Movies like The Careless Years (1957)
The best movies like The Careless Years (1957) are Fire with Fire (1986), Newness (2017) and The Program (1993). If The Careless Years hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYour Fault: London (2026)7.4/10 from 206 votes
- NewestYour Fault: London (2026)Released 2026
Fire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Program (1993)
Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
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 thisTwo for the Seesaw (1962)
After leaving his wife, lawyer Jerry Ryan moves from Omaha, Nebraska to New York City to start a new life. While studying for the New York Bar Examination and working to finalize his divorce, Ryan meets dancer Gittel Mosca, and the two begin a cautious courtship. However, Ryan feels that he must come to terms with his failed marriage and overcome his lingering attachment to his ex-wife before he can redefine himself and embrace his budding romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChemical Hearts (2020)
When a hopelessly romantic high school senior falls for a mysterious new classmate, it sets them both on an unexpected journey that teaches them about love, loss, and most importantly themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria's Lovers (1984)
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 thisWho's That Knocking at My Door (1968)
A Catholic New Yorker falls in love with a girl and wants to marry her, but he struggles to accept her past and what it means for their future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Strawberry Statement (1970)
A college student joins a group of revolutionaries to meet girls but ends up committed to their goals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisChinese Box (1997)
The story of Hong Kong, from New Year's Day to June 30th, 1997, when the British left their colony and turned it over to the People's Republic of China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923)
When Marie St. Clair believes she has been jilted by her artist fiance Jean, she decides to leave for Paris on her own. After spending a year in the city as a mistress of the wealthy Pierre Revel, she is reunited with Jean by chance. This leaves her with the choice between a glamorous life in Paris, and the true love she left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Me Love Me (2026)
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in clandestine MMA fights—sparks a rivalry that quickly turns into irresistible attraction, June must choose between safety and a love that upends everything she thought she wanted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Golden Bowl (2000)
Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an affair, which Maggie discovers and navigates through a silent, psychological battle of wills, ultimately using her cunning to preserve her marriage and protect her father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYour Fault: London (2026)
Nick and Noah are both embarking on life-changing adventures that are threatening to pull them apart—Nick in business with his father and Noah starting a fresh chapter at Oxford University. Now living separate lives, and meeting new people, they find themselves entangled in temptations, rivalries, and betrayals and their bond is tested like never before. As secrets unravel and temptation rises, they must fight to hold onto each other—or risk losing everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisAshes in the Snow (2018)
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColor Rush (2021)
Yeon Woo lives in a grey world as a Mono—until meeting Yoo Han triggers his first Color Rush. Afraid of obsession, Yeon Woo resists, but Yoo Han won’t let go.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Waves (2019)
A controlling father’s attempts to ensure that his two children succeed in high school backfire after his son experiences a career-ending sports injury. Their familial bonds are eventually placed under severe strain by an unexpected tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Love (2021)
Tells the 15-year love story between Zhou Xiao Qi, a long-time swimming student and You Yong Ci, a transfer student. In high school, Zhou Xiao Qi fell in love at first sight with You Yong Ci. A young and ignorant pure love, the boy silently guarded, but the girl left without saying goodbye. Life after that, 15 years of love long-distance race. Your wedding is also my coming-of-age gift.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Strawberry Moon (2025)
Being sick since childhood, Moe has spent most of her life at home, without school or friends. After being given just six months to live, she decides to spend her final days differently—by attending high school. On the very first day, she boldly confesses her feelings to her classmate Hinata. The two start dating and experience their first love. Then, on Moe’s birthday, they plan to watch the “Strawberry Moon” together – a full moon said to bind lovers forever. But after that night, she disappears without a word…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
My Partner (2023)
Two high school boys from different social worlds experience romantic feelings for each other. Edmar, a high-performing Filipino student, and Pili, a Native Hawaiian student-athlete, learn that navigating self-growth and teenage love in Hawaiʻi is as complicated as their understanding and love for Hawaiʻi and it’s ever-changing cultural landscape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Our Secret Diary (2023)
Nozomi Kuroda is in the 2nd grade of high school. One day, she finds a letter in a classroom desk. The letter has only the word "like" written on it. The person who wrote the letter is Jun Setoyama. He happens to be the most popular boy at the high school. Nozomi Kuroda feels embarrassed, but she eventually leaves a reply in a shoe closet at school. This is how their secret exchange diary begins. Nozomi Kuroda soon learns that the intended recipient for the first letter was her best friend. Nevertheless, Nozomi Kuroda is attracted to Jun Setoyama, who expresses his thoughts and feelings unlike her. She's unable to tell him the truth that the person exchanging messages is her and not her best friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCoconut Hero (2015)
It's not easy being a teenager and Mike, a sixteen-year-old, has it espcially hard. He lives in the sticks with his mother, a non-stop nagger, in Faintville, a Canadian timber industry town. He has no father, no friends, not even a favorite meal. Basically, his sole wish is simply to vanish from the face of the earth. One day, Mike writes his own obituary and shoots himself. To his great disappointment he wakes up the in the local hospital. During a routine examination, the doctors discover a plum-sized tumor in his brain. Mike can scarcely believe his luck and keeps the illness to himself to avoid undergoing surgery that would save him. Staring death directly in the eyes, however, changes Mike's point of view and he re-evaluates his opinion of both enchanting and crazy Miranda. Somebody seems to understand him after all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeven Days: Friday - Sunday (2015)
Yuzuru asked Touji out as a half-hearted joke, not expecting to be taken seriously. Touji accepted, and Yuzuru knew he was like the rest, the relationship begins on a Monday and ends on Sunday. What he did not expect was the feelings that went beyond friendship that emerged. It's now Friday, and the end is approaching. But is it? Yuzuru may be mourning the inevitable, but what about Touji? Friday begins the end, but Sunday reveals all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Perfect High (2015)
Sweet suburban teen Amanda is introduced by her new friends to prescription drug-sharing, but the recreational fun soon leads her to a life-altering heroin addiction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEmbers (2017)
Two boys in trouble at school face a racist high school administration.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Careless Years and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Careless Years?
The closest matches to The Careless Years are Fire with Fire (1986), Newness (2017) and The Program (1993). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Careless Years?
Start with Fire with Fire (1986), the closest match to The Careless Years.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Careless Years?
Your Fault: London (2026), rated 7.4/10 by 206 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Careless Years?
Your Fault: London (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Careless Years?
Yes: Fire with Fire (1986), Newness (2017) and The Program (1993).
How are movies similar to The Careless Years chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Careless Years, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.