Movies like The 26 Martyrs of Japan (1931)
The best movies like The 26 Martyrs of Japan (1931) are Silence (1971), Silence (2016) and Munich - The Edge of War (2021). If The 26 Martyrs of Japan hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSilence (2016)7.1/10 from 3,453 votes
- NewestGiant (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseSilence (1971)Also in Japanese
Silence (1971)
In 17th-century Japan, two Portuguese Jesuit priests seek their mentor, who is rumoured to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilence (2016)
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Daniel (2013)
Taken into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel is forced to serve the most powerful king in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. Faced with imminent death, Daniel proves himself a trusted Advisor and is placed among the king's wise men. Threatened by death at every turn Daniel never ceases to serve the king until he is forced to choose between serving the king or honoring God. With his life at stake, Daniel has nothing but his faith to stand between him and the lions' den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdventures of a Mathematician (2021)
The warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and the first computer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOranges and Sunshine (2010)
The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaws - 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 history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShattered Glass (2003)
Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like this7 Women (1965)
In a mission in China in 1935, a group of women are preyed on by Mongolian bandits, led by Warlord chief Tunga Khan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrancesco (1989)
The life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as related by followers who gather after his death to tell stories so that Leone can record them: a privileged and virile youth, a prisoner of war, an heir who turns away from his father and gives all to the poor, a beggar for others, and an inspiration to friends who accept the Gospels' life of poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pentagon Papers (2003)
This compelling political drama is based on the true story of high-ranking Pentagon official Daniel Ellsberg, who, during the Nixon era, strove to preserve American democracy by leaking top-secret documents to the New York Times and Washington Post. The documents in question would eventually become famous as the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the true reasons for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFemale Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMansfield Park (2007)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamson and Delilah (1949)
When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagdalena, Through Her Eyes (2016)
A woman caught in the shameful act of adultery; a social outcast ignored because of her loose lifestyle; a recluse shunned in society for 12 years because of a despicable illness; a widow mourning the loss of her only son. An ugly thread of shame, sorrow and hopelessness painfully weaves its way through each of these women's lives. Mary Magdalene passionately retells the details of Jesus' life - from birth, to death, and eventually to resurrection - and how His life continues on in the lives of those who follow Him....
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Measure of a Man (2011)
After being raised in an Oklahoma orphanage, 15 year-old Donald makes his way to California during the depression. He meets Emogene, the daughter of poor migrant farm laborers, and together they set out to break the cycle of poverty and ignorance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dasavatharam (1976)
The story revolves around the portrayal of the ten different avatars of Lord Vishnu namely Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Balarama and Kalki.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pastor (2024)
With a past and limited options a woman leaves her old life to find a new one. She's fighting for her peace and trusting God to lead her. Her world comes crashing down when her secret is revealed. She's caught between her faith and her truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Gates of Heaven (1945)
Episodic film with flashbacks about the lives of some sick and infirm people travelling on the same train, making a pilgrimage to the shine of Our Lady of Loreto.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Two Crowns (2017)
Recreation of facts and stories of both experts and people who met Maximilian Kolbe and were shocked by his words and actions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Finding Jesus 2 (2021)
Faith-fueled friends Muggles and Joy visit the beautiful Finding Jesus Bay, a place where Christian stories are told night and day. Guided by the sea's best storyteller, Professor Shark, they hear all about the endless kindness and boundless love of their Creator. Then, together, they go forth to spread His word, and make their world a better place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (2024)
Led by Donna and Reverend W.C. Martin, 22 families from a rural Black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt 77 of the most difficult-to-place kids in the foster system and kickstart a movement in the process.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbraham (1993)
Rather than choosing a great leader or king, God chooses Abraham, an elderly shepherd from Mesopotamia, as the way to establish his Covenant with mankind... A man of great faith, Abraham continues to believe in God even when He seems to have abandoned him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The 26 Martyrs of Japan and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The 26 Martyrs of Japan?
The closest matches to The 26 Martyrs of Japan are Silence (1971), Silence (2016) and Munich - The Edge of War (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The 26 Martyrs of Japan?
Start with Silence (1971), the closest match to The 26 Martyrs of Japan.
What is the highest-rated movie like The 26 Martyrs of Japan?
Silence (2016), rated 7.1/10 by 3,453 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The 26 Martyrs of Japan?
Giant (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The 26 Martyrs of Japan?
Yes: Silence (1971) and Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972).
How are movies similar to The 26 Martyrs of Japan chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The 26 Martyrs of Japan, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.