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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster

Movies that feel likeLagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.

If you loved Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, the closest films we have are Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Labyrinth of Lies (2014) and Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004). All three share Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India's epic and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Ambassador (2011).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ashutosh Gowarikerepiccontemplative
6 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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See it on the Mood Map

If Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India hit the spot, these will too

Jodhaa Akbar poster
Jodhaa Akbar
2008 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 81%★ 7.5romance · history · drama

The same hand behind both of them: Ashutosh Gowariker

The difference: Leans further into romance

A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess.

Labyrinth of Lies poster
Labyrinth of Lies
2014 · dir. Giulio Ricciarelli
🍅 83%★ 7.3drama · history

The same preoccupation in both: a true story

A young prosecutor in postwar West Germany investigates a massive conspiracy to cover up the Nazi pasts of prominent public figures.

Los Angeles Plays Itself poster
Los Angeles Plays Itself
2004 · dir. Thom Andersen
🍅 96%★ 7.8documentary · history

The same mix in both: scale, then stillness

From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.

Paris Is Burning poster
Paris Is Burning
1991 · dir. Jennie Livingston
🍅 99%★ 8.2documentary · historyMax

Epic history, and it commits to that

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

The Girl with the Needle poster
The Girl with the Needle
2024 · dir. Magnus von Horn
🍅 93%★ 7.5drama · historyRent or buy

One thread runs through both: a true story

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 2020s show

Struggling to survive in post-WWI Copenhagen, a newly unemployed and pregnant young woman is taken in by a charismatic elder to help run an underground adoption agency. The two form an unexpected bond, until a sudden discovery changes everything.

Borg vs McEnroe poster
Borg vs McEnroe
2017 · dir. Janus Metz
🍅 84%★ 6.9drama · historyNetflixParamount+

Both keep coming back to the same thing: sports

The Swedish Björn Borg and the American John McEnroe, the best tennis players in the world, maintain a legendary duel during the 1980 Wimbledon tournament.

The Act of Killing poster
The Act of Killing
2012 · dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
🍅 96%★ 8.2documentary · historyRent or buy

Contemplative adventure in both cases

After befriending documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various American film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young poster
🍅 60%★ 7.7documentary · historyPrime Video

Drama built on scale, twice over

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

In its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.

The Ambassador poster
The Ambassador
2011 · dir. Mads Brügger
🍅 71%★ 7.2documentary · history

History with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Danish journalist Mads Brügger goes undercover as a Liberian Ambassador to embark on a dangerous yet hysterical journey to uncover the blood diamond trade in Africa.

Coach Carter poster
Coach Carter
2005 · dir. Thomas Carter
🍅 63%★ 7.4drama · historyStarz

Common ground: sports

Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

Wolf Totem poster
Wolf Totem
2015 · dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
🍅 67%★ 6.6adventure · drama

Cut from the same adventure cloth

In 1969, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.

Milk poster
Milk
2008 · dir. Gus Van Sant
🍅 93%★ 7.5history · drama

Both are drama through and through

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

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The best-reviewed films that share Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India’s defining feeling.