Movies like Smile (2021)
The best movies like Smile (2021) are Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), A Brush with Love (2019) and At Eternity's Gate (2018). If Smile hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAt Eternity's Gate (2018)7.0/10 from 1,628 votes
- NewestThe Christophers (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanThe Neighbors (2012)Also in Korean
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998)
In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Brush with Love (2019)
As she considers giving up on her artistic dreams, Jamie paints a vision board that brings her success and love—only to discover that the mystery man in her painting isn't who she thinks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAt Eternity's Gate (2018)
Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFinal Portrait (2017)
Paris, 1964. The Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti, one of the most accomplished and respected artists of his generation, asks his friend, the American writer James Lord, to sit for a portrait, assuring him that it will take no longer than two or three hours, an afternoon at the most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe World of Suzie Wong (1960)
A Hong Kong prostitute tries modeling and falls for the artist who's painting her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCanvas (2020)
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christophers (2026)
The estranged children of a once-famous artist hire a forger to complete his unfinished works so they can be "discovered" and sold after his death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II contracts the influential artist Michelangelo to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAge of Consent (1969)
An elderly artist thinks he has become too stale and is past his prime. His friend (and agent) persuades him to go to an offshore island to try once more. On the island he re-discovers his muse in the form of a young girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Neighbors (2012)
A serial killer murders a girl from his neighborhood. The residents begin to suspect him one by one, as he tries to cover his tracks and plans another kill before escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gifted Hands (2013)
While investigating the kidnapping and murder of a little girl, a detective spots a piece of graffiti that depicts the crime scene perfectly—but the graffiti was drawn a month before the crime took place, and that the artist knows more than he is telling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKeys to the Heart (2018)
An older brother is a washed-up boxer. His younger brother is a genius pianist with physical disability. The brothers make up through their mother who is full of stories of her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisArtists and Models (1955)
A struggling painter begins taking inspiration from the dreams of his friend and roommate, a comic book fan who narrates an adventure story while he sleeps, but unbeknownst to the latter, the artist of his favorite comic book lives in the same building as they do with the model for her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDalíland (2022)
In 1973, a young gallery assistant goes on a wild adventure behind the scenes as he helps aging genius Salvador Dali prepare for a big show in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisChihwaseon (2002)
Jang Seung-eop, also known as "Chihwaseon," drinks and paints all day. Through Mae-hyang, he learns the meaning of fate, sees art beyond even the smallest things, and sets out for the path he seeks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPollock (2000)
In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Topper Harley is found to be working as an odd-job-man in a monastery. The CIA want him to lead a rescue mission into Iraq, to rescue the last rescue team, who went in to rescue the last rescue team—who went in to rescue hostages left behind after Desert Storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReally Love (2020)
A rising black painter tries to break into a competitive art world while balancing an unexpected romance with an ambitious law student.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Smile?
The closest matches to Smile are Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), A Brush with Love (2019) and At Eternity's Gate (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Smile?
Start with Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), the closest match to Smile.
What is the highest-rated movie like Smile?
At Eternity's Gate (2018), rated 7.0/10 by 1,628 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Smile?
The Christophers (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Smile?
Yes: The Neighbors (2012), The Gifted Hands (2013) and Keys to the Heart (2018).
How are movies similar to Smile chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Smile, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.