Movies Like Waiting for Happiness (2002)

Waiting for Happiness is a 2002 drama film from Abderrahmane Sissako with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Timbuktu and The Wound.

Drama

Timbuktu

2014

Just outside of the Malian city of Timbuktu, now occupied by militant Islamic rebels who impose the Sharia on civilians and inconvenience their daily life, a cattleman kills a fisherman.

7.0

MagicScore

The Wound

2017

Eastern Cape, South Africa. A lonely factory worker, Xolani, takes time off his job to assist during an annual Xhosa circumcision initiation into manhood. In a remote mountain camp that is off limits to women, young men, painted in white ochre, recuperate as they learn the masculine codes of their culture. In this environment of machismo and aggression, Xolani cares for a defiant initiate from Johannesburg, Kwanda, who quickly learns Xolani's best kept secret, that he is in love with another man.

6.2

MagicScore

The Battle of Algiers

1966

Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu, a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe, a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing brutality, no violent act is too unthinkable.

7.9

MagicScore

The Hill

1965

North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It's not a military objective. It's The Hill, a manmade instrument of torture, a tower of sand seared by a white-hot sun. And the troops' tormentors are not the enemy, but their own comrades-at-arms.

7.5

MagicScore

You Will Die at Twenty

2020

Shortly after Muzamil was born, the village's holy man predicts that he will die at age 20. Muzamil's father can't stand the curse and leaves home. Sakina raises her son as a single mother, overly protective. One day, Muzamil turns 19.

7.0

MagicScore

Beau Geste

1939

When three brothers join the Foreign Legion to escape a troubled past, they find themselves trapped under the command of a sadistic sergeant deep in the scorching Sahara. Now the brothers must fight for their lives as they plot mutiny against tyranny and defend a desert fortress against a brutal enemy.

6.9

MagicScore

Five Graves to Cairo

1943

The British Army, retreating ahead of victorious Rommel, leaves a lone survivor on the Egyptian border who finds refuge at a remote desert hotel. He assumes the identity of a recently deceased waiter and is helped by the hotel's owner, despite protest from the French chambermaid, who fears the imminent arrival of Rommel and the Germans.

6.9

MagicScore

Allied

2016

In 1942, an intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war.

6.8

MagicScore

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

1951

The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.

6.7

MagicScore

#10

Sea of Sand

1958

A small British army team is sent deep behind enemy lines to destroy a German petrol dump as part of the preparation for a major attack in the North African campaign. Sea of Sand was distributed in the US in a shortened version, Desert Patrol.

6.5

MagicScore

#11

Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ

1982

In antique Rome, a simple pepboy for chars becomes involved in a coup against Cesar. Rahatlocum is a North African Roman colony where Julius Caesar came to spend an expensive holiday. The revolt rumbles among the small people who find a leader in the person of Ben-Hur Marcel.

6.1

MagicScore

#12

Raid on Rommel

1971

Captain Foster plans on raiding German-occupied Tobruk with hand- picked commandos, but a mixup leaves him with a medical unit led by a Quaker conscientious objector.

5.8

MagicScore

#13

The Battle of El Alamein

1969

June 1942. As Rommel swept toward the Nile, the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal seemed inevitable. Italian and German advance units raced toward Alexandria. Mussolini had given explicit orders: The Italians must arrive first!

5.2

MagicScore

#14

Vishwanath & Sons

2026

A celebrated Olympian shooter travels to America looking for a donor to help his sick child — but unexpected romance complicates his search.

7.1

MagicScore

#15

Mourning Wife

2001

Director Daisuke Goto, the master of the cinematic Pink Eiga, is back with this retelling of the classic film noir, The Postman Always Rings Twice. A married woman, tasked with running her handicapped husband’s failing printing business, meets a drifter and they fall in love. Soon a plan to murder the husband is put into motion and the forces of fate begin to show their hand. Featuring bravura filmmaking, fantastic performances and steamy sex, the Mourning Wife is a worthy follow up for any fan of Daisuke Goto’s masterpiece A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn.

4.5

MagicScore

#16

The Last Sunrise

2026

Ry, a college student with a chronic illness, escapes to Mallorca for the summer with her mother, where she unexpectedly falls for a local and begins to embrace living in the moment. But as her condition worsens and long-hidden family secrets come to light, everything she has found before summer's end is threatened.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Kaulayaw

2024

Two college schoolmates venture into the world of cybersex to support their needs. They fulfill their fans' sexual fantasy only to realized that they too, are falling for each other.

5.8

MagicScore

#18

Rosebush Pruning

2026

When an American heir living in a luxurious Spanish villa decides to move in with his girlfriend, his departure triggers a family collapse as his brother uncovers the truth behind their mother's tragic death.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Salitan

2024

A suspicious wife follows her husband in Bali. She meets a dashing man who captures her heart. She soon wants her husband to really have an affair to alleviate the guilt she is feeling.

4.7

MagicScore

#20

Desnudos

2004

A gentle artist contends with his cheating girlfriend, and an innocent girl longs to break free from an abusive relationship. When fate brings these two lovelorn people together, true love finally blossoms.

3.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Waiting for Happiness?

The top films similar to Waiting for Happiness by MovieMagicScore are Timbuktu (7.0), The Wound (6.2), The Battle of Algiers (7.9). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Waiting for Happiness worth watching?

Waiting for Happiness holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 28 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Waiting for Happiness?

Waiting for Happiness (2002) is a drama film directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, starring Khatra Ould Abder Kader, Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould.

Where can I find more recommendations like Waiting for Happiness?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Timbuktu Movies like The Wound Movies like The Battle of Algiers Movies like The Hill Movies like You Will Die at Twenty Movies like Beau Geste

About movies like Waiting for Happiness

This ranked list pairs Waiting for Happiness (2002), a drama film from Abderrahmane Sissako, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Khatra Ould Abder Kader 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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