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Upstream Color poster

Movies that feel likeUpstream Color (2013)

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the lifecycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.

If you loved Upstream Color, the closest films we have are Departures (2008), Hope (2013) and In America (2003). All three share Upstream Color's contemplative and hopeful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Swades (2004).

🍅 87% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Shane Carruthcontemplativecerebralromantichopeful
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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See it on the Mood Map

If Upstream Color hit the spot, these will too

Departures poster
Departures
2008 · dir. Yojiro Takita
🍅 80%★ 8drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then hope

The difference: Trades the ideas of Upstream Color for an angle of its own

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

Hope poster
Hope
2013 · dir. Lee Joon-ik
★ 8.2drama

Common ground: hope

The difference: Easier on the ideas than Upstream Color

After 8-year-old So-won narrowly survives a brutal sexual assault, her family labors to help her heal while coping with their own rage and grief.

In America poster
In America
2003 · dir. Jim Sheridan
🍅 90%★ 7.7drama

Contemplative drama in both cases

A family of Irish immigrants adjusts to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

Swades poster
Swades
2004 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 90%★ 8.2dramaNetflix

Hopeful science fiction, and it commits to that

A successful Indian scientist returns home to his village to take his nanny back to America with him, and in the process rediscovers his roots.

Mohabbatein poster
Mohabbatein
2000 · dir. Aditya Chopra
★ 7.1drama · romanceNetflix

Both lean on romance more than on drama

The difference: Sits closer to romance than Upstream Color does

At a prestigious all-male university, three friends seek love outside of the school grounds; at the same time, a newly-hired music teacher seeks to befriend and loosen up the militantly strict headmaster.

Like Stars on Earth poster
Like Stars on Earth
2007 · dir. Aamir Khan
🍅 93%★ 8.3drama

Science fiction with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.

Invasion poster
Invasion
2020 · dir. Fyodor Bondarchuk
★ 5.6science fiction · drama · actionPrime Video

Drama built on ideas, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into action than Upstream Color does

Two years after the fall of the alien ship, the life of a young woman from Moscow has been changed forever. Her growing powers are now at the focus of both human and celestial investigation: an alien force takes an interest in her, and will stop short of nothing, including an invasion. Can love and compassion save humanity, when faced with a much greater and more demanding test this time?

Astral City: A Spiritual Journey poster
Astral City: A Spiritual Journey
2010 · dir. Wagner de Assis
★ 6.5drama

A 2010s answer to the same itch

The selfish Dr. André Luiz dies and awakes in the limbo called "Umbral". After a painful period in the gruesome swamp, he is rescued and brought in a white light to "Nosso Lar" (meaning "Our Home"). He finds a place of harmony, where people live in peace awaiting

Breaking the Waves poster
Breaking the Waves
1996 · dir. Lars von Trier
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · romance

A streak of romance through both

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

A Short Film About Love poster
A Short Film About Love
1988 · dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
🍅 95%★ 8.1drama · romance

Both sit in the same romantic register

The difference: 25 years apart, and the 1980s show

19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...

Awakenings poster
Awakenings
1990 · dir. Penny Marshall
🍅 81%★ 7.8drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: hope

Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

Moneyball poster
Moneyball
2011 · dir. Bennett Miller
🍅 94%★ 7.6dramaHulu

Drama approached the same way

The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Upstream Color’s defining feeling.