Movies Like What You Once Were

If you liked What You Once Were (2026), a drama and family movie directed by Iván Ladeiras, 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
I Believe (2019)
★ 7.8/10Also family and drama
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
2
Brand Upon the Brain! (2007)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
3
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
★ 7.5/10Also family and drama
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with…
4
The Rookie (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and family
Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team…
5
Dad (1989)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the…
6
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
7
Boyhood (2014)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his…
8
The Fabelmans (2022)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him…
9
A Taste of Honey (1961)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
While out to avoid spending time with her narcissistic and promiscuous mother, sixteen-year-old Jo has a brief affair that leaves her pregnant and abandoned. When her mother remarries, Jo's only support becomes her…
10
The Red House (1947)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
An old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
11
Killer's Kiss (1955)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The…
12
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a…
13
My Dinner with Hervé (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
14
Paradise (1991)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A 10-year-old boy spends a summer in the country with a childless couple and a precocious girl.
15
Detachment (2011)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of…
16
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
17
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
18
Little Man Tate (1991)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and family
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of…
19
If Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child after a tragic school shooting.
20
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
★ 8.3/10Also drama and family
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas…