Dynamic Watchlist Hub: May 09, 2026

10 Best Movies Like Deserter

If you loved Deserter, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

🏆

Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for Deserter.

View Review →
Advertisement
#1
My Friend Ivan Lapshin

My Friend Ivan Lapshin

1985★ 6.8

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Deserter for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Russian provincial town in the middle of the 1930s Stalin's Great Purge. Ivan Lapshin, the head of the local police, does what he has to do. And he does it well....

#2
The Young One

The Young One

1960★ 6.9

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Deserter for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions....

#3
Dear Comrades!

Dear Comrades!

2020★ 7.1

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Deserter for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

When the communist government raises food prices in 1962, the rebellious workers from the small industrial town of Novocherkassk go on strike. The massacre which then ensues is see...

#4
The Coach

The Coach

2018★ 6.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Deserter for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Contemporary Russia. After he flubs a penalty kick, a humiliated national soccer player quits the game. He flees to a small town, where he decides to coach their local team....

#5
My Joy

My Joy

2010★ 6.3

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Deserter for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Georgy is driving a load of freight into Russia when, after an unpleasant encounter with the police at a border crossing, he finds himself giving a lift to a strange old man with d...

#6
Hardball

Hardball

2001★ 6.5

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Deserter for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of gettin...

Advertisement