Movies like Passing Strangers (1974)
The best movies like Passing Strangers (1974) are Henry & June (1990), True Romance (1993) and The Hot Spot (1990). If Passing Strangers hooked you with its romance, these 23 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIn a Heartbeat (2017)8.0/10 from 1,039 votes
- NewestOur Own Game (2026)Released 2026
Henry & June (1990)
While traveling in Paris, author Henry Miller and his wife, June, meet Anais Nin, and sexual sparks fly as Nin starts an affair with the openly bisexual June. When June is forced to return to the U.S., she gives Nin her blessing to sleep with her husband. Then, when June returns to France, an unexpected, and sometimes contentious, threesome forms.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Romance (1993)
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hot Spot (1990)
Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities — and the local women — after he robs a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn a Heartbeat (2017)
A closeted boy runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFrida (2002)
A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaste of Love (2016)
After an ambiguous Snapchat video featuring Bilel and Adil, rumors start spreading about the two friends. To save their reputation, each of them tries to find a girlfriend. Their hunt for a date doesn’t quite go as expected.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Chasing Amy (1997)
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything is going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Own Game (2026)
Leaving home, a young footballer finds himself unable to outrun the emotional ties and unspoken truths he hoped to leave behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
54 (1998)
When the mastermind behind New York's infamous Studio 54 disco plucks young Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, he not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar — and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisCabaret (1972)
Inside the Kit Kat Club of 1931 Berlin, starry-eyed singer Sally Bowles and an impish emcee sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while outside a certain political party grows into a brutal force.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWater Lilies (2007)
Set during a sultry summer in a French suburb, Marie is desperate to join the local pool's synchronized swimming team, but is her interest solely for the sake of sport or for a chance to get close to Floriane, the bad girl of the team? Sciamma, and the two leads, capture the uncertainty of teenage sexuality with a sympathetic eye in this delicate drama of the angst of coming-of-age.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPragma (2018)
Yoo-Hee and Joo-Yeon fell in love in high school, but their school’s persecution of gays tore them apart. When meet again years later, sparks fly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Wifi Society: Gray Secret (2015)
Frame and Earth have been close friends since university. One day, Earth introduces his boyfriend Non, twenty-two years his senior, to Frame. They both have a good life. They love and take care each other. The love of this couple is always in sight of Frame. One day, Frame needs to go to Bank's house for a project, that day is also the birthday of Bank's mom. When Frame meets Bank's dad, he's shocked to discover Bank's dad is P'Non. What Frame will decide to do? Will he tell Earth that P'Non is his friend's dad? or will he tell Bank that Bank's dad is the boyfriend of his friend?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Albino (2016)
Yashima is a woman who works as a plumber. She is also uncomfortable with her own sexuality. One day she visits a home for a job and meets Kyu. Yashima senses Kyu's eyes watching her. They become intimate, but a dark secret is soon revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Broken Youth (2019)
Bullied and outed at school, Li Yang faces cruelty from peers and teachers—until Feng Xiaoao’s friendship becomes the light pulling him out of darkness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Mädchen in Uniform (1931)
A sensitive girl is sent to an all-girls boarding school and develops a romantic attachment to one of her teachers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappy-Go-Lucky Days (2020)
Love is love. Someday, the pain of being in love will be an endearing memory. No matter who the feelings are towards, no matter what form it takes, all love and lifestyles have the same value. An omnibus anime tells the stories of “The wedding of an ex”, “a student and a teacher at an all-boys’ school” and “childhood friends whose bodies and hearts change with adolescence.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
In Between Heartbeats (TBA)
Guided by a queer deity, a closeted man is forced to confront his parents as he tries to regain his lost sense of identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Takumi-kun Series: That, Sunny Blue Sky (2011)
It's June of their third year of high school, and Takumi has an important anniversary to attend back in his hometown. He wants to invite Gii along for the trip, but time and scheduling and possibly broken promises stand in the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Neither Yes Nor No (2026)
It's a 5 a.m conversation. HIM (25) et THE OTHER (25) are lying on a bed, with pieces of board games scattered on the floor. THE OTHER asks questions and HIM answers. Eventually, the conversation turns to sexuality- how, in his teenage years, HIM realized he was attracted to both men and women. THE OTHER is curious, perhaps a little too curious. What's the point? Does it really matter? Was it just a game all along?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Pre-Drink (2017)
Alexe is a young trans woman, and Carl a gay man. Best friends since forever, an evening spent together destabilizes Alexe, when both decide to have sex together for the first time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Head in the Clouds (2004)
Gilda Bessé shares her Paris apartment with an Irish schoolteacher, Guy Malyon, and Mia, a refugee from Spain. As the world drifts toward war, Gilda defiantly pursues her hedonistic lifestyle and her burgeoning career as a photographer. But Guy and Mia feel impelled to join the fight against fascism, and the three friends are separated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Passing Strangers?
The closest matches to Passing Strangers are Henry & June (1990), True Romance (1993) and The Hot Spot (1990). Below are 20 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Passing Strangers?
Start with Henry & June (1990), the closest match to Passing Strangers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Passing Strangers?
In a Heartbeat (2017), rated 8.0/10 by 1,039 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Passing Strangers?
Our Own Game (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Passing Strangers?
Yes: Henry & June (1990), True Romance (1993) and The Hot Spot (1990).
How are movies similar to Passing Strangers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Passing Strangers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.