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Movies that feel like City of Angels (1998)

If you loved City of Angels, the closest films we have are What Dreams May Come (1998), Defending Your Life (1991) and Wings of Desire (1987). All three share City of Angels' contemplative and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.

6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Brad Silberlingcontemplativedreamlikeromantictender

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If City of Angels hit the spot, these will too

What Dreams May Come poster
What Dreams May Come
1998 · dir. Vincent Ward
🍅 51%7drama · fantasy · romance

Common ground in both: afterlife and heaven

Chris Nielsen dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he died, his wife Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chris decides to risk eternity in Hades for the small chance that he will be able to bring her back to heaven.

Defending Your Life poster
Defending Your Life
1991 · dir. Albert Brooks
🍅 92%7.2romance · fantasy · comedy

Both are built on the same subject: afterlife

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than City of Angels does

Is there love after death? After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive.

Wings of Desire poster
Wings of Desire
1987 · dir. Wim Wenders
🍅 95%7.9drama · fantasy · romance

The same preoccupation in both: angel

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.

The Lake House poster
The Lake House
2006 · dir. Alejandro Agresti
🍅 35%6.8romance · drama · fantasy

Contemplative where it counts, dreamlike underneath

When architect Alex Wyler moves into an unusual glass house on stilts over a lake, he discovers a note from the previous tenant in the mailbox--but no one's lived in the house for years. He replies and soon discovers that he's corresponding with a doctor named Kate Forster. Their correspondence, only through the 'magical' mailbox, turns romantic and their paths cross in unexpected ways, but when they try to truly connect, danger looms. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Meet Joe Black poster
Meet Joe Black
1998 · dir. Martin Brest
🍅 48%7.2fantasy · drama · romance

Common ground: life and death

Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan?

The Time Traveler's Wife poster
The Time Traveler's Wife
2009 · dir. Robert Schwentke
🍅 38%7.1drama · romance · fantasy

Both land romance and tenderness at once

Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.

Millennium Actress poster
Millennium Actress
2002 · dir. Satoshi Kon
🍅 93%7.8animation · drama · romance

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.

Only Lovers Left Alive poster
Only Lovers Left Alive
2013 · dir. Jim Jarmusch
🍅 86%7.2drama · romance · fantasy

Both lean on dream logic more than on fantasy

A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, already played over several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.

Truly Madly Deeply poster
Truly Madly Deeply
1991 · dir. Anthony Minghella
🍅 76%7.2fantasy · drama · comedy

Romantic romance in both cases

Nina is totally heartbroken at the death of her boyfriend Jamie, but is even more unprepared for his return as a ghost. At first it's almost as good as it used to be – hey, even the rats that infested her house have disappeared. But Jamie starts bringing ghostly friends home and behaving more and more oddly.

Ruby Red poster
Ruby Red
2013 · dir. Felix Fuchssteiner
6fantasy · drama · romance

Tender drama, and it commits to that

On her 16th birthday, Gwendolyn Shepherd finds out that instead of her cousin, she has inherited a rare gene that allows her to travel through time.

Sapphire Blue poster
Sapphire Blue
2014 · dir. Felix Fuchssteiner
6.1fantasy · romance · drama

Fantasy with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Gwen has just discovered, that she's the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. Now she has to juggle with constant trips to the past, her relationships with Gideon and figuring out dark secrets surrounding the Circle.

Beautiful Creatures poster
Beautiful Creatures
2013 · dir. Richard LaGravenese
🍅 47%6.1fantasy · drama · romance

Both lean on dream logic more than on romance

Ethan Wate just wants to get to know Lena Duchannes better, but unbeknownst to him, Lena has strange powers. As Lena's 16th birthday approaches she might decide her fate, to be good or evil. A choice which will impact her relationship forever.

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The best-reviewed films that share City of Angels’ defining feeling.