Movies Like Looking for a Happy Ending

If you liked Looking for a Happy Ending (1991), a documentary movie directed by Olga Sviblova, 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 Soviet Story (2008)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary
“The Soviet Story” is a story of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale. Assisted by the West, this power triumphed on May 9th, 1945. Its…
2
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
3
Room 237 (2012)
★ 6.1/10Also documentary
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation…
4
My Mom Jayne (2025)
★ 8/10Also documentary
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and…
5
Frank and Ollie (1995)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary
Before computer graphics, special effects wizardry, and out-of-this world technology, the magic of animation flowed from the pencils of two of the greatest animators The Walt Disney Company ever produced -- Frank…
6
In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along…
7
Welcome to Chechnya (2020)
★ 7/10Also documentary
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a…
8
The Age of Stupid (2009)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary
Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
9
42 Up (1999)
★ 7.6/10Also documentary
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.
10
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
11
Looking for Richard (1996)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
12
A Toxic Love Story (2026)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
13
The Curse of the Dragon (1993)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
14
Vampir Cuadecuc (1972)
★ 6.1/10Also documentary
An atmospheric essay, which is an alternative version of Count Dracula, a film directed by Jess Franco in 1970; a ghostly narration between fiction and reality.
15
Orwell: 2+2=5 (2025)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
George Orwell was one of the most visionary authors of the 20th century, whose novels 1984 and Animal Farm foretold a chilling, authoritarian future. Acclaimed director Raoul Peck interweaves clips, readings from…
16
Fuck (2006)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
17
35 Up (1991)
★ 7.6/10Also documentary
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.
18
Sherman's March (1986)
★ 6.3/10Also documentary
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead…
19
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
★ 7.8/10Also documentary
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.
20
Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.