Movies like Once Upon a Time in Croatia (2022)
The best movies like Once Upon a Time in Croatia (2022) are #AnneFrank. Parallel Stories (2019), All That Breathes (2022) and Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010). If Once Upon a Time in Croatia hooked you with its history and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLife in a Day (2011)7.2/10 from 259 votes
- NewestCover-Up (2025)Released 2025
#AnneFrank. Parallel Stories (2019)
One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces have remained in the shadows-Primo Levi. The Oscar®-winning Helen Mirren will introduce audiences to Anne Frank's story through the words in her diary. The set will be her room in the secret refuge in Amsterdam, reconstructed in every detail by set designers from the Piccolo Theatre in Milan. Anne Frank this year would have been 90 years old. Anne's story is intertwined with that of five Holocaust survivors, teenage girls just like her, with the same ideals, the same desire to live: Arianna Szörenyi, Sarah Lichtsztejn-Montard, Helga Weiss and sisters Andra and Tatiana Bucci. Their testimonies alternate with those of their children and grandchildren.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Breathes (2022)
Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVan Gogh: Painted with Words (2010)
A drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTen Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
Ten Minutes Older is a 2002 film project consisting of two compilation feature films entitled The Trumpet and The Cello. The project was conceived by the producer Nicolas McClintock as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of the Millennium. Fifteen celebrated film-makers were invited to create their own vision of what time means in ten minutes of film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaking Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAudrey (2020)
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee (2016)
The strange story of John McAfee, who went from millionaire software mogul to yogi, Kurtz-like jungle recluse to potential murderer, and most recently a prospective presidential candidate for the American Libertarian Party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyson (2008)
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Accountant of Auschwitz (2018)
Oskar Gröning, known as the "Accountant of Auschwitz," was charged with the murder of 300,000 Jews. When he took the stand in 2015, at the age of 94, his trial made headlines worldwide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRonaldo (2015)
Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Untold History Of The United States (2012)
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Princess (2022)
Decades after her untimely death, Princess Diana continues to evoke mystery, glamour, and the quintessential modern fairy tale gone wrong. As a symbol of both the widening fissures weakening the British monarchy and the destructive machinery of the press, the Princess of Wales navigated an unparalleled rise to fame and the corrosive challenges that came alongside it. Crafted entirely from immersive archival footage and free from the distraction of retrospective voices, this hypnotic and audaciously revealing documentary takes a distinctive formal approach, allowing the story of the People’s Princess to unfold before us like never before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019)
In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unknown Known (2013)
Former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife in a Day (2011)
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTitanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)
For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCover-Up (2025)
He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVisions of Light (1992)
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMatija Gubec (1919)
Movie adaptation of the history novel by August Senoa, about Matija Gubec, the leader of peasant revolt of 1573.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Modersmålsmord (2022)
Ahmemulić prepares tongue in her mother’s way – skinned, seasoned, boiled, sliced. She can then in turn serve her son her mother’s tongue. The skinned lamb tongue here becomes a brutal metaphor for a doubly impossible language – the acquired Swedish and a Serbo-Croatian that has begun to dissolve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Caroline of Rijeka (1961)
The movie Karolina Rijecka is loosely based on the legendary story of young Karolina Belinic. When the English fleet began firing cannons on the Adriatic port of Rijeka, young Karolina boarded the ship of English Admiral John Leard and negotiated a cease-fire to save the town from destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Guard Along the Drina (1942)
A compilation of week journals made for Nazi-puppet regime in Croatia during WW II which show the warfare of Ustasha forces against Yugoslav partisans and Chetniks in eastern Bosnia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
I Delete and I Judge (1919)
Brišem i sudim is a Croatian film. Only one minute of the film is saved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
In the Lion's Cage (1919)
A short film in tourist purposes that is considered lost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stone Horizons (1953)
The year is 1940, Croatian coast, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Jakov, a poor peasant from hinterland, and his daughter Mala, go to the city, trying to find a job to repay a debt...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Harbor (1992)
After an oil field is discovered nearby the small Dalmatian town of Murvice, the local goverment wastes no time and throws all of the town's expenses towards building an oil tanker harbor. Urged by his wife, a local engineer named Slobodan Despot applies himself for the position of the chief engineer on the project, which her lover uses as an excuse to ruin Despot's reputation. Furious by this reputation and questioning all of his ideas, Despot decides to start an affair with a woman far younger than him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
God Will Not Help (2025)
A Chilean woman, Teresa, comes into a firmly structured and isolated mountain community of Croatian shepherds in the early 20th century, claiming to be the widow of their émigré brother. Her arrival changes the dynamics between the members of the community and brings unrest, but also inspiration for other women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Pine Tree in the Mountain (1971)
Communist party commissar Ivica is sent to the lowland village to monitor the local partisan squad. Despite their disagreements he befriends their leader Dikan and they plan to evacuate the chief headquarters. Dikan also sees the opportunity to have his personal revenge on an enemy officer, responsible for death of one of his men.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Once Upon a Time in Croatia?
The closest matches to Once Upon a Time in Croatia are #AnneFrank. Parallel Stories (2019), All That Breathes (2022) and Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Once Upon a Time in Croatia?
Start with #AnneFrank. Parallel Stories (2019), the closest match to Once Upon a Time in Croatia.
What is the highest-rated movie like Once Upon a Time in Croatia?
Life in a Day (2011), rated 7.2/10 by 259 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Once Upon a Time in Croatia?
Cover-Up (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Once Upon a Time in Croatia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Once Upon a Time in Croatia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.