Movies Like Close-Up

If you liked Close-Up (1990), a crime and drama movie directed by Abbas Kiarostami, 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 Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural Kurdish village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own…
2
Through the Olive Trees (1994)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
When the actor in a scene for his film Life And Nothing More… has to quit, a film director casts another man for the part. However, complications arise since the man and the woman who was cast for the scene know each…
3
Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
In 1979, amidst censorship and religious extremism, a revolutionary literature professor in Tehran gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics.
4
Taste of Cherry (1997)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim…
5
And Life Goes On (1992)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
After the earthquake of Guilan, a film director and his son travel to the devastated area to search for the actors from the movie the director made there a few years previously. In their search, they see how people who…
6
The Big Knife (1955)
★ 6/10Also crime and drama
Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While…
7
Reality (2023)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Augusta, Georgia, United States, June 3, 2017. After running some errands, Reality Winner returns home, where she is approached by two men.
8
The Big Combo (1955)
★ 7/10Also drama and crime
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
9
American Wrestler: The Wizard (2017)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school's floundering wrestling team.
10
Esther (1999)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Esther, the beautiful queen of Persia, intervenes to save the Jewish people from a bloody massacre.
11
The Black Pirate (1926)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father by the hands of pirates. To this end, he infiltrates the pirate band; Acting in character, he single-handedly captures a merchant vessel, but things are complicated…
12
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the…
13
Pitfall (1948)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and crime
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
14
24 Frames (2018)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A collection of 24 short four-and-a-half minutes films inspired by still images, including paintings and photographs. An experimental project made by filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami in the last three years of his life.
15
House of Bamboo (1955)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
16
Abraham (1993)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Rather than choosing a great leader or king, God chooses Abraham, an elderly shepherd from Mesopotamia, as the way to establish his Covenant with mankind... A man of great faith, Abraham continues to believe in God…
17
Kid Galahad (1962)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and crime
After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.
18
Framed (1947)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame…
19
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)
★ 8.8/10Also drama
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the…
20
Border Incident (1949)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
The story concerns two agents, one Mexican (PJF) and one American, who are tasked to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant workers across the border to California. The two agents go undercover, one as a poor migrant.