Movies Like Carl Dreyer

If you liked Carl Dreyer (2006), a movie directed by Jonas Mekas, 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
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
★ 7.8/10
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
2
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
★ 6.5/10
The earliest surviving motion-picture film, and believed to be one of the very first moving images ever created, was shot by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince using the LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera. It was taken on…
3
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
★ 7.1/10
As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.
4
A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923)
★ 6.7/10
When Marie St. Clair believes she has been jilted by her artist fiance Jean, she decides to leave for Paris on her own. After spending a year in the city as a mistress of the wealthy Pierre Revel, she is reunited with…
5
Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)
★ 6.8/10
The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could…
6
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)
★ 6.9/10
The extraordinary true story of eccentric British artist Louis Wain, whose playful, sometimes even psychedelic pictures helped to transform the public's perception of cats forever.
7
Thirteen (2003)
★ 6.7/10
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins…
8
Life (2015)
★ 6/10
In 1955, young photographer Dennis Stock develops a close bond with actor James Dean while shooting pictures of the rising Hollywood star.
9
Father Mother Sister Brother (2025)
★ 6.4/10
Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.
10
Love, Antosha (2019)
★ 7.4/10
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family…
11
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
★ 8.3/10
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
12
Project Almanac (2015)
★ 6.8/10
A group of teens discover secret plans of a time machine, and construct one. However, things start to get out of control.
13
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
★ 7.5/10
Through the lens of his stunningly immersive performance as Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey ponders the meaning of life, reality, identity and career.
14
42 Up (1999)
★ 7.6/10
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
15
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016)
★ 7/10
An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.
16
Trumbo (2015)
★ 7.2/10
The career of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo is halted by a witch hunt in the late 1940s when he defies the anti-communist HUAC committee and is blacklisted.
17
Listen to Me Marlon (2015)
★ 7.5/10
With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary…
18
Being Eddie (2025)
★ 6.8/10
From teen comedian to Hollywood legend, Eddie Murphy revisits his extraordinary showbiz ride with raw honesty and humor.
19
Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)
★ 7.1/10
With this inventive portrait, director Kirsten Johnson seeks a way to keep her 86-year-old father alive forever. Utilizing moviemaking magic and her family’s dark humor, she celebrates Dr. Dick Johnson’s last years by…
20
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
★ 6.1/10
In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in…