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When We Were Kings poster

Movies that feel likeWhen We Were Kings (1996)

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

If you loved When We Were Kings, the closest films we have are Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), After the Wedding (2006) and Yi Yi (2000). All three share When We Were Kings' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Medicine for Melancholy (2009).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Leon Gastcontemplativeromantic
6 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Sundance Now

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If When We Were Kings hit the spot, these will too

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag poster
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
2013 · dir. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
🍅 75%★ 8.2drama

Common ground: sports documentary

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

The true story of the "Flying Sikh" world champion runner and Olympian Milkha Singh who overcame the massacre of his family, civil war during the India-Pakistan partition, and homelessness to become one of India's most iconic athletes.

After the Wedding poster
After the Wedding
2006 · dir. Susanne Bier
🍅 87%★ 7.7drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then romance

The difference: Sits closer to drama than When We Were Kings does

A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

Yi Yi poster
Yi Yi
2000 · dir. Edward Yang
★ 8.1drama

Contemplative documentary in both cases

Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.

The Sea Inside poster
The Sea Inside
2004 · dir. Alejandro Amenábar
🍅 85%★ 7.9drama

Both lean on romance more than on documentary

Ramón Sampedro is a ship mechanic and part-time poet left a quadriplegic following a diving accident. Ramón fought for 30 years for the legal right to end his own life. He develops close relationships with his long-term lawyer Julia and his friend Rosa, who tries to convince him that his life is worth living. Despite his situation, Ramón manages to inspire those around him to live life to the fullest.

Floating Weeds poster
Floating Weeds
1959 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
🍅 96%★ 7.9dramaMax

Documentary built on stillness, twice over

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

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

The Quiet Girl poster
The Quiet Girl
2022 · dir. Colm Bairéad
🍅 97%★ 7.7drama

Both work the same romance

A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.

Black Narcissus poster
Black Narcissus
1947 · dir. Emeric Pressburger
🍅 100%★ 7.7dramaMax

A 1940s cousin in spirit

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

Dil Chahta Hai poster
Dil Chahta Hai
2001 · dir. Farhan Akhtar
🍅 100%★ 8.1drama · romanceNetflix

Products of the same few years

Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension.

Veer-Zaara poster
Veer-Zaara
2004 · dir. Yash Chopra
🍅 94%★ 7.8drama · romanceNetflix

Contemporaries, and it shows

Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh, a pilot in the Indian Air Force, rescues the stranded Zaara, a woman from Pakistan, following a bus accident, and their lives are forever bound.

East of Eden poster
East of Eden
1955 · dir. Elia Kazan
🍅 86%★ 7.8drama

Reaching back to the 1950s for it

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone poster
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone
2011 · dir. Daniel Ribeiro
★ 8.2drama · romance

Reaching back to the 2010s for it

The arrival of a new student in school changes Leonardo's life. This 15 year-old blind teenager has to deal with the jealousy of his friend Giovana while figuring out the new feelings he's having towards his new friend, Gabriel.

Medicine for Melancholy poster
Medicine for Melancholy
2009 · dir. Barry Jenkins
🍅 85%★ 6.6drama · romance

A 2000s cousin in spirit

Waking from a one-night stand that neither remembers, Micah and Joanne find themselves wandering the streets of San Francisco, sharing coffee and conversation and searching for a deeper connection.

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The best-reviewed films that share When We Were Kings’ defining feeling.