Movies Like Carlitos in the Dark

If you liked Carlitos in the Dark (2025), a movie directed by David S. Murga, 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
Memories of a Teenager (2019)
★ 7.9/10
After the suicide of his best friend and the fire of a local dance called Cromañón, including recitals, illegal parties in an abandoned warehouse and high school, a year passes by in the life of Zabo who writes…
2
Endless Poetry (2016)
★ 7.4/10
A portrait of the director’s young adulthood, set in the 1940s–1950s, in the electric capital city of Santiago. There, he decides to become a poet and is introduced, by destiny, into the foremost bohemian and artistic…
3
Rumbos (2016)
★ 6.1/10
During a long night of August, some people have different experiences that leave a deep impression in them. Linked by a radio night show, all them cross the city of Barcelona, not knowing that their fates will collide…
4
Nowhere (1997)
★ 6.8/10
In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest…
5
Under the Same Moon (2007)
★ 8/10
Tells the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico.
6
Rosa's Wedding (2020)
★ 6.2/10
Rosa is about to turn 45 and realises that she's always lived her life to serve everyone else. So she decides to leave it all behind, take charge of her life and fulfil her dream of starting her own business.
7
Twisted Romance (2009)
★ 6.1/10
Roberto is a bored young man living in the suburbs of Buenos Aires who begins a relationship with an older man named Raúl. Their romance takes a disturbing turn after Raúl catches Roberto with another man and turns…
8
I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
★ 6.2/10
In late-90s suburbia, a lonely teenager meets a girl at school who introduces him to a mysterious late-night T.V. show — a vision of a supernatural world pulsing beneath their own. As time goes on, however, questions…
9
Absent (2011)
★ 5.9/10
Martín, a young student, gets injured during a swimming class. Sebastián, the PE teacher, takes him to the hospital. When they leave, he offers to drive him home, but Martín is planning to spend the night at a…
10
El encanto (2020)
★ 6.2/10
Bruno is thirty years old and has a girlfriend, Juliana, with whom he is about to celebrate a decade of love.He loves her, but feels that she no longer captivates him. She wants to be a mother. He doesn't know if he…
11
Below Her Mouth (2017)
★ 6.8/10
An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.
12
My Policeman (2022)
★ 7.5/10
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when…
13
Elegy (2008)
★ 6.3/10
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual…
14
Leap Year (2010)
★ 6.4/10
Journalist Laura works at home, isolating herself from others. While she lies to her mother and brother, Raul, on the phone about having an active social life, Laura's days consist of gazing at her neighbors, eating…
15
My Masterpiece (2018)
★ 7.3/10
Arturo, the successful owner of an art gallery, and Renzo, a talented but decadent painter, are old friends who cannot stop bickering. One day, Arturo comes up with a solution to all their problems, but the plan they…
16
Tótem (2023)
★ 6.8/10
In a bustling Mexican household, seven-year-old Sol is swept up in a whirlwind of preparations for the birthday party for her father, Tona, led by her mother, aunts, and other relatives. As the day goes on, building to…
17
How to Have Sex (2023)
★ 6.2/10
Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday—drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.
18
Mammal (2016)
★ 6.3/10
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the…
19
The Object of My Affection (1998)
★ 5.8/10
A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.
20
Palo Alto (2014)
★ 6.1/10
A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.