Movies Like Fatherland

If you liked Fatherland (1986), a drama and music movie directed by Ken Loach, 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
The Lives of Others (2006)
★ 8/10Also drama
In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting…
2
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
★ 8/10Also music and drama
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
3
TÁR (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also music and drama
As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.
4
Phoenix (2014)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
In the aftermath of WWII, German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly has to undergo facial reconstructive surgery following her survival from Auschwitz. Without recognising Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him…
5
The Good German (2006)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between…
6
Balloon (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Two families attempt a daredevil plan to escape the GDR with a homemade hot air balloon, but it crashes just before the border. The Stasi finds traces of this attempt to escape and immediately starts investigations…
7
Grace Unplugged (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama and music
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film…
8
Run Lola Run (1998)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get…
9
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
10
Corsage (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain…
11
Too Late Blues (1961)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his…
12
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and music
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
13
Night Crossing (1982)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story.
14
The Soloist (2009)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.
15
The Tunnel (2001)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.
16
A (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and music
A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.
17
Asphalt (1929)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Starring Betty Amann in her most famous leading role, Joe May's Asphalt is a luxuriously produced German Expressionist classic where tragic liaisons and fatal encounters are shaped alongside the constant roar of Berlin…
18
Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
In 2015, thirty year old refugee Francis, the sole survivor of a boat that illegally crossed the Mediterranean, is drawn into Berlin's seedy underbelly.
19
Love in Thoughts (2004)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A posthumous look at the last days of Guenther's life as he, his best friend, and his sister let loose on a four-day binge of alcohol, drugs, and sex.
20
Crossroads (1986)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and music
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.