Movies like Diary of an Unexpected Journey (2023)
The best movies like Diary of an Unexpected Journey (2023) are Desire (2017), Game of Love (2022) and Y Tu Mamá También (2001). If Diary of an Unexpected Journey hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedY Tu Mamá También (2001)7.4/10 from 1,872 votes
- NewestLove of Your Life (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishDesire (2017)Also in Spanish
Desire (2017)
Lucía and Ofelia, two sisters, finally meet after 7 years of cold relationships upon Lucia 's wedding. But when Juan, Lucia's husband, and Ofelia meet, they feel like a disruptive fantasy have enchanted their minds and bodies...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGame of Love (2022)
Follows Vivien and Roy as their love story continues and leads them to Roy’s childhood home in Sicily to prepare for the sale of the family estate. During the visit, a mysterious woman arrives and befriends Vivien, much to Roy’s displeasure. Tensions build and lines are crossed as secrets from Roy’s past force the couple to face aspects of their relationship they did not know existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisY Tu Mamá También (2001)
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCopenhagen (2014)
After weeks of traveling through Europe, the immature William finds himself in Copenhagen, the place of his father’s birth. He befriends the youthful Effy, who works in William’s hotel as part of an internship program, and they set off to find William’s last living relative. Effy’s mix of youthful exuberance and wisdom challenges William unlike any woman ever has. As the attraction builds, he must come to grips with destabilizing elements of his family’s sordid past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fugitive Kind (1960)
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove of Your Life (2026)
After a chance encounter sparks a sweeping romance, Maya's future is suddenly upended, sending her on an unexpected journey to love and live again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTear This Heart Out (2008)
A young girl recounts her girlhood and eventual marriage to a general of the Mexican revolution. by one of the most outstanding writers of the new feminist Mexican literature, it is at once a haunting novel of one woman's life and a powerful account of post-revolutionary Mexico from a female perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPassion of Mind (2000)
A psychological romantic thriller where fantasy and reality become indistinguishable for a woman leading a double life in her dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrazy/Beautiful (2001)
At Pacific Palisades High, a poor Latino falls hard for a troubled girl from the affluent neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee You Soon (2019)
A U.S. soccer star suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the World Cup, and during his recovery, embarks on an epic romance with a Russian single mom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDreams (2025)
A powerful socialite and a promising ballet dancer begin a dangerous affair. When he secretly crosses the US-Mexico border, she takes desperate measures to protect their future together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)
Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWander Darkly (2020)
New parents Adrienne and Matteo are forced to reckon with trauma amidst their troubled relationship. They must revisit the memories of their past and unravel haunting truths in order to face their uncertain future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmor Bandido (2021)
Joan is a naïve, 16-year-old who falls in love easily. One day he decides to escape to the provinces with Luciana, a beautiful 35-year-old woman and a teacher at his school, in order to give free rein to his love. Soon, Joan discovers with horror that he has fallen into a trap that is a mix between sex, money, politics and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSylvie's Love (2020)
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAttraction (2001)
A writer/radio advice show host fails to heed his own advice as he stalks his ex-girlfriend and then becomes involved with an actress friend of hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInterstate 60 (2002)
An aspiring painter meets various characters and learns valuable lessons while traveling across America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Star (2024)
The 90s. A famous Spanish rock star travels around Latin America in the endeavour to reconnect with his vocation. There he meets an old musician down on his luck, prompting the birth of an unlikely duo with every chance of becoming an epic commercial failure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Summer Days (2014)
Little by little, a relationship develops between Gem, a teenager fascinated by tattoos, and his best friend that goes beyond just friendship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Tadpole (2002)
Beautiful, sophisticated women are all over Oscar Grubman. He is sensitive and compassionate, speaks French fluently, is passionate about Voltaire, and thinks the feature that tells the most about a woman is her hands. On the train home from Chauncey Academy for the Thanksgiving weekend, Oscar confides in his best friend that he has plans for this vacation--he will win the heart of his true love. But there is one major problem--Oscar's true love is his stepmother Eve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisStick Bug (2025)
Two star-crossed friends escape to the woods for one night in an attempt to find their way back to one another.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Platonic Sex (2001)
When Aoi is gang-raped by her classmates and kicked out of her home by her own parents she sees no reason to continue living. Before she commits suicide, however, she receives an email on her cellphone from a man named Toshi addressed to a girl named Ai. The message simply thanks the girl for being alive, but this specific message has an effect on Aoi and she decides to keep on living. Without many options, Aoi resorts to everything from paid dating to porn to earn money and meets a lot of less than reputable characters. Throughout it all though she looks toward Toshi as her hope for happiness and the two form a relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming Through the Rye (2016)
Coming Through the Rye, set in 1969, is a touching coming of age story of sensitive, 16 year old Jamie Schwartz, who is not the most popular kid at his all boys' boarding school. Disconnected from students and teachers, he believes he is destined to play Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye, and has adapted the book as a play.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Where the Windmills Are (2016)
7th grader Thomas lives in a small city in Denmark. He's in love with the schools tough girl, Vikki and to get close to her, he has to help her and a gang of older boys blow up their teachers bike. The head of the gang is Vikki's boyfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Beauty and the Beast (1983)
When Mette and her father are left alone over the Christmas holidays, he starts feeling increasingly rejected and jealous, as his adolescent daughter starts looking for real beaus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Wild Life (1984)
Eighties teen romp involving Bill and his new apartment, Jim and his rebellious antics, Tom and his crazy self, and Anita with her older man David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Period (2024)
Yatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately… a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst—and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cardboard Island (2026)
After a freak accident leaves a young man in a surreal limbo, he must team up with a talking puppet to map a mysterious island from fragments of memory — a journey that forces him to confront his deepest regrets, reclaim lost connections, and decide if life is worth finding his way back to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Diary of an Unexpected Journey?
The closest matches to Diary of an Unexpected Journey are Desire (2017), Game of Love (2022) and Y Tu Mamá También (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Diary of an Unexpected Journey?
Start with Desire (2017), the closest match to Diary of an Unexpected Journey.
What is the highest-rated movie like Diary of an Unexpected Journey?
Y Tu Mamá También (2001), rated 7.4/10 by 1,872 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Diary of an Unexpected Journey?
Love of Your Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Diary of an Unexpected Journey?
Yes: Desire (2017), Y Tu Mamá También (2001) and Tear This Heart Out (2008).
How are movies similar to Diary of an Unexpected Journey chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Diary of an Unexpected Journey, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.