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Movies that feel like Places in the Heart (1984)

If you loved Places in the Heart, the closest films we have are Rain Man (1988), Magnolia (1999) and Babel (2006). All three share Places in the Heart's contemplative and melancholy feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Wonder Project Amazon Channel, fuboTV and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 90% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Robert Bentoncontemplativemelancholyromantic
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If Places in the Heart hit the spot, these will too

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

The same preoccupation in both: grief

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.

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

Grief sits at the heart of each

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

Both land stillness and melancholy at once

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 2000s show

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

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

Drama built on romance, twice over

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

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

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

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Rocky IV poster
Rocky IV
1985 Β· dir. Sylvester Stallone
πŸ… 38%β˜… 6.9drama

Drama with a pulse of melancholy, in both cases

Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. This time, Rocky's training regimen takes him to Siberia, where he prepares for a globally televised match in the heart of Moscow. But nothing can truly prepare him for what he's about to face – a fight to the finish, in which he must defend not only himself, but also the honor of his country!

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Rocky II poster
Rocky II
1979 Β· dir. Sylvester Stallone
πŸ… 68%β˜… 7.3drama

A streak of romance through both

The difference: Not nearly as melancholy as Places in the Heart

After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the "Master of Disaster" and the "Italian Stallion" are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.

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

Stillness is the shared currency

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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Rocky Balboa poster
Rocky Balboa
2006 Β· dir. Sylvester Stallone
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7.1drama

Both work the same romance

When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history!

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Floating Weeds poster
Floating Weeds
1959 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9drama

Cut from the same drama cloth

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

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

Both run melancholy where it counts

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.

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

Drama approached the same way

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.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Places in the Heart's defining feeling.