Movies Like The Smell of Apples
If you liked The Smell of Apples (2026), a history and drama movie directed by John Trengove, 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
Disgrace (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaDisgrace is the story of a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his good looks, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect…
- 2
Escape from Pretoria (2020)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and historySouth Africa, 1978. Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white political activists from the African National Congress imprisoned by the apartheid regime, put a plan in motion to escape from the infamous Pretoria Prison.
- 3
The Power of One (1992)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaPK, an English orphan terrorized for his family's political beliefs in Africa, turns to his only friend, a kindly world-wise prisoner, Geel Piet. Geel teaches him how to box with the motto “fight with your fists and…
- 4
Shepherds and Butchers (2017)
★ 6.3/10Also dramaA lawyer takes on a case of a prison guard in South Africa who is traumatized by the executions he's witnessed.
- 5
Skin (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also dramaBased on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
- 6
The Best of Enemies (2019)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and historyCenters on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation…
- 7
A United Kingdom (2016)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historyThe inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British…
- 8
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
★ 8/10Also dramaScout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their…
- 9
Emancipation (2022)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and historyInspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of…
- 10
Cry Freedom (1987)
★ 7/10Also dramaA dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow…
- 11
Origin (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and historyWhile investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience.
- 12
American Pastoral (2016)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaSet in postwar America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter's new political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.
- 13
12 Years a Slave (2013)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and historyIn the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive…
- 14
The Hate U Give (2018)
★ 8.1/10Also dramaRaised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds…
- 15
The Hill (2023)
★ 7.7/10Also history and dramaThe story of Rickey Hill, who overcomes his physical disability and repairs his relationship with his father in a quest to become a major league baseball (MLB) player.
- 16
The Zone of Interest (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama and historyThe commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
- 17
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and historyColorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.
- 18
Beasts of No Nation (2015)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaBased on the experiences of Agu, a child fighting in the civil war of a West African country. Follows Agu's journey as he's forced to join a group of soldiers. While he fears his commander and many of the men around…
- 19
Free State of Jones (2016)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and historyIn 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to…
- 20
Freedom Writers (2007)
★ 7.9/10Also dramaA young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.