Movies Like Northern Lights
If you liked Northern Lights (1978), a drama and history movie directed by John Hanson and Rob Nilsson, 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
Sunset Song (2015)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and historyThe daughter of a Scottish farmer comes of age in the early 1900s.
- 2
Against the Ice (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and historyIn 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Danish expedition in ice-covered Greenland.
- 3
Train Dreams (2025)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaA logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.
- 4
Oslo (2021)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historyThe true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that…
- 5
Mansfield Park (2007)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaFanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
- 6
Radium Girls (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historyYoung women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
- 7
In Cold Blood (1967)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaAfter a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.
- 8
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaA young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
- 9
40 Acres (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaHailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they…
- 10
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaThe true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
- 11
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and historyAlbany, 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…
- 12
Woman Walks Ahead (2018)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and historyBased on a true story, this riveting western follows a headstrong New York widow as she journeys west to meet Sioux chief Sitting Bull, facing off with an army officer intent on war with Native Americans.
- 13
Viva Zapata! (1952)
★ 6.8/10Also history and dramaThe story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of president Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.
- 14
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also history and dramaAt the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
- 15
The Power of the Dog (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaA domineering but charismatic rancher wages a war of intimidation on his brother's new wife and her teen son, until long-hidden secrets come to light.
- 16
They Drive by Night (1940)
★ 6.9/10Also dramaJoe and Paul Fabrini are Wildcat, or independent, truck drivers who have their own small one-truck business. The Fabrini boys constantly battle distributors, rivals and loan collectors, while trying to make a success…
- 17
The Good Neighbor (2022)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaA nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and…
- 18
Belfast (2021)
★ 7/10Also drama and historyBuddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a…
- 19
Endless Night (2015)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaEllesmere Island, northern Canada, 1908. Josephine, a brave but naive woman, embarks on a dangerous journey through inhospitable regions in search of her husband, the explorer Robert Peary, who tries to find a route to…
- 20
Emperor (2020)
★ 7.6/10Also history and dramaAn escaped slave travels north and has chance encounters with Frederick Douglass and John Brown. Based on the life story of Shields Green.