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Tender Mercies poster

Movies that feel likeTender Mercies (1983)

Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.

If you loved Tender Mercies, the closest films we have are Once (2007), Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) and Woodstock (1970). All three share Tender Mercies' contemplative and stylish feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988).

🍅 83% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Bruce Beresfordcontemplativestylishromantictender
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Tender Mercies hit the spot, these will too

Once poster
Once
2007 · dir. John Carney
🍅 97%★ 7.8drama · music · romance

The same mix in both: stillness, then style

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

Distant Voices, Still Lives poster
Distant Voices, Still Lives
1988 · dir. Terence Davies
🍅 80%★ 7.4drama · music

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Trades the romance of Tender Mercies for an angle of its own

Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.

Woodstock poster
Woodstock
1970 · dir. Michael Wadleigh
🍅 100%★ 8.1documentary · music

Music with a pulse of romance, in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into documentary than Tender Mercies does

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

Walk the Line poster
Walk the Line
2005 · dir. James Mangold
🍅 83%★ 7.8drama · music · romanceMax

Both are working the same pair: country music, guitar

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Cold War poster
Cold War
2018 · dir. Paweł Pawlikowski
🍅 92%★ 7.5romance · music · dramaPrime Video

Both lean on tenderness more than on romance

A man and a woman meet in the ruins of post-war Poland. With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatally mismatched and yet drawn to each other.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years poster
🍅 76%★ 7.2documentary · music

Stylish music in both cases

An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..

A Beautiful Life poster
A Beautiful Life
2023 · dir. Mehdi Avaz
🍅 33%★ 6.4drama · music · romanceNetflix

Drama built on romance, twice over

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

When a young fisherman with a hidden talent gets discovered by a music producer, he must decide if he's ready to open himself up to stardom — and love.

Leto poster
Leto
2018 · dir. Kirill Serebrennikov
🍅 78%★ 7.3music · drama

Contemplative romance in both cases

Leningrad, one summer in the early eighties. Smuggling LPs by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike and his beautiful wife Natasha meet with young Viktor Tsoi. Together with friends, they will change the destiny of rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union.

The Woman Next Door poster
The Woman Next Door
1981 · dir. François Truffaut
🍅 85%★ 7.2drama · romance

Drama built on tenderness, twice over

Two ex-lovers wind up living next door to each other with their respective spouses. Forbidden passions ensue.

Beyond the Universe poster
Beyond the Universe
2022 · dir. Diego Freitas
★ 6.6romance · drama · musicNetflix

Music with a pulse of style, in both cases

While waiting for a kidney transplant, a young pianist finds an unexpected connection with her doctor — and the courage to fulfill her musical dreams.

Black Orpheus poster
Black Orpheus
1959 · dir. Marcel Camus
🍅 88%★ 7.4drama · romanceMax

The same preoccupation in both: guitar

Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

A Star Is Born poster
A Star Is Born
2018 · dir. Bradley Cooper
🍅 90%★ 7.6music · drama · romanceRent or buy

Common ground: alcoholism

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

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The best-reviewed films that share Tender Mercies’ defining feeling.