Movies like When He Leaves (1993)
The best movies like When He Leaves (1993) are The Notebook (2004), Ginger & Rosa (2012) and Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001). If When He Leaves hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
When He Leaves
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Notebook (2004)7.9/10 from 13,043 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
The Notebook (2004)
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGinger & Rosa (2012)
A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event the comes to redefine their relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
In New York City, the lives of a lawyer, an actuary, a house-cleaner, a professor, and the people around them intersect as they ponder order and happiness in the face of life's cold unpredictability.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magic of Belle Isle (2012)
In an effort to tap into his original talent, a wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMrs Palfrey at The Claremont (2005)
All but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel, an elderly woman strikes up a curious friendship with a young writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVicious (2025)
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)
Literary icon Joan Didion reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles in this intimate documentary directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStealing Beauty (1996)
Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThings We Lost in the Fire (2007)
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Narcissus (1947)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Poker House (2008)
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJuror #2 (2024)
While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Church (2016)
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYour Place or Mine (2023)
When best friends and total opposites Debbie and Peter swap homes for a week, they get a peek into each other's lives that could open the door to love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWrite Before Christmas (2019)
A recently single Jessica sends Christmas cards to people who have impacted her life—the aunt who raised her, her younger brother in the military, a popstar who was part of the soundtrack of her life, the music teacher who inspired her, and the best friend who always tells the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love (2016)
Former prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean is a powerhouse, Mensa bright, and acutely observant. During a tragic week, one of her patients loses her parents to separate fatal accidents along with millions of dollars that has seemingly vanished into thin air. When the police begin to question Hailey's patient, shes knows she is innocent. But who is the culprit?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When He Leaves?
The closest matches to When He Leaves are The Notebook (2004), Ginger & Rosa (2012) and Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When He Leaves?
Start with The Notebook (2004), the closest match to When He Leaves.
What is the highest-rated movie like When He Leaves?
The Notebook (2004), rated 7.9/10 by 13,043 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When He Leaves?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like When He Leaves?
Yes: The Notebook (2004), Ginger & Rosa (2012) and Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001).
How are movies similar to When He Leaves chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When He Leaves, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.