Movies like Swimming Upstream: 20 to watch next
If you loved Swimming Upstream (2003) — a drama film directed by Russell Mulcahy — these 20 movies are the closest matches.
The first picks are what fans of Swimming Upstream most often go on to watch; the rest share its genres and themes like sports, olympic games and abusive father. 6 of them are streaming in India right now — each entry shows where.
Where to watch Swimming Upstream →·Get picks for your whole taste →
- 1
The Chronology of Water 2025★ 6.7
Shares: Drama
Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 2
Embattled 2020★ 6.7
Shares: Drama
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 3
Southpaw 2015★ 7.4
Shares: Drama
Billy "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis, a former fighter who trains the city's toughest amateur boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 4
Ken Park 2003★ 6.0
Shares: Drama
Teen skater Ken Park (nicknamed Krap Nek; his name spelled and pronounced backward) kills himself at a Visalia skate park; his death bookends the lives of four other young people who knew him: Shawn, the most conventional; Tate brims with psychotic rage; Claude is habitually harassed by his brutish father and coddled, rather uncomfortably, by his enormously pregnant mother; and Peaches looks after her devoutly religious father, but yearns for freedom. They're all rather tight, or so they claim.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 5
Julien Donkey-Boy 1999★ 7.0
Shares: Drama
Undiagnosed, untreated and generally untethered schizophrenic Julien lives with his pregnant younger sister, anorexic aspiring wrestler brother, sympathetic grandmother, and severely depressed and abusive German father.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 6
This Boy's Life 1993★ 7.1
Shares: Drama
When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to maintain hope in an impossible situation, the son has plans to escape.
Stream in India on VI movies and tv
- 7
Moonlight 2016★ 7.4
Shares: Drama
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 8
Joe the King 1999★ 5.8
Shares: Drama
A destitute 14-year-old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 9
Honey Boy 2019★ 7.0
Shares: Drama
The story of a child star attempting to mend his relationship with his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father over the course of a decade, loosely based on Shia LaBeouf’s life.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 10
Palmer 2021★ 8.1
Shares: Drama
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Stream in India on Apple TV, Apple TV Amazon Channel
- 11
Ordinary People 1980★ 7.5
Shares: Drama
Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 12
Hellion 2014★ 5.9
Shares: Drama
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 13
Joe Bell 2020★ 6.5
Shares: Drama
The true story of a small town, working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 14
The Swimmers 2022★ 7.4
Shares: Drama
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a risky voyage, putting their hearts and their swimming skills to heroic use.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 15
Beautiful Boy 2018★ 7.6
Shares: Drama
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
Stream in India on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- 16
Firstborn 1984★ 6.1
Shares: Drama
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 17
First Match 2018★ 6.5
Shares: Drama
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 18
Blonde 2022★ 5.9
Shares: Drama
From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, this reimagined fictional portrait of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 19
Forever Strong 2008★ 7.1
Shares: Drama
Hotshot rugby player Rick Penning was the star player of his Arizona high school team until a fateful brush with the law forces him to ponder the consequences of his actions in a Salt Lake City juvenile detention center.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 20
Luce 2019★ 6.4
Shares: Drama
A star athlete and top student, Luce's idealized image is challenged by one of his teachers when his unsettling views on political violence come to light, putting a strain on family bonds while igniting intense debates on race and identity.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now