Movies Like Swirl: A Letter to Hair on the Cape Flats

If you liked Swirl: A Letter to Hair on the Cape Flats, a movie directed by Quanita Adams, 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
Good Hair (2009)
★ 6.5/10
An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, GOOD HAIR visits beauty salons and hairstyling battles, scientific laboratories and Indian temples to explore the way hairstyles impact the…
2
Blow Dry (2001)
★ 5.9/10
The annual British Hairdressing Championship comes to Keighley, a town where Phil and son Brian run a barbershop and Phil's ex-wife Shelly and her lover Sandra run a beauty salon.
3
Steel Magnolias (1989)
★ 7.2/10
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.
4
Nappily Ever After (2018)
★ 7.2/10
After an accident at the hair salon, Violet realizes she's not living life to the fullest. A soulful barber helps her put the pieces back together.
5
Swan Song (2021)
★ 6.9/10
An aging hairdresser escapes his nursing home to embark on an odyssey across his small town to style a dead woman's hair for her funeral, rediscovering his sparkle along the way.
6
Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
★ 6.1/10
The continuing adventures of the barbers at Calvin's Barbershop. Gina, a stylist at the beauty shop next door, is now trying to cut in on his business. Calvin is again struggling to keep his father's shop and…
7
Beauty Shop (2005)
★ 6.3/10
Far from Chicago, hairdresser Gina Norris has relocated to Atlanta with her daughter and has quickly established herself as a rare talent in her profession. But after repeatedly butting heads with her shady…
8
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
★ 7.5/10
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him…
9
The Great Dictator (1940)
★ 8.3/10
Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
10
Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016)
★ 6.3/10
To survive harsh economic times, Calvin and Angie have merged the barbershop and beauty salon into one business. The days of male bonding are gone as Eddie and the crew must now contend with sassy female co-workers and…
11
Shampoo (1975)
★ 6/10
On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his…
12
Body Bags (1993)
★ 6.2/10
A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college student working a graveyard shift is terrorized by a serial killer; a hair transplant goes horribly wrong; and a baseball player loses an eye and gets a new…
13
Barbershop (2002)
★ 6.5/10
A day in the life of a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Calvin, who inherited the struggling business from his deceased father, views the shop as nothing but a burden and waste of his time. After selling the…
14
The Expendables 2 (2012)
★ 6.4/10
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.
15
Tangled: Before Ever After (2017)
★ 6.8/10
Rapunzel grapples with the responsibilities of being a princess and the overprotective ways of her father. While she wholeheartedly loves Eugene, Rapunzel does not share his immediate desire to get married and settle…
16
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
★ 6.1/10
In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in…
17
Portal to Hell (2025)
★ 6.1/10
After a debt-collector finds a portal to hell in a washing machine at his local laundromat, he’s propositioned into feeding it sinners to save his neighbor’s soul, maybe even at the expense of his own.
18
Adoration (2013)
★ 6.1/10
Lil and Roz are two lifelong friends, having grown up together as neighbors in an idyllic beach town. As adults, their sons have developed a friendship as strong as that which binds their mothers. One summer, all four…
19
Spa Weekend (2026)
★ 6.5/10
Four lifelong friends realize that somewhere between careers, relationships, families, and everyday responsibilities, they’ve forgotten how to take care of themselves and each other. Burned out and overdue for a break…
20
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
★ 6.3/10
Frank, a retired Irish seaman, and Walter, a retired Cuban barber, are two lonely old men trapped in the emptiness of their own lives. When they meet in a park Frank is able to start a conversation after several…