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Wolf Totem poster

Movies that feel likeWolf Totem (2015)

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.

If you loved Wolf Totem, the closest films we have are Alpha (2018), Labyrinth of Lies (2014) and The Ambassador (2011). All three share Wolf Totem'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 Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004).

🍅 67% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jean-Jacques Annaudepiccontemplative
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Essential

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If Wolf Totem hit the spot, these will too

Alpha poster
Alpha
2018 · dir. Albert Hughes
🍅 80%★ 6.6adventure · drama

Both are built on the same subject: wolf

In the prehistoric past, Keda, a young and inexperienced hunter, struggles to return home after being separated from his tribe when bison hunting goes awry. On his way back he will find an unexpected ally.

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

Epic and contemplative in the same breath

The difference: Sits closer to history than Wolf Totem does

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

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

Adventure with a pulse of scale, 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.

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

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The difference: Reviewed even better

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.

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

Epic adventure, and it commits to that

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.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
2001 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 95%★ 8.1adventure · drama · history

Contemplative drama in both cases

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.

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

Both play drama straight

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.

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

A 2000s answer to the same itch

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.

Mulan: Rise of a Warrior poster
Mulan: Rise of a Warrior
2009 · dir. Jingle Ma Choh-Sing
★ 6.6adventure · drama · action

The same adventure instincts

When barbarian hordes threaten her homeland, the brave and cunning Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier to swell the ranks in her aging father's stead. The warrior's remarkable courage drives her through powerful battle scenes and brutal wartime strategy. Mulan loses dear friends to the enemy's blade as she rises to become one of her country's most valuable leaders — but can she win the war before her secret is exposed?

Captain Blood poster
Captain Blood
1935 · dir. Michael Curtiz
🍅 100%★ 7.7adventure

Both are adventure through and through

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Wolf Totem

Dr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.

Seven Years in Tibet poster
Seven Years in Tibet
1997 · dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
🍅 57%★ 7.1adventure · drama · historyNetflix

Jean-Jacques Annaud working the same nerve twice

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

The Lost City of Z poster
The Lost City of Z
2017 · dir. James Gray
🍅 87%★ 6.6adventure · drama · historyPrime Video

Drama of the same temperament

A true-life drama in the 1920s, centering on British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett, who discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization in the Amazon and disappeared whilst searching for it.

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The best-reviewed films that share Wolf Totem’s defining feeling.