Movies Like Day of the Idiots

If you liked Day of the Idiots (1981), a drama movie directed by Werner Schroeter, 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
Fathers and Daughters (2015)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.
2
Helen (2009)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her…
3
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
★ 7/10Also drama
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
4
The Girl in the Book (2015)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
5
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
6
Before I Fall (2017)
★ 7/10Also drama
Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her…
7
Agatha and the Midnight Murders (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
As bombs fall on London, writer Agatha Christie decides it is time to kill off her most famous creation.
8
The Book of Henry (2017)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother…
9
Eleanor the Great (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
10
Sky (2016)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.
11
Colossal (2017)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
A woman discovers that severe catastrophic events are somehow connected to the mental breakdown from which she's suffering.
12
Madame X (1966)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Holly Parker, the wife of a wealthy diplomat, is compromised by the accidental death of a man who has been romantically pursuing her. She is forced by her mother-in-law to assume a new identity in order to save the…
13
Corsage (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain…
14
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal…
15
The River (1984)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from…
16
Nothing Personal (2009)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring…
17
The Son (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.
18
Fedora (1978)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement, only to discover the horrifying truth behind her success.
19
My Dinner with Hervé (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
20
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.