Movies like Contact (2002)
The best movies like Contact (2002) are If Anything Happens I Love You (2020), Lilting (2014) and My Brother the Devil (2012). If Contact hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIf Anything Happens I Love You (2020)7.7/10 from 1,029 votes
- NewestDRAWN OUT (2025)Released 2025
If Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
Grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child after a tragic school shooting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLilting (2014)
A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his lover of four years. Though the two don't share a language, they grow close through their grief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncle Frank (2020)
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2019)
A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he once shared with the former, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAugust Rush (2007)
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoonlight (2016)
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Human Voice (2020)
A woman watches time pass beside the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Englishman in New York (2009)
Biographical drama based on the last 20 years of Crisp's life. The literary figure and gay iconoclast emigrated to New York in 1981 and lived there until his death. The film observes Crisp in both his public and private lives, from his seemingly cavalier response to the outbreak of AIDS to his tender relationship with his friend Patrick Angus and his own response to growing old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAftersun (2022)
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the troubled man she didn't.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue (1993)
Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Night Is Too Long (2002)
A chance meeting, a stolen kiss and a sudden flare of passion sets a handsome young university student on a journey of betrayal, heartbreak and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlow (1996)
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPretty Boy (2015)
Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. "Pretty Boy" is a coming of age story of a young bullied teen, Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his father finds some questionable magazines in his room, this devout Christian will go to any lengths to get his son to find the light and "perform" the way a man should. Sean is introduced to Katie, a prostitute that understands the stigmas of modern society and helps him see the true light that is within him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnthony (2014)
Christmas Eve. An enormous explosion tears through Lapland. Santa and his elf, Anthony, have crash-landed in the middle of nowhere on their busiest night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ultraman Connection Presents: Tamashii Nations Special Streaming featuring Ultraman Trigger (2022)
Ultraman Connection Presents: Tamashii Nations Special Streaming featuring Ultraman Trigger is a special filmed stage show based on various Ultraman characters and released on YouTube as a part of the eponymous stream.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jemima + Johnny (1966)
A white boy and a black Jamaican girl have a day out in a city where racial hostility prevails.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Procession (2023)
Ieva is facing the day of her grandmother's funeral, but her goal of saying goodbye to her grandmother is complicated by the domestic problems of such processions and the growing distance between Ieva and her mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Talking To My Mother (2014)
A young Asian American man struggles for both personal happiness and the love of his mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
DRAWN OUT (2025)
On the eve of leaving for college, Randy discovers that the childhood drawings she's long forgotten are not quite ready to let her go. When her imaginary friends come to life, they pull her into a surreal final adventure through her own home, one that forces her to confront buried memories, unresolved guilt, and the fear she's been avoiding. As fantasy and reality collide, Randy must decide whether to run from her past or face it head-on, learning that growing up doesn't mean leaving every part of yourself behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Last Interview (2012)
Mr. Baek, a job seeker, is vulnerable to sunlight. Despite his unusual illness, he is eager to get a job. Finally, today is Mr. Baek's last interview.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
on the other side of you (2012)
It is youth that consists of many failures and many happy ends, and makes you break into tears in one moment and then smile when you think about it. Definitely everybody has their youth in the course of their life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
You Have To Change (2011)
Eun-mo and Sung-Kyung are friends who go to dance classes together. Eun-mo advises Sung-kyung to be honest about love and life. Sung-kyung decides to end a relationship with Eun-mo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Saturday Night Butch (2015)
In the spring of 1969, Carey, a damaged but idealistic young butch from the industrial Midwest, falls for Joni, an older, disillusioned femme, just weeks before the Stonewall Riots.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Contact and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Contact?
The closest matches to Contact are If Anything Happens I Love You (2020), Lilting (2014) and My Brother the Devil (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Contact?
Start with If Anything Happens I Love You (2020), the closest match to Contact.
What is the highest-rated movie like Contact?
If Anything Happens I Love You (2020), rated 7.7/10 by 1,029 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Contact?
DRAWN OUT (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Contact?
Yes: If Anything Happens I Love You (2020), Lilting (2014) and My Brother the Devil (2012).
How are movies similar to Contact chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Contact, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.