Movies Like The Circus of Life

If you liked The Circus of Life (1917), a drama movie directed by Rupert Julian, here are 19 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Young One (1960)
★ 7/10Also drama
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
2
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
3
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…
4
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
5
What Maisie Knew (2013)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new…
6
The Attack (2012)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing.
7
The Girl in the Book (2015)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
8
Hands of Stone (2016)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
9
Little Boy Blue (1998)
★ 6/10Also drama
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The…
10
The Nest (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban…
11
Hardball (2001)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
12
The Good Neighbor (2022)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and…
13
Salomé (2013)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé…
14
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…
15
The Thing with Feathers (2025)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Following the death of his wife, a young father's hold on reality crumbles, and a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
16
Holy Lands (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife…
17
All Day and a Night (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
18
Light of My Life (2019)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
19
Alex of Venice (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.