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Movies that feel like City of Men (2007)

If you loved City of Men, the closest films we have are Lilting (2014), Nobody Knows (2004) and Places in the Heart (1984). All three share City of Men's contemplative and melancholy feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 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.

Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

πŸ… 74% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Paulo Morellicontemplativemelancholyromantic
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If City of Men hit the spot, these will too

Lilting poster
Lilting
2014 Β· dir. Hong Khaou
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.2drama

The same preoccupation in both: grief

A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his lover of four years. Though the two don't share a language, they grow close through their grief.

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

Both are built on the same subject: grief

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.

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

The same mix in both: stillness, then melancholy

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

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.

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

Both are working the same pair: becoming an adult, parents and children

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.

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The Quiet Girl poster
The Quiet Girl
2022 Β· dir. Colm BairΓ©ad
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.7drama

Both lean on romance more than on drama

A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.

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Drive My Car poster
Drive My Car
2021 Β· dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.5drama

Contemplative drama in both cases

Yusuke Kafuku, a stage actor and director, still unable, after two years, to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, accepts to direct Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There he meets Misaki, an introverted young woman, appointed to drive his car. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions will be unveiled.

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

Melancholy drama, and it commits to that

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

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Lantana poster
Lantana
2001 Β· dir. Ray Lawrence
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.2crime Β· drama Β· mystery

The shared currency is romance

The difference: Sits closer to crime than City of Men does

Plagued with grief over the murder of her daughter, Valerie Somers suspects that her husband John is cheating on her. When Valerie disappears, Detective Leon Zat attempts to solve the mystery of her absence. A complex web of love, sex and deceit emerges -- drawing in four related couples whose various partners are distrustful and suspicious about each other's involvement.

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Central Station poster
Central Station
1998 Β· dir. Walter Salles
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: rio de janeiro

The difference: Not nearly as romantic as City of Men

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.

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Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father poster
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.5documentary Β· crime

One thread runs through both: parents and children

The difference: Leans harder into documentary than City of Men does

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

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The Look of Silence poster
The Look of Silence
2014 Β· dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
πŸ… 96%β˜… 8.2history Β· documentary

Both run melancholy where it counts

An Indonesian man with a communist background named Ramli was brutally murdered when the "Communist" purge occurred in 1965. His remaining family members lived in fear and silence until the making of this documentary. Adi, a brother of his, decided to revisit the horrific incident and visited the men who were responsible for the killings and one survivor of the purge. These meetings uncovered sadistic details of the murders and exposed raw emotions and reactions of the killers' family members about what happened in the past - much to Adi's disappointment.

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P.S. I Love You poster
P.S. I Love You
2007 Β· dir. Richard LaGravenese
β˜… 7drama Β· romance

Both sit in the same contemplative register

A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

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