Movies like The Summer I was Four (1991)
The best movies like The Summer I was Four (1991) are Janet Planet (2024), When Marnie Was There (2014) and Stealing Beauty (1996). If The Summer I was Four hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTokyo Story (1953)8.1/10 from 1,290 votes
- NewestSketch (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseWhen Marnie Was There (2014)Also in Japanese
Janet Planet (2024)
In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen Marnie Was There (2014)
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisThe Brave Little Toaster (1987)
A group of dated appliances, finding themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold, decide to seek out their eight year old 'master'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Story (1953)
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOne Million Yen Girl (2008)
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCiao Alberto (2021)
With his best friend Luca away at school, Alberto is enjoying his new life in Portorosso working alongside Massimo—the imposing, tattooed, one-armed fisherman of few words—who's quite possibly the coolest human in the entire world as far as Alberto is concerned. He wants more than anything to impress his mentor, but it's easier said than done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Have Sex (2023)
Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday—drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way Way Back (2013)
Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKoyaanisqatsi (1983)
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSmooth Talk (1985)
Connie, the fifteen-year-old black sheep of her family, finds her summertime idyll of beach trips, mall hangouts, and innocent flirtations shattered by an encounter with a mysterious stranger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAinbo: Spirit of the Amazon (2021)
An epic journey of a young hero and her Spirit Guides, 'Dillo' a cute and humorous armadillo and "Vaca" a goofy oversized tapir, who embark on a quest to save their home in the spectacular Amazon Rainforest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012)
Two high school students become stranded on a tropical island and must rely on each other for survival. They learn more about themselves and each other while falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise (1991)
A 10-year-old boy spends a summer in the country with a childless couple and a precocious girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRuby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023)
Ruby Gillman, a sweet and awkward high school student, discovers she's a direct descendant of the warrior kraken queens. The kraken are sworn to protect the oceans of the world against the vain, power-hungry mermaids. Destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, Ruby must use her newfound powers to protect those she loves most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Miracle Season (2018)
After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline "Line" Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSketch (2025)
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to unleash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Old Ass (2024)
An 18th birthday mushroom trip brings free-spirited Elliott face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self. But when Elliott’s "old ass" starts handing out warnings about what her younger self should and shouldn't do, Elliott realizes she has to rethink everything about family, love, and what's becoming a transformative summer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Summer I was Four and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Summer I was Four?
The closest matches to The Summer I was Four are Janet Planet (2024), When Marnie Was There (2014) and Stealing Beauty (1996). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Summer I was Four?
Start with Janet Planet (2024), the closest match to The Summer I was Four.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Summer I was Four?
Tokyo Story (1953), rated 8.1/10 by 1,290 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Summer I was Four?
Sketch (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Summer I was Four?
Yes: When Marnie Was There (2014), Tokyo Story (1953) and One Million Yen Girl (2008).
How are movies similar to The Summer I was Four chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Summer I was Four, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.