Movies Like Modern Life

If you liked Modern Life (2008), a documentary movie directed by Raymond Depardon, 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
The Biggest Little Farm (2019)
★ 7.6/10Also documentary
The successes and failures of a couple determined to live in harmony with nature on a farm outside of Los Angeles are lovingly chronicled by filmmaking farmer John Chester, in this inspiring documentary.
2
Baraka (1992)
★ 8.2/10Also documentary
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
3
Whispers in the Woods (2025)
★ 7.9/10Also documentary
In the heart of the tranquil Vosges forests, where lynxes, bears and deer roam freely, Vincent Munier accompanies his father on his expeditions. He not only seeks to capture the visual wonders of this forest kingdom…
4
Kiss the Ground (2020)
★ 7.7/10Also documentary
Sheds light on an alternative approach to farming called “regenerative agriculture” that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.
5
Cow (2022)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A close-up portrait of the daily lives of a pair of cows: told by way of some narrative-free, intimate POV photography, with plenty of close shot images, we follow the daily routine of these animals as they live what…
6
Daguerréotypes (1978)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary
An intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers of the Rue Daguerre in Paris, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker’s home for more than 50 years.
7
Cameraperson (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also documentary
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What…
8
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary
Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young…
9
180° South (2010)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
10
Heart of a Dog (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
11
Audrey (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
12
Food, Inc. (2008)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets…
13
Maria by Callas (2017)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York…
14
Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
15
O.J.: Made in America (2016)
★ 8.4/10Also documentary
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
16
Naqoyqatsi (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also documentary
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
17
Bambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary
The life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father, and the experience he gains about the dangers posed by human…
18
Tomorrow (2015)
★ 7.8/10Also documentary
Climate is changing. Instead of showing all the worst that can happen, this documentary focuses on the people suggesting solutions and their actions.
19
Powaqqatsi (1988)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
20
Altman (2014)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary
Robert Altman's life and career contained multitudes. This father of American independent cinema left an indelible mark, not merely on the evolution of his art form, but also on the western zeitgeist. With its use of…