Movies Like Return of the absent

If you liked Return of the absent (1947), a movie directed by Ahmed Galal, 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
Simon Birch (1998)
★ 6.9/10
Simon Birch and Joe Wenteworth are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca, is keeping her lips sealed no matter how much he protests. Simon, meanwhile, is an…
2
She Rides Shotgun (2025)
★ 7/10
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a…
3
David Copperfield (1935)
★ 6.7/10
A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships.
4
A Little Princess (1995)
★ 7.6/10
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who…
5
Paranoiac (1963)
★ 6.6/10
Eleven years ago, the wealthy Ashby family was shattered when Mr and Mrs Ashby died in an airplane crash and their grieving son Tony committed suicide. All who remains is cruel Simon, an alcoholic in desperate need of…
6
My Fault: London (2025)
★ 7.4/10
18-year-old Noah moves from America to London, with her mother who's recently fallen in love with William, a wealthy British businessman. Noah meets William’s son, bad-boy Nick, and soon discovers there is an…
7
Spider (2002)
★ 6.6/10
A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.
8
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.7/10
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
9
The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
★ 6.6/10
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
10
The Keeping Hours (2017)
★ 7/10
A supernatural love story that centers on two parents whose life together falls apart after their son dies. The man, now a successful lawyer, and the woman, now married and an author, get a chance at reconciliation ten…
11
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
★ 6.6/10
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
12
Goodnight Mommy (2022)
★ 6.3/10
When twin brothers arrive home to find their mother’s demeanor altered and face covered in surgical bandages, they begin to suspect the woman beneath the gauze might not be their mother.
13
The Little Prince (2015)
★ 7.6/10
Based on the best-seller book 'The Little Prince', the movie tells the story of a little girl that lives with resignation in a world where efficiency and work are the only dogmas. Everything will change when…
14
The Unsaid (2001)
★ 6.6/10
A doctor dealing with the aftermath of his son's death tries to help a troubled young man.
15
Jonathan (2018)
★ 5.9/10
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
16
Hellion (2014)
★ 5.9/10
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for…
17
The Little Princess (1939)
★ 6.7/10
A little girl goes in search of her father who is reported missing by the military during the Second Boer War.
18
Great Expectations (2012)
★ 6.4/10
Orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but…
19
The Stepfather (2009)
★ 5.8/10
Michael Harding returns home from military school to find his mother happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David. As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man…
20
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
★ 6.2/10
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her two fathers are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the…