15 Movies Like The American Friend

Loved The American Friend? Based on its unique Cinema DNA—including its pacing, themes, and emotional tone—we've curated the ultimate list of what you should watch next.

Once Upon a Time in America
#1

Once Upon a Time in America

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

💡Why it's a match: A highly-rated genre match based on the viewing habits of people who liked The American Friend.

Grand Jete
#2

Grand Jete

Dance teacher and mother Nadja left her son Mario with her own mother when he was little. Now she has reappeared on his doorstep, seeking a closeness that knows fewer and fewer boundaries. An uncompromising film about family relationships.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Heidi
#3

Heidi

Heidi, is an eight-year-old Swiss orphan who is given by her aunt to her mountain-dwelling grandfather. She is then stolen back by her aunt from her grandfather to live in the wealthy Sesemann household in Frankfurt, Germany as a companion to Klara, a sheltered, disabled girl in a wheelchair. Heidi is unhappy but makes the best of the situation, always longing for her grandfather.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

The Tank
#4

The Tank

A German Tiger tank crew is sent on a dangerous mission to rescue the missing officer Paul von Hardenburg from a top-secret bunker behind enemy lines. As they make their way through the lethal no-man's land, they must confront not only the enemy, but also their own fears and inner demons. Fueled by the Wehrmacht's methamphetamine, their mission increasingly becomes a journey into the heart of darkness.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Drifter
#5

Drifter

Moritz follows a boyfriend to Berlin and is soon abandoned by him. Alone in the big city, he embarks on a journey through a wide range of queer experience. Only through a new circle of queer friends does he develop his own ideas of sexuality and masculinity, leading him to a clearer self-identity.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

All Quiet on the Western Front
#6

All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Fall for Me
#7

Fall for Me

Lilli is suspicious of her sister's new fiance, but when an attractive stranger enters her life, she's suddenly distracted by the thralls of desire.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Das Boot
#8

Das Boot

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

The Lives of Others
#9

The Lives of Others

In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Brick
#10

Brick

When a mysterious brick wall encloses their apartment building overnight, Tim and Olivia must unite with their wary neighbors to get out alive.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Downfall
#11

Downfall

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Marathon Man
#12

Marathon Man

A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.

💡Why it's a match: A highly-rated genre match based on the viewing habits of people who liked The American Friend.

3096 Days
#13

3096 Days

A young Austrian girl is kidnapped and held in captivity for eight years. Based on the real-life case of Natascha Kampusch.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Who Am I
#14

Who Am I

Benjamin, a young German computer whiz, is invited to join a subversive hacker group that wants to be noticed on the world's stage.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.

Hotel Desire
#15

Hotel Desire

Antonia is a single mother who works as a hotel maid in Berlin. A normal hot summer day takes a dramatic turn when she crosses paths with a particular guest of the hotel, famous blind portrait painter Julius Pass.

💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to The American Friend.