Movies Like Ballad for a Dog

If you liked Ballad for a Dog (1969), a movie directed by Gérard Vergez, 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
Winter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)
★ 7.3/10
Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.
2
Ruby Sparks (2012)
★ 7.1/10
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby…
3
My Dog Stupid (2019)
★ 5.9/10
Henri is a middle-aged writer with fading inspiration who has published nothing worthy of note in years. Feeling increasingly misunderstood by his wife and four grown up deadbeat kids, he dreams of running away to…
4
Drop Dead Fred (1991)
★ 5.8/10
An unhappy housewife gets a lift from the return of her imaginary childhood friend, Drop Dead Fred.
5
Paper Man (2009)
★ 6.3/10
A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his…
6
Alter Ego (2026)
★ 6.3/10
A quiet, middle-aged man spirals into obsession and paranoia when a charismatic look-alike moves in next door, featuring the exact same face—and a full head of hair.
7
Gigi & Nate (2022)
★ 7.6/10
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
8
The Friend (2025)
★ 6.7/10
New York City writer Iris finds her comfortable, solitary life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor bequeaths her a Great Dane named Apollo. The huge dog immediately creates practical problems for…
9
Stealing Beauty (1996)
★ 6.7/10
Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian…
10
Harvey (1950)
★ 7.7/10
The story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to…
11
Remi, Nobody's Boy (2018)
★ 7.9/10
At the age of 10 years, young Rémi is snatched from his adoptive mother and entrusted to the signor Vitalis, a mysterious itinerant musician. Has its hard sides - he will learn the harsh life of acrobat and sing to win…
12
The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025)
★ 6.1/10
Confined to a secluded rest home and trapped within his stroke-ridden body, a former Judge must stop an elderly psychopath who employs a child's puppet to abuse the home's residents with deadly consequences.
13
Ted (2012)
★ 6.5/10
John Bennett, a man whose childhood wish of bringing his teddy bear to life came true, now must decide between keeping the relationship with the bear or his girlfriend, Lori.
14
Shadows in the Sun (2005)
★ 6.2/10
An aspiring young writer tracks a literary titan suffering from writers block to his refuge in rural Italy and learns about life and love from the irascible genius and his daughters.
15
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)
★ 7.5/10
No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age…
16
Frankenweenie (2012)
★ 7/10
When a car hits young Victor's pet dog Sparky, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked "monster" wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor's neighbors, he has…
17
Hold-up (1985)
★ 6.2/10
Dressed as a clown, the clever rascal Grimm holds up the most secure bank of Montreal and takes 30 hostages. While confusing and ridiculing the police with his strange behavior, he calmly manages to rid the bank of a…
18
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
★ 6.3/10
Set in the year 2024 in post-apocalyptic America, 18-year old Vic and his telepathic dog, Blood, are scavengers in the desolate wilderness ravaged by World War IV, where survivors must battle for food and shelter in…
19
House (1985)
★ 6.2/10
A divorced horror novelist coming to terms with the disappearance of his young son inherits an old mansion home to malevolent supernatural residents.
20
Scent of a Woman (1992)
★ 7.8/10
Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after…