Movies Like The Pearl Button (2015)

The Pearl Button is a 2015 documentary film from Patricio Guzmán with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Settlers and Nostalgia for the Light.

Documentary

The Settlers

2023

Chile, early 20th century. José Menéndez, a wealthy landowner, hires three horsemen to mark out the perimeter of his extensive property and open a route to the Atlantic Ocean across vast Patagonia.

6.7

MagicScore

Nostalgia for the Light

2010

In Chile's Atacama Desert, astronomers peer deep into the cosmos in search for answers concerning the origins of life. Nearby, a group of women sift through the sand searching for body parts of loved ones, dumped unceremoniously by Pinochet's regime.

7.4

MagicScore

Embrace of the Serpent

2015

The epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman, last survivor of his people, and two scientists that, over the course of 40 years, travel through the Amazon in search of a sacred plant that can heal them. Inspired by the journals of the first explorers of the Colombian Amazon, Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes.

7.7

MagicScore

The Battle of Chile: Part I

1975

The chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.

7.2

MagicScore

Missing

1982

Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to Chile to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US State department which supports the dictatorship.

7.2

MagicScore

Africa Blood and Guts

1966

A chronicle of the violence that occurred in much of the African continent throughout the 1960s. As many African countries were transitioning from colonial rule to other forms of government, violent political upheavals were frequent. Revolutions in Zanzibar and Kenya in which thousands were killed are shown, the violence not only political; there is also extensive footage of hunters and poachers slaughtering different types of wild animals.

6.3

MagicScore

Meek's Cutoff

2011

A group of settlers traveling through the Oregon High Desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.

6.5

MagicScore

Palestine 36

2025

Year 1936. As villages across Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless. With rising numbers of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe and some arriving with nefarious Zionist-colonial ambitions, and the Palestinian population uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30-year dominion, all sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.

8.1

MagicScore

Killers of the Flower Moon

2023

When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

7.4

MagicScore

#10

Tanna

2015

In a traditional tribal society in the South Pacific, a young girl, Wawa, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an inter-tribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, refusing her arranged fate. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

1972

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

The Mission

1986

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

7.4

MagicScore

#13

The Emerald Forest

1985

For ten years, engineer Bill Markham has searched tirelessly for his son Tommy who disappeared from the edge of the Brazilian rainforest. Miraculously, he finds the boy living among the reclusive Amazon tribe who adopted him. And that's when Bill's adventure truly begins. For his son is now a grown tribesman who moves skillfully through this beautiful-but-dangerous terrain, fearful only of those who would exploit it. And as Bill attempts to "rescue" him from the savagery of the untamed jungle, Tommy challenges Bill's idea of true civilization and his notions about who needs rescuing.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

La Llorona

2019

Accused of the genocide of Mayan people, retired general Enrique is trapped in his mansion by massive protests. Abandoned by his staff, the indignant old man and his family must face the devastating truth of his actions and the growing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes.

6.4

MagicScore

#15

Birds of Passage

2018

During the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

No

2012

In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency. The country will vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to Pinochet extending his rule for another eight years. Opposition leaders for the ‘No’ vote persuade a brash young advertising executive, René Saavedra, to spearhead their campaign. Against all odds, with scant resources and while under scrutiny by the despot’s minions, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and set Chile free.

7.2

MagicScore

#17

Chile '76

2022

Chile, 1976. Carmen heads off to her beach house. When the family priest asks her to take care of a young man he is sheltering in secret, Carmen steps onto unexplored territories, away from the quiet life she is used to.

7.0

MagicScore

#18

A Fantastic Woman

2017

Marina's life is thrown into turmoil following the death of her partner. Mourning the loss of the man she loved, she finds herself under intense scrutiny from those with no regard for her privacy.

7.0

MagicScore

#19

The Green Inferno

2013

A group of student activists travel from New York City to the Amazon to save the rainforest. However, once they arrive in this vast green landscape, they soon discover that they are not alone… and that no good deed goes unpunished.

5.7

MagicScore

#20

Measures of Men

2023

Berlin at the end of the 19th Century. Alexander Hoffmann is an ambitious PhD student of Ethnology. When a delegation of the Herero and Nama tribes travels to Berlin during a ‘Colonial Exhibition’, he takes a special interest in their young female translator Kezia Kambazembi as subject for his studies.

6.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Pearl Button?

The top films similar to The Pearl Button by MovieMagicScore are The Settlers (6.7), Nostalgia for the Light (7.4), Embrace of the Serpent (7.7). Each shares documentary themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Pearl Button worth watching?

The Pearl Button holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 73 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Pearl Button?

The Pearl Button (2015) is a documentary film directed by Patricio Guzmán, starring Patricio Guzmán, Martín G. Calderón, Gabriela Paterito.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Pearl Button?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Settlers Movies like Nostalgia for the Light Movies like Embrace of the Serpent Movies like The Battle of Chile: Part I Movies like Missing Movies like Africa Blood and Guts

About movies like The Pearl Button

This ranked list pairs The Pearl Button (2015), a documentary film from Patricio Guzmán, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Patricio Guzmán take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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