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Movies that feel like The Fabelmans (2022)

If you loved The Fabelmans, the closest films we have are Mommy (2014), The Hand of God (2021) and Like Father, Like Son (2013). All three share The Fabelmans' contemplative and wistful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

πŸ… 92% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Steven Spielbergcontemplativedreamlikewistful
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If The Fabelmans hit the spot, these will too

Mommy poster
Mommy
2014 Β· dir. Xavier Dolan
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: growing up

A peculiar neighbor offers hope to a recent widow who is struggling to raise a teenager who is unpredictable and, sometimes, violent.

The Hand of God poster
The Hand of God
2021 Β· dir. Paolo Sorrentino
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.3drama

Common ground in both: family relationships and teenage boy

The difference: None of the dream logic The Fabelmans is built on

In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.

Like Father, Like Son poster
Like Father, Like Son
2013 Β· dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.8drama

Common ground: childhood

The difference: Missing the dream logic of The Fabelmans

Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. He learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. He must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies poster
How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
2024 Β· dir. Pat Boonnitipat
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.9drama

Both are built on the same subject: family relationships

M, a university dropout low on money and luck, volunteers to take care of his terminally ill grandmother, in the hope of pocketing an inheritance.

The Boy and the Heron poster
The Boy and the Heron
2023 Β· dir. Hayao Miyazaki
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.3animation Β· fantasy Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: semi autobiographical

The difference: Leans harder into animation than The Fabelmans does

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Leave No Trace poster
Leave No Trace
2018 Β· dir. Debra Granik
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1drama

One thread runs through both: growing up

A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to authorities, they are sent on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own.

Boyhood poster
Boyhood
2014 Β· dir. Richard Linklater
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.9drama

The same preoccupation in both: high school

The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl poster
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
2015 Β· dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.7drama Β· comedy

Common ground: high school

Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.

Malena poster
Malena
2000 Β· dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
πŸ… 54%β˜… 7.4drama

Contemplative where it counts, wistful underneath

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.

Biutiful poster
Biutiful
2010 Β· dir. Alejandro G. IΓ±Γ‘rritu
πŸ… 66%β˜… 7.4drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who's sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.

House of Hummingbird poster
House of Hummingbird
2019 Β· dir. Kim Bora
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.4drama

Wistful drama, and it commits to that

14-year-old Eun-hee moves through life like a hummingbird searching for a taste of sweetness wherever she may find it. Ignored by her parents and abused by her brother, she finds her escape by roaming the neighborhood with her best friend, going on adventures, and exploring young love.

Minari poster
Minari
2021 Β· dir. Lee Isaac Chung
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.4drama

Both are built on the same subject: semi autobiographical

A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share The Fabelmans’ defining feeling.