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Movies like Ivan's Happiness. New Stories (2021)

The best movies like Ivan's Happiness. New Stories (2021) are Won't Back Down (2012), Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1985). If Ivan's Happiness. New Stories hooked you with its drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Won't Back Down (2012)

    Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  2. 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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  3. My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1985)

    Russian provincial town in the middle of the 1930s Stalin's Great Purge. Ivan Lapshin, the head of the local police, does what he has to do. And he does it well.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. 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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  5. Hounddog (2008)

    A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. Iron Jawed Angels (2004)

    Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)

    A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  8. The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

    Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  9. The Girl in the Book (2015)

    The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  10. 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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  11. I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)

    The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  12. Hands of Stone (2016)

    The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  13. Sky (2016)

    A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  14. Outlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)

    A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Herself (2020)

    Struggling to provide her daughters with a safe, happy home, Sandra decides to build one - from scratch. Using all her ingenuity to make her ambitious dream a reality, Sandra draws together a community to lend a helping hand to build her house and ultimately recover her own sense of self.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  16. 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
  17. Gigi & Nate (2022)

    A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. The Kindness of Strangers (2019)

    Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter. While stealing food at a Russian restaurant called ‘Winter Palace’, Clara meets Marc, who has been given the chance to help the old eatery regain its former glory. The ‘Winter Palace’ soon becomes a place of unexpected encounters between people who are all undergoing some sort of crisis and whom fate has now brought together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  19. Walking Tall (2004)

    A former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. Cave Rescue (2019)

    When a youth football team of 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach is trapped deep inside a cave in Northern Thailand, thousands of volunteers and soldiers from around the world unite in a race against time to find them.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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Like Ivan's Happiness. New Stories and something else?

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

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Ivan's Happiness. New Stories?

The closest matches to Ivan's Happiness. New Stories are Won't Back Down (2012), Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1985). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Ivan's Happiness. New Stories?

Start with Won't Back Down (2012), the closest match to Ivan's Happiness. New Stories.

What is the highest-rated movie like Ivan's Happiness. New Stories?

Hands of Stone (2016), rated 6.6/10 by 470 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Ivan's Happiness. New Stories?

Gigi & Nate (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to Ivan's Happiness. New Stories chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ivan's Happiness. New Stories, 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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