Movies Like Paul Laurence Dunbar: An American Poet

If you liked Paul Laurence Dunbar: An American Poet (2021), a movie directed by Kane Stratton, 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
Dead Poets Society (1989)
★ 8.3/10
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern…
2
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
★ 6.6/10
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
3
The Magic of Belle Isle (2012)
★ 7/10
In an effort to tap into his original talent, a wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.
4
Great Expectations (1998)
★ 6.7/10
Loosely based on the Charles Dickens' classic novel, "Great Expectations" is a sensual tale of a young man's unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever…
5
Mr. Church (2016)
★ 7.4/10
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
6
Lockout (2012)
★ 5.9/10
Set in the near future, Lockout follows a falsely convicted ex-government agent , whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President's daughter from rioting convicts at an…
7
Avalon (1990)
★ 6.7/10
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
8
Cabrini (2024)
★ 7.7/10
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and…
9
The Help (2011)
★ 8.2/10
Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers…
10
Life (1999)
★ 6.7/10
Two men in 1930s Mississippi become friends after being sentenced to life in prison together for a crime they did not commit.
11
Blue Moon (2025)
★ 6.6/10
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers, celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking…
12
The Great Debaters (2007)
★ 7.3/10
The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the…
13
The Way We Were (1973)
★ 7/10
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their…
14
Hancock (2008)
★ 6.4/10
Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of…
15
American Movie (1999)
★ 7.5/10
American Movie documents the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, American Movie…
16
Forrest Gump (1994)
★ 8.5/10
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one…
17
Dead Man Walking (1995)
★ 7.3/10
A death row inmate turns for spiritual guidance to a local nun in the days leading up to his scheduled execution for the murders of a young couple.
18
The Notebook (2004)
★ 7.9/10
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is…
19
The Edge of Love (2008)
★ 6.2/10
When the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his flirtatious wife Caitlin sweep into war-torn London, the last thing they expect is to bump into Dylan's childhood sweetheart Vera. Despite her joy at seeing Dylan after so many…
20
Far from Heaven (2002)
★ 7.1/10
In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife's life is upended by a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in society.