feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Central Station (1998)

If you loved Central Station, the closest films we have are Manchester by the Sea (2016), The Danish Girl (2015) and Magnolia (1999). All three share Central Station's contemplative and melancholy feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads and Philo and others, checked against today's data.

An emotional journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.

πŸ… 94% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Walter Sallescontemplativemelancholy

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If Central Station hit the spot, these will too

Manchester by the Sea poster
Manchester by the Sea
2016 Β· dir. Kenneth Lonergan
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.8drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then melancholy

After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.

Feels alike?
The Danish Girl poster
The Danish Girl
2015 Β· dir. Tom Hooper
πŸ… 66%β˜… 7.1drama

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks on a groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

Feels alike?
Magnolia poster
Magnolia
1999 Β· dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
πŸ… 82%β˜… 8drama

Drama built on melancholy, twice over

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

Feels alike?
Nobody Knows poster
Nobody Knows
2004 Β· dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
πŸ… 92%β˜… 8drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

Feels alike?
Rain Man poster
Rain Man
1988 Β· dir. Barry Levinson
πŸ… 88%β˜… 8drama

Melancholy is the shared currency

When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.

Feels alike?
Babel poster
Babel
2006 Β· dir. Alejandro G. IΓ±Γ‘rritu
πŸ… 68%β˜… 7.5drama

The same drama instincts

Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.

Feels alike?
Places in the Heart poster
Places in the Heart
1984 Β· dir. Robert Benton
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4drama

Drama approached the same way

In 1935 rural Texas, recently widowed Edna Spaulding struggles to survive with two small children, a farm to run, and very little money in the bank - not to mention a deadly tornado and the unwelcome presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Edna is aided by her beautician sister, Margaret; a blind boarder, Mr. Will; and a would-be thief, Moze, who decides to teach Edna how to plant and harvest cotton.

Feels alike?
The Whale poster
The Whale
2022 Β· dir. Darren Aronofsky
πŸ… 64%β˜… 7.6drama

Cut from the same drama cloth

The difference: A 2020s film, from a different era of filmmaking

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Feels alike?
American History X poster
American History X
1998 Β· dir. Tony Kaye
πŸ… 84%β˜… 8.5drama

Both are drama through and through

The difference: Missing the melancholy of Central Station

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

Feels alike?
Million Dollar Baby poster
Million Dollar Baby
2004 Β· dir. Clint Eastwood
πŸ… 90%β˜… 8.1drama

Both are drama through and through

Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.

Feels alike?
The Pursuit of Happyness poster
The Pursuit of Happyness
2006 Β· dir. Gabriele Muccino
πŸ… 67%β˜… 8drama

The same drama instincts

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

Feels alike?
Scent of a Woman poster
Scent of a Woman
1992 Β· dir. Martin Brest
πŸ… 82%β˜… 8drama

Drama approached the same way

Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Central Station's defining feeling.