Movies Like Maluala

If you liked Maluala (1979), a movie directed by Sergio Giral, 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
Papillon (2017)
★ 7.3/10
Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, where he forges a strong friendship with Louis…
2
24 Hours to Live (2017)
★ 6/10
An assassin seeks redemption after being given a second chance at life.
3
The Mustang (2019)
★ 6.9/10
While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an…
4
Coming 2 America (2021)
★ 6.3/10
Prince Akeem Joffer is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his royal father's dying wish to groom this son…
5
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
★ 7.1/10
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
6
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
★ 7.1/10
Behrani, an Iranian immigrant buys a California bungalow, thinking he can fix it up, sell it again, and make enough money to send his son to college. However, the house is the legal property of former drug addict…
7
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
★ 7.5/10
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…
8
Emancipation (2022)
★ 7.7/10
Inspired 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…
9
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
★ 7.9/10
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
10
The Woman King (2022)
★ 7.6/10
The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains…
11
The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)
★ 6.4/10
Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder when she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.
12
Skin (2009)
★ 6.4/10
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
13
The Karate Kid (2010)
★ 6.6/10
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such…
14
God Grew Tired of Us (2006)
★ 7.3/10
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while…
15
A Call to Spy (2020)
★ 6.8/10
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These…
16
Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
★ 6.7/10
The true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker who finds God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been kidnapped and pressed into duty as soldiers.
17
Iron Man 2 (2010)
★ 6.9/10
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military…
18
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010)
★ 6.1/10
After young Kirra leaves her Australian home to summer with her grandfather in South Africa, she soon discovers a baby orca stranded in the lagoon near her grandfather’s rundown seaside amusement park. She names the…
19
The Quest (1996)
★ 6.2/10
Ghang-gheng, the ancient winner-take-all competition in which the deadliest fighters from around the world employ the most spectacular feats of martial arts skills ever displayed in order to win the prized Golden…
20
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…