Music backdrop

Music movies

Stories where rhythm and melody take center stage, including biographies of legends and dance-filled spectacles.

Subgenres include: Narrative Musical, Jukebox Musical, Concert Film.

Soul

1. Soul

Animation Family Comedy Fantasy Drama
8.0
20201h 41min

Overview

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

Themes

Self-discovery through new experiences, Mentorship and guidance dynamics, Life-affirming choices under pressure, Meaning beyond career labels, Art as identity and expression, Afterlife as existential prompt

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions

2. Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions

Music Documentary
8.4
20201h 46min

Overview

An intimate concert film, in which Taylor Swift performs each song from her album 'folklore' in order, as she reveals the meaning and the stories behind all 17 tracks for the very first time.


Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

3. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Drama Music Historical Drama Narrative Musical
6.9
20201h 34min

Overview

Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

Themes

Racial commodification, Ambition under pressure, Creative control vs exploitation, Power imbalance in the music industry, Institutional restraint, Voice as currency

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Sound of Metal

4. Sound of Metal

Drama Music Entertainment Industry Drama Narrative Musical
7.7
20202h 1min

Overview

Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfriend Lou checks the former addict into a rehab for the deaf hoping it will prevent a relapse and help him adapt to his new life. After being welcomed and accepted just as he is, Ruben must choose between his new normal and the life he once knew.

Themes

Deaf identity, Sobriety and recovery, Community belonging, Disrupted sound perception, Sign language learning, Rehab shelter dynamics

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Kanopy
Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

5. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Family Fantasy Music Christmas Family Supernatural Fantasy
6.4
20202h 2min

Overview

An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.

Themes

Generational tension, Family estrangement, Invention driven ambition, Christmas resilience, Toymaker heritage, Inventor responsibility

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Ferro

6. Ferro

Documentary Music
6.3
20201h 17min

Overview

One of the most famous Italian singers opens up about his music and his journey through love and addiction.


BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky

7. BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky

Documentary Music Music Documentary Concert Film
7.3
20201h 19min

Overview

Record-shattering Korean girl band BLACKPINK tell their story — and detail the hard fought journey of the dreams and trials behind their meteoric rise.

Themes

Creative process under scrutiny, Girl group dynamics under pressure, K-pop training demands, Identity versus commercialization, Public performance expectations, Solo debut pressure

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Clouds

8. Clouds

Music Drama Romance Narrative Musical Tragic Drama
7.5
20202h 1min

Overview

Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.

Themes

Illness fuels creativity, Time-limited ambition, Public attention and pressure, Friendship through collaboration, Hope amid hardship, Mortality and legacy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

9. The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

Music Documentary
8.1
20201h 51min

Overview

The story of the triumphs and hurdles of brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, otherwise known as the Bee Gees. The iconic trio, who found early fame in the 1960s, went on to write over 1,000 songs and have 20 No. 1 hits throughout their career, transcending more than five decades of changing tastes and styles.


The Forty-Year-Old Version

10. The Forty-Year-Old Version

Comedy Drama Music
7.2
20202h 3min

Overview

Desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0, struggling New York City playwright Radha finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper.