Movies Like Radical

If you liked Radical (2023), a drama movie directed by Christopher Zalla, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Stand and Deliver (1988)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into…
2
Frontera (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s…
3
Carmen (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A young and fiercely independent woman, Carmen, is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother. She survives an illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by…
4
Cry Macho (2021)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
A one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man's young son home from Mexico.
5
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
★ 7/10Also drama
When brash Texas border officer Mike Norton wrongfully kills and buries the friend and ranch hand of Pete Perkins, the latter is reminded of a promise he made to bury his friend, Melquiades Estrada, in his Mexican home…
6
Beyond the Blackboard (2011)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Inspired by a true story, “Beyond the Blackboard” is about a 24-year-old first-time teacher who makes a difference in the lives of the homeless children she teaches in a shelter’s makeshift classroom. Set in 1987 in…
7
The Wave (1981)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A teacher conducts an experiment in an American high school where students learn how easy it is to be seduced by the same social forces which led to the horrors of Nazi Germany.
8
Cheaters (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
9
The Ron Clark Story (2006)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his…
10
Borderline (1980)
★ 6/10Also drama
Jeb Maynard is a patrolman guarding the U.S.-Mexican border, whose partner and buddy Scooter has just been murdered. Maynard knows that a smuggler of illegal aliens is responsible for Scooter's death, but the feds…
11
Dead Poets Society (1989)
★ 8.3/10Also drama
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern…
12
Upon Entry (2023)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Diego, a Venezuelan urbanist, and Elena, a contemporary dancer from Barcelona, move to the United States with their approved visas to start a new life. Their intention is to boost their professional careers and start a…
13
The Substitute (2022)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Lucio, a prestigious university professor, takes the position of substitute teacher at a high school in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where he grew up. Through tales, novels and poetry, he tries to distract his class…
14
Normal (2003)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
15
Saint Judy (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
The true story of immigration attorney Judy Wood and how she singlehandedly changed the U.S. law of asylum to save women's lives.
16
Lucca's World (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Determined to help her son, who has cerebral palsy, Bárbara takes her family to India for an experimental treatment.
17
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
★ 7/10Also drama
When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent…
18
Dangerous Minds (1995)
★ 7/10Also drama
Former Marine Louanne Johnson lands a gig teaching in a pilot program for bright but underachieving teens at a notorious inner-city high school. After having a terrible first day, she decides she must throw decorum to…
19
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
20
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.