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Movies like Sadness

The best movies like Sadness are Contact (1997), The Vast of Night (2019) and Frequency (2000). If Sadness hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Contact (1997)

    A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. The Vast of Night (2019)

    At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Frequency (2000)

    When a rare phenomenon gives police officer John Sullivan the chance to speak to his father, 30 years in the past, he takes the opportunity to prevent his dad's tragic death. After his actions inadvertently give rise to a series of brutal murders he and his father must find a way to fix the consequences of altering time.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

    England, at the start of World War Two. Mysterious wireless broadcasts, apparently from Nazi Germany are heard over the BBC. They warn of acts of terror in England, just before they take place. Baffled, the Defense Committee call in Sherlock Holmes.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

    After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Across the country, an engaged woman becomes convinced that they belong together, despite their never having met. Will their paths collide despite the odds?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

    A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Straight Talk (1992)

    Honest and straightforward small-town Shirlee Kenyon chucks her boyfriend and heads for Chicago. Accidentally having to host a radio problem phone-in show, it is clear she is a natural and is hired on the spot. But the station insists she call herself Doctor, and as her popularity grows a local reporter starts digging for the truth. Problem is, the more he is around her the more he fancies her.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Talk Radio (1988)

    A rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Play Misty for Me (1971)

    A brief fling between a late-night radio disc jockey and an obsessed female fan takes a frightening turn when another woman enters the picture.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Enigma (2001)

    The story of the WWII project to crack the code behind the Enigma machine, used by the Germans to encrypt messages sent to their submarines.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Who Done It? (1942)

    Two dumb soda jerks dream of writing radio mysteries. When they try to pitch an idea at a radio station, they end up in the middle of a real murder when the station owner is killed during a broadcast.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Carry On Nurse (1959)

    In Haven Hospital, a certain men's ward is causing more havoc than the whole hospital altogether. The formidable Matron's debut gives everyone a chill every time she walks past, with only Reckitt standing up to her. There's a colonel who's a constant nuisance, a bumbling nurse, a romance between Ted York and Nurse Denton, and Bell wants his bunion removed straight away, so after a couple of pints, the men decide to remove the bunion themselves!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

    A letter is addressed to three wives from their 'best friend', announcing that she's running away with one of their husbands – but she doesn't specify which one.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Beyond Tomorrow (1940)

    The ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple whom they initially brought together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Meet John Doe (1941)

    As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. Choose Me (1984)

    Several lost-soul night-owls, including a nightclub owner, a talk radio relationship counselor, and an itinerant stranger have encounters that expose their contradictions and anxieties about love and acceptance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. On the Line (2022)

    A provocative and edgy radio host must play a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a mysterious caller who's kidnapped his family and is threatening to blow up the whole station.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. The Commuter (2018)

    A businessman, on his daily commute home, gets unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy that threatens not only his life but the lives of those around him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. The Shooting (1966)

    Two miners agree to guide a mysterious woman, who has appeared in their camp from nowhere, to a nearby town; but soon, because of her erratic behavior, they begin to suspect that her true purpose is quite different.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Women in Love (1969)

    Growing up in the sheltered confines of a 1920s English coal-mining community, free-spirited sisters Gudrun and Ursula explore erotic love with a wealthy playboy and a philosophical educator, with cataclysmic results for all four.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like Sadness and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Sadness?

The closest matches to Sadness are Contact (1997), The Vast of Night (2019) and Frequency (2000). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Sadness?

Start with Contact (1997), the closest match to Sadness.

What is the highest-rated movie like Sadness?

Contact (1997), rated 7.5/10 by 5,290 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Sadness?

On the Line (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Sadness?

Yes: Contact (1997), The Vast of Night (2019) and Frequency (2000).

How are movies similar to Sadness chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sadness, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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