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The Cove poster

Movies that feel likeThe Cove (2009)

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.

If you loved The Cove, the closest films we have are Riding Giants (2004), Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) and The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007). All three share The Cove's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is We Live in Public (2009).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Louie Psihoyoscontemplative
10 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · OVID · AMC+

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If The Cove hit the spot, these will too

Riding Giants poster
Riding Giants
2004 · dir. Stacy Peralta
🍅 93%★ 7.8documentary

One thread runs through both: ocean

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi poster
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
2011 · dir. David Gelb
🍅 99%★ 7.8documentaryPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: japan

Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters poster
🍅 97%★ 8documentary

Contemplative documentary, and it commits to that

In this hilarious arcade showdown, a humble novice goes head-to-head against the reigning Donkey Kong champ in a confrontation that rocks the gaming world to its processors! For over 20 years, Billy Mitchell has owned the throne of the Donkey Kong world. No one could beat his top score until now. Newcomer Steve Wiebe claims to have beaten the unbeatable, but Mitchell isn't ready to relinquish his crown without a fight. Go behind the barrels as the two battle it out in a vicious war to earn the title of the true King of Kong.

Nostalgia for the Light poster
Nostalgia for the Light
2010 · dir. Patricio Guzmán
🍅 100%★ 7.6documentary

Documentary with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

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.

Marwencol poster
Marwencol
2010 · dir. Jeff Malmberg
🍅 98%★ 7.5documentary

Both lean on stillness more than on documentary

After a vicious attack leaves him brain-damaged and broke, Mark Hogancamp seeks recovery in "Marwencol", a 1/6th scale World War II-era town he creates in his backyard.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams poster
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
2010 · dir. Werner Herzog
🍅 96%★ 7.4documentary

Both play documentary straight

Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.

We Live in Public poster
We Live in Public
2009 · dir. Ondi Timoner
🍅 80%★ 7.1documentary

Cut from the same documentary cloth

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

Jodorowsky's Dune poster
Jodorowsky's Dune
2013 · dir. Frank Pavich
🍅 97%★ 8documentary

Documentary in the same key

In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

Kumaré poster
Kumaré
2012 · dir. Vikram Gandhi
🍅 60%★ 7.5documentary

The documentary is handled with the same confidence

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles poster
🍅 65%★ 7.2documentary

The same documentary instincts

An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the U.S. and South America.

Tabloid poster
Tabloid
2011 · dir. Errol Morris
🍅 92%★ 7documentary

Both are documentary through and through

One of America's top documentary filmmakers turns his attention to the outrageous and nearly unbelievable story of Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming beauty queen who gained a great deal of notoriety after being accused of kidnapping a young Mormon missionary, restraining him in chains and raping him in 1977 England. The unbalanced McKinney is extensively interviewed, particularly about her ambition to write a memoir telling her side of the tale.

Dogtown and Z-Boys poster
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002 · dir. Stacy Peralta
🍅 92%★ 7.6documentary

Documentary approached the same way

This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing.

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