Movies Like Way Back Home

If you liked Way Back Home (1931), a drama movie directed by William A. Seiter, 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 Long, Hot Summer (1958)
★ 7/10Also drama
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
2
Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story (2005)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Ben Crane believes that a severely injured racehorse deserves another chance. He and his daughter Cale adopt the mare and save it from being sacrificed by the owner.
3
Prancer (1989)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Jessica, the daughter of an impoverished apple farmer, still believes in Santa Claus. So when she comes across a reindeer with an injured leg, it makes perfect sense to her to assume that it is Prancer, who had fallen…
4
I Am Sam (2001)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become…
5
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Albany, New York, 1776. After marrying, Gil and Lana travel north to settle on a small farm in the Mohawk River Valley, but soon their growing prosperity and happiness are threatened by the sinister sound of drums that…
6
The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse…
7
Broken Lance (1954)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Tensions erupt within an Arizona cattle baron's household when his three sons vie for control of the ranch.
8
Secrets & Lies (1996)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.
9
Still Mine (2012)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Craig, a fiercely determined New Brunswick farmer, sets out to build a more suitable house for his ailing wife, Irene, despite their children's concerns. As he starts building, he is blindsided by the bureaucratic…
10
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself…
11
Oliver Twist (1948)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin…
12
One & Two (2015)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
In an isolated farmhouse, located in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by a mysterious wooden wall, Zac and Eva, two siblings gifted with extraordinary abilities, endure every day the wrath of their strict father…
13
Anne of Green Gables (2016)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and…
14
Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Led by Donna and Reverend W.C. Martin, 22 families from a rural Black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt 77 of the most difficult-to-place kids in the foster system and kickstart a movement in the…
15
Philomena (2013)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.
16
Shane (1953)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.
17
Leave No Trace (2018)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to…
18
Nowhere Special (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child's mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he…
19
Evelyn (2002)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it…
20
Rebuilding (2025)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
After wildfires take his ranch, a cowboy named Dusty winds up in a FEMA camp, finding community with others who lost homes, including his daughter and ex-wife.