-occupied Slovakia during World War II, decent but timid carpenter Tono is named "Aryan comptroller" of a button store owned by an old Jewish widow, Rozalie. Since the post comes with a salary and standing in the town's corrupt hierarchy, Tono wrestles with greed and guilt as he and Rozalie gradually befriend each other. When the authorities order all Jews in town to be rounded up, Tono faces a moral dilemma unlike any he's known before.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fifth Horseman Is Fear (1965)
In Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, a doctor-turned-warehouse employee reluctantly agrees to treat a gravely wounded political fugitive, putting himself and everyone living in his building complex in danger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Twenty Days Without War (1976)
War correspondent Lopatin takes a 20-day-leave from his hard work at the front in 1942. He travels to faraway Tashkent to meet the family of the killed soldier and visit the film set of the screen adaptation of his war-time stories. Lopatin also manages to walk the streets of Tashkent, take part in a factory workers' meeting and have a short-lived love affair. Although with no bombings and fighting, the city dwellers breathe the atmosphere of the ongoing war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Divided We Fall (2000)
In 1943, a childless couple, the Čížeks, decide to hide a Jewish refugee, David Wiener, the son of Čížek's former employer, in the secret pantry of their apartment. Čížek is aware of the danger into which he has brought his household and his neighbours, but he takes helping his fellow man in need for granted. But at the same time, as a largely unheroic hero, he is dying of fear. His personal situation is greatly complicated by the approaching end of the war, when he faces danger from both the Germans and his "honest" fellow Czechs...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret of Santa Vittoria (1970)
During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tin Drum (1979)
In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Best of Enemies (1961)
During World War II, a plane full of RAF fighter crashes in the Ethiopian desert and they are met upon by an enemy Italian patrol that allows them to go free. But, when the Brits are given orders to attack the Italians, lots of problems ensue.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarriage to Vienna (1966)
A WW2 story of a young Austrian soldier running from the Russian army and a woman whom he forces to come along in order to save his wounded mate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Pearls of the Deep (1966)
A quintet of vignettes based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal: an eventful trip to the motorcycle races results in drunkenness, long-winded discussions, and death; two elderly men create false biographies; insurance agents visit an eccentric painter/goat farmer and his mother; guests at a wedding reception remain oblivious to outlying misery; and a working-class boy romances a Roma girl.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Kanal (1957)
In the last few days of the Warsaw Uprising during World War II, a modest group of Resistance members remains. The band must take refuge in the sewers under the orders of leader Zadra, but it's only a matter of time before they will have to emerge. However, when they try, they are met only with intense hostility from the Nazis. Despite their attempts stay resolute through immense mental strain, it becomes increasingly apparent that they may be doomed.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAshes and Diamonds (1958)
A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Elementary School (1991)
The time is 1945-46. 10 year old Eda and his friend Tonda live in a small village outside Prague. In school, their class is so wild and indisciplined that their teacher quits and is replaced by the militant Igor Hnidzo. He is very strict – but also very fair. His weakness though, is his interest in young women.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow I Unleashed World War II, Part I: The Escape (1970)
On the night of August 31, 1939, Dolas, from a platoon reinforcing a train station on the German border, falls asleep in a train car and unknowingly crosses into Germany. The moment he shoots a German, who he thinks is a saboteur, the German invasion of Poland begins, and Dolas is convinced it was his fault. He is taken to Stalag POW camp, the first destination in his odyssey around Europe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dawns Here Are Quiet (1972)
In a remote village in Karelia, Sergeant Vaskov commands an anti-aircraft unit that protects a rail depot. While his men are transferred to the front line, he is reprimanded for their unruly behavior. He retorts that he wants replacements that aren't drunks or womanizers. In response, he is assigned a unit made up entirely of young women, fresh from training.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConvoy of Girls (1979)
Eric, a brilliant young German officer, is transfered back to Berlin.His superior officer tells him about his new assignment on the Russian front and then invites him to a luxurious villa. Gathered in the mansion are the most beautiful women: the army's special services could enroll for the pleasure of its returning heroes.Eric is stupefied to recognize Renata among the women, who are all ready and willing to make love with any officer present. Not many years ago, while still students, Renata and Eric had been very much in love. After making love in a room put at their disposal, Renata tells him that she had no choice but to accept joining the army as an official camp follower: her father's survival depended on it. The following morning, Renata leaves in a special women's convoy for Eastern frontwhere they are scheduled to entertain hard-pressed officers and men. Will Eric and Renata's love survive those adventures?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
During World War II, earnest young Russian soldier Alyosha Skvortsov is rewarded with a short leave of absence for performing a heroic deed on the battlefield. Feeling homesick, he decides to visit his mother. Due to his kindhearted nature, however, Alyosha is repeatedly sidetracked by his efforts to help those he encounters, including a lovely girl named Shura. In his tour of a country devastated by war, he struggles to keep hope alive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Cremator (1969)
In 1930s Prague, a Czech cremator who firmly believes cremation relieves one from earthly suffering is drawn inexorably to Nazism.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Human Bullet (1968)
A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Seven Beauties (1975)
Pasqualino Frafuso, known in Naples as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties" is a petty thief who lives off of the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost, Pasqualino is arrested for murder and later sent to fight in the army after committing sexual assault. The Germans capture him and he gets sent to a concentration camp where he plots to make his escape by seducing a German officer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLoves of a Blonde (1965)
Andula, an innocent Czech girl from a factory town, is desperately in search of love. She believes she's found it when she beds Milda, a charming young musician visiting from Prague. Milda, however, is only looking for a casual encounter, and leaves town assuming he'll never see Andula again. But when Andula doesn't hear from him, she packs up and heads to Prague, to the surprise of Milda and his parents.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDo You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981)
Growing up in 1960s Sarajevo, a young man comes of age under the shadow of his good, but ailing father, but is attracted by the world of small-time criminals. He's hired to hide a young prostitute, whom he falls in love with.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmarcord (1973)
In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Firemen's Ball (1967)
The firemen of a provincial Czechoslovakian town throw a ball in honor of the old chief's retirement. There will be music and dancing, a beauty pageant and a raffle. The whole town will be in attendance. However, the proceedings are dogged by difficulty at every step. Workplace injuries, stolen prizes, a shortage of pretty girls... and fire.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Party and the Guests (1966)
A group of the bourgeois head for a prominent figure's birthday party. As they venture through the woods and have a picnic, they're suddenly surrounded by some suspicious strangers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Third Part of the Night (1972)
Set during the Nazi occupation of Poland, the story follows Michał, who witnesses the murder of his mother, wife and child and then is hurled into a life that is not his own; a surreal world littered with trapdoors, doppelgängers and wormholes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fifth Seal (1976)
In 1944 Budapest, a watchmaker, a book seller and a carpenter are drinking in a bar with the owner, when they are joined by a stranger. The watchmaker poses a hypothetical that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Closely Watched Trains?
The closest matches to Closely Watched Trains are Forbidden Dreams (1987), Eroica (1958) and Diamonds of the Night (1964). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Closely Watched Trains?
People who watched Closely Watched Trains most often go on to Forbidden Dreams (1987), Eroica (1958) and Diamonds of the Night (1964).
What is the highest-rated movie like Closely Watched Trains?
Ballad of a Soldier (1959), rated 8.0/10 by 230 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Closely Watched Trains?
Divided We Fall (2000) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Closely Watched Trains chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Closely Watched Trains, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.