15 Movies Like Waves

Loved Waves? 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.

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#1

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Xander Cage is your standard adrenaline junkie with no fear and a lousy attitude. When the US Government "recruits" him to go on a mission, he's not exactly thrilled. His mission: to gather information on an organization that may just be planning the destruction of the world, led by the nihilistic Yorgi.

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

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
#2

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

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

Bridge of Spies
#3

Bridge of Spies

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.

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

Spotlight
#4

Spotlight

The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

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

Touchless
#5

Touchless

Jolana (18) is an object of her step-father's desire. She is unable to cope, especially when her own mother turns a blind eye. Those events are heavily paid for when she finds herself working in a brothel. Her inability to cope raise a question: What is it she actually wants? Are her dreams of escaping really better than the reality she finds herself in?

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

Shattered Glass
#6

Shattered Glass

Stephen 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' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.

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

Topaz
#7

Topaz

Copenhagen, Denmark, 1962. When a high-ranking Soviet official decides to change sides, a French intelligence agent is caught up in a cold, silent and bloody spy war in which his own family will play a decisive role.

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

A Streetcar Named Desire
#8

A Streetcar Named Desire

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

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

At Eternity's Gate
#9

At Eternity's Gate

Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.

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

The Painted Bird
#10

The Painted Bird

After losing his parents, a young Jewish boy wanders Eastern Europe, seeking refuge during World War II.

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

Marketa Lazarová
#11

Marketa Lazarová

Mikolás and his brother Adam end up with a young German hostage of noble blood during a robbery. While their clan prepares for the wrath of the German king, Mikolás is sent to pressure his neighbor Lazar into a defense pact. Persuasion fails and he abducts Lazar's daughter Marketa on the eve of her initiation as a nun in an act of vengeance.

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

Experimenter
#12

Experimenter

Yale University, 1961. Stanley Milgram designs a psychology experiment that still resonates to this day, in which people think they’re delivering painful electric shocks to an affable stranger strapped into a chair in another room. Despite his pleads for mercy, the majority of subjects don’t stop the experiment, administering what they think is a near-fatal electric shock, simply because they’ve been told to do so. With Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial airing in living rooms across America, Milgram strikes a nerve in popular culture and the scientific community with his exploration into people’s tendency to comply with authority. Celebrated in some circles, he is also accused of being a deceptive, manipulative monster, but his wife Sasha stands by him through it all.

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

The Courier
#13

The Courier

Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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

Mandragora
#14

Mandragora

Marek is a 15-year-old from a provincial village who runs away to Prague when he begins to fail at school. He is mugged shortly after arriving in the city and is rescued by Honza with the promise of work. Marek is taken to an apartment, drugged, and becomes a male prostitute. He is a bit smarter than his colleagues and teams up with a friend, David, in order to go after bigger scores – to cash in and get out. They manage to stash away a bit of money, but when it comes time to return home, Marek loses his nerve and is soon back in the city.

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

Belfast
#15

Belfast

Buddy 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 momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.

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