Movies Like Philippe Gaulier: The Man Who Waits for Freedom

If you liked Philippe Gaulier: The Man Who Waits for Freedom (2026), a movie directed by Christiaan Hendriksen and Samuel Tressler IV, 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 Ron Clark Story (2006)
★ 7.6/10
Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his…
2
Mr. Morgan's Last Love (2013)
★ 6.6/10
A widowed professor living in Paris develops a special relationship with a younger French woman.
3
Snoopy Presents: Lucy's School (2022)
★ 7.3/10
The Peanuts gang is anxious about starting at a new school in the fall, inspiring Lucy to start her own school instead. She soon learns that teaching isn't as easy as it sounds and that change can be a good thing.
4
Music of the Heart (1999)
★ 6.7/10
After Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
5
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)
★ 6.9/10
A quiet teenage artist Rafe Katchadorian has a wild imagination and is sick of middle school and the rules that have been put before him. Rafe and his best friend Leo have come up with a plan: break every rule in the…
6
The Karate Kid (1984)
★ 7.2/10
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny…
7
Front of the Class (2008)
★ 8.1/10
A boy with Tourette's syndrome overcomes criticism and discrimination to achieve his dream of becoming a teacher.
8
The Rewrite (2014)
★ 6/10
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
9
Leo (2023)
★ 7.3/10
Jaded 74-year-old reptile Leo has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle. When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the…
10
Dead Poets Society (1989)
★ 8.3/10
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern…
11
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)
★ 6.3/10
Based on the bestselling book series, this outrageous comedy tells the story of George and Harold, two overly imaginative pranksters who hypnotize their principal into thinking he’s an enthusiastic, yet dimwitted…
12
To Sir, with Love (1967)
★ 7.5/10
A British Guianese engineer starts a job as a high school teacher in London’s East End, where his uninterested and delinquent pupils are in desperate need of attention and care.
13
The Art of Getting By (2011)
★ 6.6/10
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred…
14
Wish I Was Here (2014)
★ 6.5/10
Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, is 35 years old and still trying to find a purpose for his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about…
15
Madeline (1998)
★ 6.2/10
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl named Madeline uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
16
Stand and Deliver (1988)
★ 7.8/10
Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into…
17
Dangerous Minds (1995)
★ 7/10
Former Marine Louanne Johnson lands a gig teaching in a pilot program for bright but underachieving teens at a notorious inner-city high school. After having a terrible first day, she decides she must throw decorum to…
18
Final Portrait (2017)
★ 6/10
Paris, 1964. The Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti, one of the most accomplished and respected artists of his generation, asks his friend, the American writer James Lord, to sit for a portrait, assuring him…
19
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
★ 5.9/10
Despondent over the closing of his karate school, Cobra Kai teacher John Kreese joins a ruthless businessman and martial artist to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
20
Whiplash (2014)
★ 8.4/10
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.