| The Honourable Woman (2014) | 7.9 | |
| Osama (2003) | 7.3 | |
| Theeb (2014) | 7.2 | |
| Argo (2012) | 7.7 | |
| Zero Dark Thirty (2012) | 7.4 |
Movies and TV shows set in middle east
The list contains the best, new and most relevant movies set in middle east ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, serious, tense, captivating, thought provoking and political films and TV shows about / with islam, family relations, terrorism, husband wife relationship, culture clash, muslim, storytelling, arab, politics and danger plots mostly in Drama, Thriller and War genres shot in USA, France, UK and other countries.
1354
TOP 10 movies tagged as middle east: Incendies (2010), Tyrant (2014), Beirut (2018), Caliphate (2020), Body of Lies (2008), The Kingdom (2007), Inch'Allah (2012), The Patience Stone (2012), American Sniper (2014), Munich (2005).
Best films
New films
| Aser (2025) | 4.4 | |
| Holy Spider (2022) | 7.3 | |
| Atomic (2025) | 6.2 | |
| Kandahar (2023) | 6.1 | |
| Where is Gilgamesh? (2024) | 8.9 |
List of movies set in middle east
246K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, War
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to ...
Style:
unusual plot structure, disturbing, psychological, inspirational, heartbreaking ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
prison, rape, last will and testament, unwanted pregnancy, incest, twists and turns, civil war, pregnant from rape, incest rape, torture, lebanese civil war, family problems ...
Time:
2010s, year 2010, year 2009, year 1970, y2k ...
Place:
middle east, lebanon, quebec, nebraska, montreal ...
Is relevant?
24K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
The story of an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. Bassam "Barry" Al Fayeed, the younger son of the dictator of a war-torn nation, ends a self-imposed 20-year exile to return to his ...
Style:
tense, suspenseful, stylized, serious, realistic ...
Plot:
dictatorship, homecoming, political unrest, totalitarianism, state affairs, ruler, gay son, family relations, parents and children, secret, society, exile ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
middle east
Is relevant?
27K
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
A former U. S. diplomat returns to service in order to save a former colleague in Beirut.
Style:
political, suspenseful, suspense, rough, bleak ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
terrorist, terrorism, hostage, mossad, spy, arab, israeli palestinian conflict, espionage, heroes, fight, covert operation, secret service ...
Time:
year 1982, year 1972, 80s, 70s
Place:
middle east, lebanon, beirut lebanon, israel, palestine
Is relevant?
24K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 46 min.
TV show
Story:
National Security agent Fatima receives a tip that a terrorist attack against Sweden is in the planning stage. Meanwhile Sulle, a teenage girl in Stockholm, gets interested in her student assistent who opens doors to a new and fascinating world - ...
Style:
suspense, disturbing, exciting, tense, dramatic ...
Plot:
isis, terrorist, hijab, suicide bomber, islamic terrorism, islam, terrorism, conspiracy, female protagonist, intelligence agency, muslim, rape ...
Place:
syria, middle east, eastern europe
Is relevant?
249K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
The CIA’s hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agency’s man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. An eye in the sky – a satellite link – ...
Style:
political thriller, political, tense, realistic, serious ...
Audience:
boys' night, chick flick
Plot:
terrorism, spy, cia, espionage, cia agent, intelligence agency, terrorist, undercover, secret service, government agency, roman empire, politics ...
Time:
year 2008, 21st century
Place:
middle east, jordan, iraq, syria, washington d.c. ...
Is relevant?
137K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, United Arab Emirates, USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A team of U.S. government agents is sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.
Style:
realistic, suspenseful, exciting, suspense, action packed ...
Audience:
boys' night, girls' night
Plot:
terrorism, terrorist, investigation, military, fbi, islamic terrorism, al qaeda, deception, muslim, gunfight, war on terror, spy ...
Time:
year 2007, 21st century
Place:
middle east, saudi arabia, iraq, usa, washington d.c.
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
A Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories.
Style:
thought provoking, realistic, disturbing, emotional, serious ...
Plot:
israeli palestinian conflict, doctors and patients, political unrest, injustice, society, wartime life, friendship, life is a bitch, doctor, terrorism, tragedy, israeli ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
palestine, middle east, israel, palestinian authority, jerusalem
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, War
Country: France, Germany, UK, Afghanistan
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
A woman in an unnamed, war-torn Middle Eastern country delivers an engrossing, emotional monologue to her comatose husband, in novelist and filmmaker Atiq Rahimi's poetic and politically charged allegory based on his award-winning novel. (TIFF)
Style:
disturbing, sincere, captivating, realistic, rough ...
Plot:
sexual abuse, rape turns to consensual sex, family problems, injustice, resentment, danger, life is a bitch, couples, couple relations, society, muslim, mother daughter relationship ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
afghanistan, middle east, persia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA, Morocco
Duration: 133 min.
Story:
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. ...
Style:
factual, suspenseful, clever, inspirational, rough ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly
Plot:
war, iraq war, sniper, military, soldier, navy seal, assassin, american soldier, violence, battles, war zone, special forces ...
Time:
year 2014, 2010s, 2000s, 90s, september 11 2001 ...
Place:
iraq, middle east, california, usa, kurdistan ...
Is relevant?
252K
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: France, Canada, USA
Duration: 164 min.
Story:
During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and ...
Style:
political, intense, brutal, political thriller, suspense ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
terrorism, espionage, assassination, mossad, vengeance, judaism, politics, terrorist, vigilante, revenge, spy, murder ...
Time:
70s, year 2005, 20th century, 2000s, year 1972
Place:
israel, middle east, palestine, germany, europe ...
Is relevant?
663K
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Style:
clever, tense, captivating, political thriller, suspenseful ...
Audience:
chick flick, date night, adult
Plot:
cia, secret agent, politics, rescue mission, revolution, u.s. embassy, secret mission, propaganda, danger, hostage, undercover, espionage ...
Time:
70s, 80s, year 1979, year 1980, 20th century ...
Place:
middle east, iran, tehran iran, los angeles, istanbul turkey ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
A mini-series that explores the inner workings of Saddam Hussein's family and his relationship with his closest advisers.
Style:
serious, realistic, political, historical drama, gloomy ...
Plot:
saddam hussein, dictatorship, politics, execution, historical character, totalitarianism, propaganda, treason, rivalry, political unrest, ruler, family relations ...
Time:
80s, 90s, 20th century, 70s, 2000s ...
Place:
middle east, iraq, baghdad iraq, iran
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Luxembourg, Canada
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.
Style:
tense, realistic, emotional, serious, rough ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly, adult
Plot:
iraq war, terrorism, military, sniper, soldier, war, bomb squad, violence, army, shootout, marines, bomb ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, year 2004, 21st century
Place:
middle east, iraq, baghdad iraq, america, afghanistan ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Egypt, France
Duration: 165 min.
Story:
Cairo: a 70-year-old building of once-luxury flats with tenements on the roof. Zika, an aging libertine, feuds with his sister. Pius Haj Azzam takes a second wife, in secret, to satisfy sexual drive within religious bounds. Bothayna, poor and ...
Style:
touching, emotional, serious, realistic, multicultural ...
Plot:
homosexuality, politics, gender, political corruption, muslim, terrorist, prostitute, brother sister relationship, religions or cults, midlife crisis, couple relations, couples ...
Place:
cairo egypt, egypt, africa, middle east
Is relevant?
74K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Israel, Hungary, USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Rachel Singer is a former Mossad agent who tried to capture a notorious Nazi war criminal – the Surgeon of Birkenau – in a secret Israeli mission that ended with his death on the streets of East Berlin. Now, 30 years later, a man claiming to be ...
Style:
suspenseful, psychological, exciting, talky, realistic ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
mossad, spy, war criminal, redemption, nazi hunter, cold war, secret agent, espionage, passionate kiss, nazi, nazi war criminal, kidnapping ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, 70s, year 1997, year 1966 ...
Place:
middle east, israel, germany, berlin germany, kiev ukraine ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Italy, UK
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
The Merchant (Harvey Keitel) is a Westerner. A merchant dealing in precious stones from Afganistan and Turkey. He's above suspicion. In truth, the "Stone Merchant" is a Christian convert into Islam. He's rich, cultured, ...
Style:
suspenseful, serious, realistic, exciting, tense
Plot:
obsessive quest, danger, assassination attempt, manipulation, terrorism, state affairs, race against time, against the rules, politics, terrorist attack, special agent, fall in love ...
Place:
middle east, cappadocia turkey, rome italy, afghanistan, turkey ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Israel
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
TJFF presents the pilot episode of the award-winning Israeli series that inspired the American hit, Homeland. Set in 2008, this first episode focuses on two Israeli soldiers being released after 17 years of captivity in Lebanon. It powerfully ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, realistic, tense, emotional ...
Plot:
terrorism, mossad, torture, pow, investigation, homecoming, soldier, haunted by the past, twists and turns, held captive, spy, government agency ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
israel, middle east
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
The mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.
Style:
psychological, serious, realistic, atmospheric, captivating ...
Plot:
missing person, iranian, matchmaking, family relations, friendship, guilt, journey, parents and children, wedding planning, love and romance, couple relations, couples ...
Time:
year 2009, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
iran, middle east, persia, maghreb, asia
Is relevant?
15K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France, Lebanon
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
In a beauty salon in Beirut the lives of five women cross paths. The beauty salon is a colorful and sensual microcosm where they share and entrust their hopes, fears and expectations.
Style:
romantic, sentimental, sweet, touching, humorous ...
Audience:
date night, girls' night
Plot:
beauty salon, arab, sexual attraction, lesbian, friendship, lesbian subtext, wedding, actress, self discovery, police officer, gender, destiny ...
Time:
year 2007, 70s, 80s, 21st century
Place:
middle east, lebanon, persia, maghreb, beirut lebanon ...
Is relevant?
12K
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: Jordan, UK, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming of age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination.
Style:
captivating, realistic, tense, serious, exciting ...
Plot:
desert, coming of age, world war one, survival, bedouin, arab, boy, sheik, journey, escapades, danger, teaching the ways of the world ...
Time:
1910s, 20th century, year 1916, 2010s, 1920s
Place:
middle east, jordan, saudi arabia, africa, arabia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, War
Country: Lebanon, France, Qatar, Belgium, Egypt
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing.
Style:
tense, captivating, realistic, serious, suspenseful ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
suicide bomber, israeli palestinian conflict, uncover truth, occupation, terrorism, danger, investigation, radical, society, husband wife relationship, loss of wife, civil war ...
Time:
year 2012, 21st century
Place:
middle east, israel, palestine, lebanon, maghreb ...
Is relevant?
4K
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Iran
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
This film tells the story of a semi modern Iranian couple, who are trying to fight the old beliefs & old generation. This is a failing battle because the man is not strong enough.
Style:
islamic, thought provoking, serious, realistic, biting ...
Plot:
iranian, arab, hidden treasure, feminist, motherhood, infertility, family relations, pregnancy, strong female presence, couples, newlyweds, family problems ...
Time:
90s
Place:
iran, middle east, persia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Malta, USA
Duration: 144 min.
Story:
An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.
Style:
intense, tense, suspenseful, realistic, factual ...
Audience:
manly
Plot:
war, terrorism, cia, courage, mercenary, rescue mission, combat, soldier, commando, embassy, navy seal, cia agent ...
Time:
year 2012, year 2016, year 2011, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
libya, middle east, africa, pentagon, langley virginia ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
10K
Genre: Drama
Country: Afghanistan, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Iran
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
Teenage girl Osama cuts her hair and dresses like a boy to get a job and support her widowed mother and grandmother. When Osama is called by the Taliban to join school and military training she embarks on a terrifying and confusing journey as she ...
Style:
serious, sincere, bleak, stylized, talky ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night
Plot:
islam, coming of age, survival, taliban, terrorist, injustice, storytelling, justice, religion, police investigation, muslim, danger ...
Time:
year 2003, 21st century
Place:
middle east, afghanistan, pakistan, iraq, persia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Iraq, UK, France, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Egypt
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A willful young boy follows his just as obstinate grandmother in a journey across Iraq, determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed's father, who never returned from war.
Style:
captivating, emotional, atmospheric, touching, independent film ...
Plot:
hopes, desert, human spirit, escapades, youth, adolescence vs adulthood, political unrest, family relations, arab, boy, international relations, battlefield ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
middle east, iraq, kurdistan
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran, Italy, Switzerland
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Various women struggle to function in the oppressively sexist society of contemporary Iran.
Style:
bleak, sincere, disturbing, harsh, atmospheric ...
Plot:
politics, pregnancy, on the run, feminist, women's rights, religious fundamentalism, society, friendship, injustice, prostitute, dialogue, discrimination ...
Time:
70s
Place:
iran, middle east, tehran iran, persia, california
Is relevant?
966
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A Palestinian family is trapped inside a house commandeered by Israeli soldiers.
Style:
serious, psychological, disturbing, suspenseful, contemplative ...
Plot:
muslim, human rights, soldier, military, dysfunctional family, society, politics, terrorism, rivalry, confined, family problems, isolation ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
middle east, palestine, jerusalem, palestinian authority, israel
Is relevant?
25K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Uzak/Distant chronicles the numbing loneliness, longing, and isolation in the lives of two men who are consumed by their own problems. Istanbul photographer Mahmut reluctantly receives his relative Yusuf, but the mingling of their lives does little ...
Style:
sincere, art house, stylized, lyrical, philosophical ...
Plot:
unemployment, loneliness, photograph, midlife crisis, isolation, telephone call, photography, art, complex characters, family relations, culture clash, introspection ...
Time:
year 2002, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
middle east, turkey, istanbul turkey, balkan, maghreb ...
Is relevant?
22K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Germany, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Wadjda is a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Although she lives in a conservative world, Wadjda is fun loving, entrepreneurial and always pushing the boundaries of what she can get away with. After a fight ...
Style:
stylized, talky, touching, realistic, serious ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
childhood, islam, bicycle, gender, children, coming of age, muslim girl, hijab, feminist, dream, friendship, troublemaker ...
Time:
year 2012, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
saudi arabia, middle east, maghreb, iran, japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 227 min.
Story:
The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological ...
Style:
epic, breathtaking, visually appealing, visually stunning, historical drama ...
Audience:
teens, family outing, date night, kids
Plot:
world war one, desert, military, british empire, camel, islam, great war, imperialism, politics, historical character, battles, quicksand ...
Time:
1910s, 20th century, 1930s, 1920s, year 1962 ...
Place:
middle east, saudi arabia, arabia, ottoman empire, jordan ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
