20 movies like Trouble the Water, ordered by similarity : Which Way Home(2009), Hoop Dreams(1994), 4 Little Girls(1997), The Possibilities Are Endless(2014), God Grew Tired of Us(2006), The Joneses(2016), Trantasia(2006), Legion of Brothers(2017), Kabul, City in the Wind(2018), The Alps(2007), Aida's Secrets(2016), 7 Days in September(2002) ...
Documentary
USA
2008
93 Minutes
wife husband neighbor refugee powerful gutsy intense new orleans hideout family home hurricane katrina class distinctions racism flooding natural disasters quest transformation sacrifice 2000s
A redemptive tale of an aspiring rap artist surviving failed levees and her own troubled past and seizing a chance for a new beginning.
Documentary
USA
2009
83 Minutes
migrant immigrant young boy young girl teen boy emotional engaging inspiring intense powerful el salvador honduras mexico train illegal immigration immigration american dream childhood new life family
"Which Way Home" is a feature documentary film that follows unaccompanied child migrants, on their journey through Mexico, as they try to reach the United States. We follow children like ... See full summary »
Documentary, Drama
USA
1994
174 Minutes
William Gates Arthur Agee Sheila Agee Isiah Thomas Bill Gleason
basketball player teenager mother father coach teacher uplifting powerful gutsy emotional chicago westchester, ill. basketball court family home basketball ambition high school racism class distinctions growing up
A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Documentary
USA
1997
102 Minutes
racist victim preacher mother father young girl somber powerful church birmingham, ala. family home racism terrorism murder violence politics pursuit quest sacrifice 1990s
A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.
Documentary
UK
2014
83 Minutes
James Hall
songwriter lyricist husband wife emotional inspiring profound raw scotland hospital hospital room stroke recovery overcoming the odds music songwriting fall rise sacrifice transformation
Imagine your mind has been wiped: memories, knowledge, experiences, language - every word you ever spoke, has vanished. If eventually you found the words, what would you say? For Edwyn Collins, 'The Possibilities Are Endless'.
Documentary
USA
2006
86 Minutes
refugee young man immigrant african survivor friend inspiring incredible sad emotional sudan kenya united states apartment pool city refugees assimilation horrors of war political repression
Four boys from Sudan embark on a journey to America after years of wandering Sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety.
Documentary
UK|USA
2016
80 Minutes
transgender woman child family member friend boss neighbor brooding emotional intense house store car office restaurant bar transsexuality anger fighting family disapproval
Moby Longinotto's feature documentary debut tells the story of Jheri Jones, a 74 year old transgender divorcee, and her family in Bible Belt Mississippi. Reconciled after years of ... See full summary »
Documentary
USA
2006
88 Minutes
transsexual performer mother father contestant filmmaker touching emotional intense las vegas stage family home beauty pageant training gender identity family prejudice going home underdog growing up
In 2004, Las Vegas promoters planning a review starring Jahna Steele invite trans women to participate in "The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant," a two-day contest from which ... See full summary »
Documentary
USA
2017
79 Minutes
green beret terrorist soldier george w. bush intense patriotic powerful tense afghanistan battlefield warfare special ops terror terrorism combat secret mission war adventure 2000s
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, fewer than 100 US Troops were sent on a secret mission to overthrow the Taliban. What happens next is equal parts war-origin story and cautionary tale, ... See full summary »
Documentary
Afghanistan|Germany|Japan|Netherlands
2018
88 Minutes
bus driver terrorist brother father family member friend bleak brooding tense emotional touching disheartening afghan village house bus iran desert terrorism suicide bombing family
A city is an orchestration of its inhabitants. The film portraits the city Kabul through daily details of two kids and a bus driver, set against the background of a city destroyed by politic and religious powers.
Documentary
USA
2007
44 Minutes
mountain climber wife daughter father thrilling uneasy spectacular gutsy the alps switzerland dangerous job mountain climbing family honor father/daughter relationship redemption nature adventure quest 2000s
John Harlin III attempts to climb the North Face of the Eiger, the site of his father's death forty years earlier.
Documentary
Germany|Israel|Canada|USA
2016
90 Minutes
Shaul Schwarz
birth mother man brother father canadian israeli emotional fascinating intense israel canada airport nursing home car house separation secrets reunion questioning doubt
Family secrets, lies, high drama and generations of contemporary history unspool in this international story that begins with World War II and concludes with an emotional 21st-century ... See full summary »
Documentary
USA
2002
94 Minutes
Steve Rosenbaum
police officer rescue worker civilian fireman filmmaker powerful patriotic moving new york city manhattan, n.y. 9/11 attacks terrorism rescue disaster rise fall sacrifice 2000s
This documentary from director Steven Rosenbaum presents the experiences of a diverse group of regular Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Featuring ... See full summary »
Documentary
USA
2011
107 Minutes
patient physician politician wife widow somber disturbing gripping oregon hospital family home suicide cancer compassion death euthanasia escape transformation 2000s
In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize a terminally ill person's request to end his or her life with medication. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had ... See full summary »
Documentary
USA
2011
81 Minutes
chef son family member customer employee manager confident intense inspiring restaurant tokyo house kitchen office street food determination obsession legacy family
A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
Documentary
UK|USA|Netherlands
1995
115 Minutes
Glenn Close Anne Frank Edith Frank Margot Frank
father mother sister friend refugee jew emotional touching moving netherlands amsterdam hideout anne frank anti-semitism nazism survival family holocaust growing up discovery
Using previously unreleased archival material in addition to contemporary interviews, this academy award-winning documentary tells the story of the Frank family and presents the first ... See full summary »
Mystery & Thriller, Documentary, Comedy
USA
2002
97 Minutes
Paige Kimble Jonathan Knisely Balu Natarajan Julianne Ruth
child parent teacher announcer reporter uplifting charming inspiring hotel washington, d.c. family home spelling bee success competition class distinctions childhood family rivalry quest underdog
Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
Documentary
Germany|USA
2005
88 Minutes
Mina Block
documentarian father old flame mother sister friend emotional engaging powerful long island, n.y. family home party suburbia marriage family secrets death starting over interview relocation mystery
Documentary filmmaker Doug Block had every reason to believe his parents' 54-year marriage was a good one. But when his mother dies unexpectedly and his father swiftly marries his former ... See full summary »
Documentary
UK
2009
90 Minutes
Andrew Thompson Angela Campbell Laura Freeth
president robert mugabe government official zimbabwean farmer judge engaging gripping inspiring rousing chegutu, zimbabwe farm courtroom farming michael campbell human rights property rights racism land reform quest sacrifice underdog
An intimate and moving account of one family's extraordinary courage in the face of overwhelming injustice and brutality.
Documentary
USA
2009
117 Minutes
Alicia Sams Ronnie Cho Dick Armey Hillary Clinton
candidate political consultant wife activist young boy patriotic moving passionate illinois family home washington, d.c. political rally call center white house barack obama political campaign election racism public relations united states presidency
Nearly a year before Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency, two filmmakers began to roll cameras on the young senator. Over the next 19 months, across the USA, the daily events of the presidential campaign are chronicled.
Documentary
Sweden|USA
2016
92 Minutes
jazz musician husband wife confident cool fascinating offbeat new york city east village studio love nursing jazz drug addiction domestic violence discovery love revenge transformation sacrifice
An exploration of the relationship between jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who was implicated in his murder in 1972.