Movies Like 1938: When Mexico Recovered Its Oil
If you liked 1938: When Mexico Recovered Its Oil (2025), a drama and history movie directed by Sergio Olhovich, 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

Munich - The Edge of War (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and historyAt the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
- 2

Memories of My Father (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and historyIn the polarized and violent Medellín (Colombia's 'City of Eternal Spring') of the 1970s, doctor Héctor Abad Gómez is concerned about both his children and children from less favored classes. After a devastating loss…
- 3

Adventures of a Mathematician (2021)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and historyThe warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and…
- 4

Origin (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and historyWhile investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience.
- 5

The Captive (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historyIn 1575, the young soldier Miguel de Cervantes is captured on the high seas by Barbary pirates and taken to Algiers as a hostage. Aware that a cruel death awaits him if his family does not pay his ransom soon, he finds…
- 6

Julia (1977)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and historyAt the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
- 7

Belfast (2021)
★ 7/10Also drama and historyBuddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a…
- 8

Shattered Glass (2003)
★ 7/10Also drama and historyStephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass'…
- 9

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and historyA story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
- 10

Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend (2022)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and historyFollow the launch of Lamborghini’s career as a manufacturer of tractors, a creator of military vehicles during World War II, and the designer of Lamborghini cars, which he launched in 1963 as the high-end sports car…
- 11

Giant (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and historyFollows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership…
- 12

Flamin' Hot (2023)
★ 8/10Also drama and historyThe inspiring true story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin' Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and…
- 13

The Red Virgin (2024)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and historyHildegart is conceived and educated by her mother Aurora to be the woman of the future, to become one of the most brilliant minds of Spain in the 1930s and one of the European references on female sexuality.
- 14

The House on Carroll Street (1988)
★ 5.9/10Also dramaA reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house…
- 15

Mank (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and history1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
- 16

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
★ 6/10Also dramaThe true story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, the grandson of the founder of the Heineken brewery, and his driver. They were released after a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders was paid.
- 17

The 33 (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and historyBased on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.
- 18

I Swear (2025)
★ 8.3/10Also drama and historyDiagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at 15, John Davidson navigates his way against the odds through troubled teenage years and into adulthood, finding inspiration in the kindness of others to discover his true purpose in…
- 19

The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and historyFr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him…
- 20

LBJ (2017)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and historyThe story of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House.