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The Judge poster

Movies that feel likeThe Judge (2014)

A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

If you loved The Judge, the closest films we have are Columbus (2017), Corpus Christi (2019) and Sweet Bean (2015). All three share The Judge's contemplative and cozy feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Housekeeping (1987).

πŸ… 49% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. David Dobkincontemplativecozy
7 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel Β· Kino Film Collection

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If The Judge hit the spot, these will too

Columbus poster
Columbus
2017 Β· dir. Kogonada
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.2drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: small town life

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

When a renowned architecture scholar falls suddenly ill during a speaking tour, his son Jin finds himself stranded in Columbus, Indiana - a small Midwestern city celebrated for its many significant modernist buildings. Jin strikes up a friendship with Casey, a young architecture enthusiast who works at the local library.

Corpus Christi poster
Corpus Christi
2019 Β· dir. Jan Komasa
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.7drama

Common ground: small town life

A pious 20-year-old juvenile delinquent is sent to work at a sawmill in a small town; on arrival, he dresses up as a priest and accidentally takes over the local parish. The arrival of this young, charismatic preacher is an opportunity for the local community to begin the healing process after a tragedy that happened a year prior.

Sweet Bean poster
Sweet Bean
2015 Β· dir. Naomi Kawase
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.4drama

Contemplative where it counts, cozy underneath

The master of a dorayaki pastry store hires a 76-year-old woman whose talents attract customers from all over. But she's hiding a troubling secret. Life's joys are found in the little details, and no matter what may be weighing you down, everyone loves a good pastry.

The Wind Will Carry Us poster
The Wind Will Carry Us
1999 Β· dir. Abbas Kiarostami
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.4drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural Kurdish village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.

Diary of a Country Priest poster
Diary of a Country Priest
1951 Β· dir. Robert Bresson
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.7drama

Both lean on comfort more than on drama

The difference: Made in the 1950s, in a different era of the craft

An inexperienced, sickly priest shows up in the rural French community of Ambricourt, where he joins the community's clergy. But the locals don't take kindly to the priest, and his ascetic ways and unsociable demeanor make him an outcast. During Bible studies at the nearby girls school, he is continually mocked by his students. Then his attempt to intervene in a family feud backfires into a scandal. His failures, compounded with his declining health, begin to erode his faith.

Rio Bravo poster
Rio Bravo
1959 Β· dir. Howard Hawks
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9western Β· drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: Sits closer to western than The Judge does

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

Kes poster
Kes
1970 Β· dir. Ken Loach
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.9dramaPrime Video

The same preoccupation in both: dysfunctional family

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun poster
πŸ… 75%β˜… 7.1drama Β· comedyRent or buy

Both run cozy where it counts

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than The Judge does

The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.

Wonder poster
Wonder
2017 Β· dir. Stephen Chbosky
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.9family Β· dramaRent or buy

Both are drama through and through

The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

Housekeeping poster
Housekeeping
1987 Β· dir. Bill Forsyth
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· drama

Drama in the same key

In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950s, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie, whose views of the world and its conventions don't quite live up to most people's expectations.

The White Balloon poster
The White Balloon
1995 Β· dir. Jafar Panahi
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.6drama Β· family

Both working the same drama territory

Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.

Children of Heaven poster
Children of Heaven
1997 Β· dir. Majid Majidi
πŸ… 83%β˜… 8.2drama Β· family

Drama of the same temperament

Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes. School awaits.

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