Movies Like The Mauritanian (2021)

The Mauritanian is a 2021 drama, thriller film from Kevin Macdonald with a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Wizard of Oz and The Confession.

Drama Thriller

The Wizard of Oz

1925

A farm girl learns she is a princess and is swept away by a tornado to the land of Oz.

5.4

MagicScore

The Confession

1970

The vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia, knowing he's being watched and followed, is one day arrested and put into solitary confinement.

7.3

MagicScore

Boomerang!

1947

When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

7.0

MagicScore

Les Misérables

1998

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

7.2

MagicScore

Les Misérables

1958

7.2

MagicScore

The Experiment

2001

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

7.4

MagicScore

Killing Words

2004

A mild-mannered psychopath plays mind-games with a woman he has tied to a chair in his basement.

6.5

MagicScore

Midnight Express

1978

Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".

7.5

MagicScore

I'm Still Here

2024

A woman married to a former politician during the 1971 military dictatorship in Brazil is forced to reinvent herself and chart a new course for her family after a violent and arbitrary act.

8.0

MagicScore

#10

Oppenheimer

2023

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

8.0

MagicScore

#11

Rendition

2007

When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves caught up in a struggle to secure his release from a secret detention facility somewhere outside the US.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

All the Pretty Horses

2000

The year is 1949. A young Texan named John Grady finds himself without a home after his mother sells the ranch where he has spent his entire life. Lured south of the border by the romance of cowboy life and the promise of a fresh start, Cole and his pal embark on an adventure that will test their resilience, define their maturity, and change their lives forever.

5.7

MagicScore

#13

The Godfather Part III

1990

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.

7.4

MagicScore

#14

I Confess

1953

When a priest hears a murderer’s confession, he becomes bound by his vow of silence—even as circumstantial evidence turns suspicion toward him. Torn between faith and self-preservation, he faces public scandal and trial for a crime he cannot reveal the truth about.

7.1

MagicScore

#15

The Great Escape

1963

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

7.9

MagicScore

#16

Papillon

2017

Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, where he forges a strong friendship with Louis Dega, a counterfeiter who needs his protection.

7.3

MagicScore

#17

A Prayer Before Dawn

2018

The amazing true story of Billy Moore, an English boxer incarcerated in Thailand’s most notorious prison. Thrown into a world of drugs and violence, he finds his best chance to escape is to fight his way out in prison Muay Thai tournaments.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

The Appaloosa

1966

A man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.

6.3

MagicScore

#19

Criminal

2016

CIA Agent Bill Pope is on a mission to track down a shadowy hacker named 'The Dutchman'. When he gets mysteriously killed, an experimental procedure transfers his memories into a dangerous ex-convict. When he wakes up Pope's memories, his mission is to eliminate The Dutchman before the hacker launches ICBMs and starts World War III.

6.2

MagicScore

#20

The Card Counter

2021

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

6.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Mauritanian?

The top films similar to The Mauritanian by MovieMagicScore are The Wizard of Oz (5.4), The Confession (7.3), Boomerang! (7.0). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Mauritanian worth watching?

The Mauritanian holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10 from 1,204 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Mauritanian?

The Mauritanian (2021) is a drama, thriller film directed by Kevin Macdonald, starring Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Mauritanian?

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 The Wizard of Oz Movies like The Confession Movies like Boomerang!Movies like Les Misérables Movies like Les Misérables Movies like The Experiment

About movies like The Mauritanian

This ranked list pairs The Mauritanian (2021), a drama and thriller film from Kevin Macdonald, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tahar Rahim 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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