Movies Like Jean Painlevé Through His Films
If you liked Jean Painlevé Through His Films (1989), a documentary movie directed by Denis Derrien, 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

35 Up (1991)
★ 7.6/10Also documentaryDirector Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
- 2

Woman (2020)
★ 7.7/10Also documentaryThe film is based on interviews with 2,000 women from 50 countries, and covers the status of women all over the world. The topics covered include forced marriages, sexual assault, female genital mutilation, acid…
- 3

21 Up (1977)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryAfter another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives…
- 4

28 Up (1985)
★ 7.5/10Also documentaryJust two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
- 5

42 Up (1999)
★ 7.6/10Also documentaryDirector Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
- 6

Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
★ 6.5/10Also documentaryFilm adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
- 7

12 Days (2017)
★ 7.1/10Also documentaryA new documentary by filmmaker-photographer Raymond Depardon – where justice and psychiatry meet.
- 8

The Bus: A French Football Mutiny (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also documentaryThis documentary revisits the French football team's controversial 2010 World Cup and the bus strike that sparked global headlines and national outrage.
- 9

Directed by John Ford (1971)
★ 7/10Also documentaryA documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
- 10

McQueen (2018)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryAlexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own…
- 11

Dawg Fight (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryIn a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
- 12

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
★ 7.8/10Also documentaryA compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
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Voyeur (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also documentaryLegendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
- 14

Above Majestic (2018)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryA look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
- 15

Fuck (2006)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryA documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
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Diego Maradona (2019)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryConstructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage, this documentary centers on the personal life and career of the controversial football player Diego Maradona who played for SSC Napoli and Argentina in the…
- 17

Daguerréotypes (1978)
★ 7.3/10Also documentaryAn intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers of the Rue Daguerre in Paris, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker’s home for more than 50 years.
- 18

A Toxic Love Story (2026)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryA string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
- 19

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryA documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
- 20

Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child (2023)
★ 5.8/10Also documentaryPro boxing sensation — and perennial troublemaker — Jake Paul shares his unlikely journey from online prankster to power puncher in this documentary.