feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like The Seventh Seal (1957)

If you loved The Seventh Seal, the closest films we have are Wild Strawberries (1957), Persona (1966) and Tokyo Story (1953). All three share The Seventh Seal's dreamlike and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Criterion Channel and Darkroom and others, checked against today's data.

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

πŸ… 93% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ingmar Bergmandreamlikecontemplative
See it on the map

When is The Seventh Seal streaming? β†’

If The Seventh Seal hit the spot, these will too

Wild Strawberries poster
Wild Strawberries
1957 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.1drama

The same hand behind both of them: Ingmar Bergman

Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.

Feels alike?
Persona poster
Persona
1966 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 91%β˜… 8drama

Ingmar Bergman working the same nerve twice

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.

Feels alike?
Tokyo Story poster
Tokyo Story
1953 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1drama

Dreamlike where it counts, contemplative underneath

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Feels alike?
Cries and Whispers poster
Cries and Whispers
1972 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.9drama

The same preoccupation in both: mortality

The difference: Missing the dream logic of The Seventh Seal

As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so immersed in their own psychic pains that they are unable to offer her the support she needs.

Feels alike?
Through a Glass Darkly poster
Through a Glass Darkly
1961 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.9drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.

Feels alike?
Hour of the Wolf poster
Hour of the Wolf
1968 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.5drama Β· horror

One thread runs through both: artist

The difference: Leans harder into horror than The Seventh Seal does

While vacationing on a remote German island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.

Feels alike?
Fanny and Alexander poster
Fanny and Alexander
1982 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama Β· mystery

Both keep coming back to the same thing: mortality

The difference: Sits closer to mystery than The Seventh Seal does

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

Feels alike?
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
2013 Β· dir. Isao Takahata
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8animation Β· drama Β· fantasy

Dreamlike fantasy, and it commits to that

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

Feels alike?
Finding Neverland poster
Finding Neverland
2004 Β· dir. Marc Forster
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.6drama Β· fantasy

Fantasy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boysβ€”who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.

Feels alike?
The Tree of Life poster
The Tree of Life
2011 Β· dir. Terrence Malick
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.8drama Β· fantasy

Contemplative drama in both cases

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

Feels alike?
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives poster
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
2010 Β· dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.7drama Β· fantasy

Both know what they want from fantasy

Suffering from acute kidney failure, Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him, and his long lost son returns home in a non-human form. Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop caveβ€”the birthplace of his first life.

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

Cut from the same drama cloth

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.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more dreamlike?

all dreamlike movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share The Seventh Seal’s defining feeling.