Movies Like Palo Santo

If you liked Palo Santo (2018), a music and drama movie directed by Fred Rowson, 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
Vesper (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and fantasy
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking…
2
Bessie (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
3
Battle of the Year (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also music and drama
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
4
Cadillac Records (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and music
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta…
5
Too Late Blues (1961)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his…
6
Clika (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also music and drama
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of…
7
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
★ 7/10Also music and drama
The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.
8
Horns (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and fantasy
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
9
Coda (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also music and drama
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
10
A (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and music
A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.
11
The Zero Theorem (2013)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and fantasy
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
12
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend…
13
40 Acres (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and fantasy
Hailey 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…
14
Waking Life (2001)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and fantasy
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like…
15
Heavy Metal (1981)
★ 6.5/10Also fantasy and music
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
16
The Mambo Kings (1992)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.
17
Nine Days (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and fantasy
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
18
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
★ 7.1/10Also music and fantasy
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
19
Special (2006)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and fantasy
A lonely metermaid has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else.
20
Teen Spirit (2019)
★ 6/10Also music and drama
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.