Movies like 20th Century Nostalgia (1997)
The best movies like 20th Century Nostalgia (1997) are Life in a Year (2020), Ashes in the Snow (2018) and Time Is Up (2021). If 20th Century Nostalgia 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 ratedLife in a Year (2020)8.2/10 from 2,027 votes
- NewestNobody Has to Know (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseClosest Love to Heaven (2017)Also in Japanese
Life in a Year (2020)
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 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 thisClosest Love to Heaven (2017)
When Ninon finds out that her neighbor and popular classmate Yuiji Kira only has one year to live, she decides to go out of her way and help him attain happiness on his remaining time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFire 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 this1 Mile To You (2017)
After a teenager's friends die in an accident, he finds running allows him to remember them perfectly. Running, however, also brings him notoriety. He is caught between keeping the past alive and making new memories in the present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Give My First Love to You (2009)
Takuma knows that his life is shorter than the others and he feels that his demise is getting near. He chose to stay away from the girl that he loves so that she can easily move on. What he didn't know is that he is under-estimating her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNobody Has to Know (2022)
After a stroke and no memories from his past, Phil encounters Millie who inhabits a desert part of Isle of Lewis. She will shortly entrust him with his deepest secret : they were in love.
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 thisRadiance (2017)
The story follows the social intercourse between a cameraman, Masaya, with a visual impairment, and Misako who disconnects from the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli and Nino (2016)
Muslim prince Ali and Georgian aristocrat Nino have grown up in the Russian province of Azerbaijan. Their tragic love story sees the outbreak of the First World War and the world’s struggle for Baku’s oil. Ultimately they must choose to fight for their country’s independence or for each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to the Shore (2015)
Mizuki's husband Yusuke has been missing for three years. He suddenly comes back home as a ghost and asks Mizuki to go on a trip with him. Their trip consists of visiting the people that helped Yusuke on his previous travel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHis Motorbike, Her Island (1986)
Ko, a motorbike enthusiast from the city wandering the Japanese countryside, falls for the carefree local Miyo and teaches her how to ride. When Miyo proves herself a biker prodigy, Ko begins to fear she's destined to crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Ring of Endless Light (2002)
When 15-year-old Vicky Austin, her sister Suzy and little brother Rob visit their grandfather on Seven Bay Island, Vicky faces several unexpected challenges. Her beloved grandfather, retired Reverend Eaton, seems to be seriously ill, but tries to pretend that nothing is wrong. Vicky met the rich but emotionally troubled Zachary Gray the previous summer, and he reappears to renew the acquaintance. Another boy, 17-year-old Adam Eddington, recruits Vicky to help him with a research project, working with a dolphin called Basil. Vicky discovers she can communicate telepathically with the dolphin and his mate - and possibly with Adam as well
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
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 thisI'm in Love with a Church Girl (2013)
Miles Montego has it all - cars, boats, good looks, mansion, money, women, but more importantly, he has a past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Rainy Days (2009)
A cold and calculating high school student falls in love for the first time with a professor, but he's dying of brain cancer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wilding (2012)
When juvenile inmate Malcolm is offered a chance at parole, he is torn between his chance for freedom and protecting the one he loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a patient named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEighteen, Nineteen (2012)
"Eighteen, Nineteen" depicts a youth scandal involving fraternal twins Ho-Ya and Seo-Ya. They experience their last winter before they become adults ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Electric Blue (2015)
Carlos and Roque, two high school friends, play on the same soccer team. After an unexpected rapprochement between the two, Carlos doubts about his sexuality, rejects Roque's friendship and forces him to keep quiet. From this moment on, Carlos faces the difficult circumstance of making a decision whether or not to save his friendship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Blood Sport (1973)
A searing commentary on the "win at all costs" mentality of American high school sports. David Lee Birdsong is the smalltown quarterback hoping to escape with a college scholarship and a pro career. David's father is the overbearing taskmaster vicariously living through his son. The third side of the triangle is Coach Marshall, a hypercritical and cruel man who sees David as the key to his future success. David's lockstep commitment to his father and coach is altered when he witnesses a teammate die after a grueling practice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. (1996)
When young computer genius Rudy inherits his father's business his avaricious uncle has him kidnapped and held hostage until the boy signs off all rights to the lucrative enterprise. Not wanting the uncle to control, a pair of corporate executives happen upon a youth who looks just like the missing heir. In hopes of keeping the business afloat, they substitute him at the board meetings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
mid90s (2018)
In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at a skate shop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDad Would Have a Fit (2003)
Szarka and Barbi, two 17 years old girl travel to Europe to find love and happiness. The vacation starts bad, they lose all their money, but they don't wanna go home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Tag (2015)
Billy is the self-designated leader of a group of teenagers living in a shelter. Jacob and Rae, Billy's oldest childhood friends, live there as well as part of "the family". Billy has an AIDs-like virus, which he has passed on to his blood brother Jacob. Billy and Rae are boyfriend and girlfriend, much to the dismay of Jacob who has always loved Rae from afar. Billy's philosophy of life, and how that interfaces with having a deadly virus, comes to a head when Billy and Jacob compete in a very unique game of "Tag", with the future of Rae and "the family" dependent upon the outcome.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Weenie (2019)
Weenie follows the story of a young woman experiencing homelessness by depicting the moments before she her homes in a series of snapshot scenes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like 20th Century Nostalgia and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 20th Century Nostalgia?
The closest matches to 20th Century Nostalgia are Life in a Year (2020), Ashes in the Snow (2018) and Time Is Up (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 20th Century Nostalgia?
Start with Life in a Year (2020), the closest match to 20th Century Nostalgia.
What is the highest-rated movie like 20th Century Nostalgia?
Life in a Year (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 2,027 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 20th Century Nostalgia?
Nobody Has to Know (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like 20th Century Nostalgia?
Yes: Closest Love to Heaven (2017), I Give My First Love to You (2009) and Radiance (2017).
How are movies similar to 20th Century Nostalgia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 20th Century Nostalgia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.