Movies Like Papers, Please - The Short Film (2018)

Papers, Please - The Short Film is a 2018 drama, thriller film from Nikita Ordynskiy with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Green Border and Border.

Drama Thriller

Green Border

2023

In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so called “green border” between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia, a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan, a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine.

7.3

MagicScore

Border

2018

When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, she is forced to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind.

6.7

MagicScore

Marfa Girl

2012

A disaffected Texas teen spends his 16th birthday getting high, hanging out and having casual sex.

4.9

MagicScore

The Snorkel

1958

On the Italian coast, writer Paul Decker has grown unhappy in his marriage and executes what appears to be a perfect murder of his wife. While Paul is believed to be writing a book in France, his stepdaughter, Candy, suspects him of murdering her mother, as well as her father years before. With the police unwilling to investigate any further, Candy sets out to confirm her suspicions and take Paul down herself.

7.1

MagicScore

Unspeakable

2003

Despite vocal objections from Warden Blakely, prison psychologist Diana Purlow journeys deep inside the mind of serial killer Jesse Mowat in a desperate attempt to reveal the source of his psychotic tendencies.

3.6

MagicScore

Sonic Drone Home

2022

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles encounter an abandoned Badnik drone which upgraded itself using parts from a junkyard, with the intention of conquering the world.

7.1

MagicScore

Street Fighter: Legacy

2010

Ryu wakes up from a nightmare facing his nemesis, Akuma. While walking in the forest, he is followed by a mysterious warrior revealed to be Ken Masters, Ryu's old friend and sparring partner.

6.4

MagicScore

Halo: Landfall

2007

Director Neill Blomkamp explores the lives of Marines and ODSTs on a last, desperate mission in a post-invasion Earth – a mission that may secure the salvation, or usher the destruction of the entire galaxy. Edited together as a standalone piece for the first time, these three shorts are the first glimpse at what a live-action Halo could and should look like and a must-see for Halo fans of every stripe.

6.2

MagicScore

El Norte

1983

Brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee persecution at home in Guatemala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Desire

1936

Madeleine steals a string of pearls in Paris and uses American engineer Tom, who is driving on his vacation to Spain, to get the pearls out of France. But getting the pearls back from him proves to be difficult without falling in love.

6.9

MagicScore

#11

Frozen River

2008

After her husband deserts her, working-class mother Ray Eddy is in great need of money to find a home. Lured by the possibility of easy cash, she joins Lila, a widowed Mohawk who earns a living by smuggling immigrants from Canada to the U.S. across the St. Lawrence.

6.6

MagicScore

#12

The Border

1982

A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.

6.1

MagicScore

#13

The Yellow Rolls-Royce

1964

One Rolls-Royce belongs to three vastly different owners, starting with Lord Charles, who buys the car for his wife as an anniversary present. The next owner is Paolo Maltese, a mafioso who purchases the car during a trip to Italy and leaves it with his girlfriend while he returns to Chicago. Finally, the car is owned by American widow Gerda, who joins the Yugoslavian resistance against the invading Nazis.

6.0

MagicScore

#14

Undocumented

2010

A documentary film crew runs afoul of sadistic radicals when they follow illegal immigrants sneaking over the U.S. border.

6.0

MagicScore

#15

Borderline

1980

Jeb Maynard is a patrolman guarding the U.S.-Mexican border, whose partner and buddy Scooter has just been murdered. Maynard knows that a smuggler of illegal aliens is responsible for Scooter's death, but the feds insist that drug dealers committed the crime.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

The War Boys

2009

David, George, and Greg, best friends since high school, are “The War Boys”. They used to perch on the US-Mexican border, waiting to spot illegal immigrants who were trying to run into the United States. Sometimes, without a thought for the immigrants, the boys chased them across the wasteland and back across the border – just for fun. It was just one of those games boys played to make themselves feel big. But high school’s over now. David is unexpectedly home from his freshman year of college and the War Boys have been reunited.

5.9

MagicScore

#17

Free Zone

2005

Rebecca, an American who has been living in Jerusalem for a few months now, has just broken off her engagement. She gets into a cab driven by Hanna, an Israeli. But Hanna is on her way to Jordan, to the Free Zone, to pick up a large sum of money.

5.4

MagicScore

#18

Which Way Home

2009

Follows unaccompanied child migrants, on their journey through Mexico, as they try to reach the United States.

7.7

MagicScore

#19

Nothing to Declare

2010

During the elimination of the Belgian/French border in the 90s, a Belgian customs officer is forced to team up with one of his French counterparts.

5.9

MagicScore

#20

Detention

2019

In the 1960s, two classmates go looking for their missing friends and teachers, all of whom took part in an illegal book club, only to come face to face with ghosts and deformed monsters that have taken over their school.

6.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Papers, Please - The Short Film?

The top films similar to Papers, Please - The Short Film by MovieMagicScore are Green Border (7.3), Border (6.7), Marfa Girl (4.9). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Papers, Please - The Short Film worth watching?

Papers, Please - The Short Film holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 71 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Papers, Please - The Short Film?

Papers, Please - The Short Film (2018) is a drama, thriller film directed by Nikita Ordynskiy, starring Igor Savochkin, Victoria Cygankova, Antonina Kravcova.

Where can I find more recommendations like Papers, Please - The Short Film?

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 Green Border Movies like Border Movies like Marfa Girl Movies like The Snorkel Movies like Unspeakable Movies like Sonic Drone Home

About movies like Papers, Please - The Short Film

This ranked list pairs Papers, Please - The Short Film (2018), a drama and thriller film from Nikita Ordynskiy, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Igor Savochkin 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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