Dynamic Watchlist Hub: Jan 19, 2026

10 Best Movies Like The Life of Emile Zola

If you loved The Life of Emile Zola, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

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Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for The Life of Emile Zola.

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#1
You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You

1938★ 7.5

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Life of Emile Zola for fans of Comedy. It captures a similar light-hearted atmosphere.

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of t...

#2
Passport to Pimlico

Passport to Pimlico

1949★ 6.9

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Life of Emile Zola for fans of Comedy. It captures a similar light-hearted atmosphere.

When an unexploded WWII bomb is accidentally detonated in Pimlico, it reveals a treasure trove and documents proving that the region is in fact part of Burgundy, France and thus fo...

#3
The Awful Truth

The Awful Truth

1937★ 7.2

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Life of Emile Zola for fans of Comedy. It captures a similar light-hearted atmosphere.

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance....

#4
Cimarron

Cimarron

1931★ 5.6

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

When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A new...

#5
Stella Dallas

Stella Dallas

1937★ 6.9

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

A working-class woman is willing to do whatever it takes to give her daughter a socially promising future....

#6
In Old Chicago

In Old Chicago

1938★ 6.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Life of Emile Zola for fans of Drama & History. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

The O'Leary brothers -- honest Jack and roguish Dion -- become powerful figures, and eventually rivals, in Chicago on the eve of its Great Fire....