feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Breaking the Waves (1996)

If you loved Breaking the Waves, the closest films we have are Mohabbatein (2000), A Short Film About Love (1988) and My Name Is Khan (2010). All three share Breaking the Waves' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

πŸ… 84% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Lars von Triercontemplativeromantictenderhopeful
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If Breaking the Waves hit the spot, these will too

Mohabbatein poster
Mohabbatein
2000 Β· dir. Aditya Chopra
β˜… 7.1drama Β· romance

The same preoccupation in both: tradition

At a prestigious all-male university, three friends seek love outside of the school grounds; at the same time, a newly-hired music teacher seeks to befriend and loosen up the militantly strict headmaster.

Feels alike?
A Short Film About Love poster
A Short Film About Love
1988 Β· dir. Krzysztof KieΕ›lowski
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8.1drama Β· romance

Both land stillness and romance at once

19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...

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My Name Is Khan poster
My Name Is Khan
2010 Β· dir. Karan Johar
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance

Tender and hopeful in the same breath

Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who treat him as a terrorist because of his condition and his race.

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Beauty and the Beast poster
Beauty and the Beast
1946 Β· dir. Jean Cocteau
β˜… 7.9drama Β· fantasy Β· romance

Both are built on the same subject: underdog

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than Breaking the Waves does

The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn't return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of tragic love that turns into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty.

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The African Queen poster
The African Queen
1952 Β· dir. John Huston
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.7romance Β· adventure Β· drama

One thread runs through both: faith

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Breaking the Waves does

At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.

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Departures poster
Departures
2008 Β· dir. Yojiro Takita
πŸ… 80%β˜… 8drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: mortality

The difference: Not nearly as romantic as Breaking the Waves

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

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A Few Good Men poster
A Few Good Men
1992 Β· dir. Rob Reiner
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.7drama

Common ground: underdog

When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.

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Happy Together poster
Happy Together
1997 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.7drama Β· romance

Contemplative drama in both cases

A couple travels from Hong Kong to Argentina to revive their relationship but experience turbulence when both men's lives drift in separate directions.

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Through the Olive Trees poster
Through the Olive Trees
1995 Β· dir. Abbas Kiarostami
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.7drama Β· romance

Romance built on romance, twice over

When the actor in a scene for his film Life And Nothing More… has to quit, a film director casts another man for the part. However, complications arise since the man and the woman who was cast for the scene know each other.

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With Every Heartbeat poster
With Every Heartbeat
2011 Β· dir. Alexandra-Therese Keining
β˜… 6.8romance Β· drama

Common ground: parents and children

After they meet at their parent's engagement party, Mia and Frida are intrigued by and attracted to one another, despite Mia's own upcoming engagement to Tim. Mia must decide whether to continue her life with Tim or to follow her heart with Frida.

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In America poster
In America
2003 Β· dir. Jim Sheridan
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.7drama

Both lean on hope more than on drama

A family of Irish immigrants adjusts to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

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Dil Chahta Hai poster
Dil Chahta Hai
2001 Β· dir. Farhan Akhtar
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1drama Β· romance

Tender romance, and it commits to that

Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Breaking the Waves’ defining feeling.