Movies like Looking for Kafka (2006)
The best movies like Looking for Kafka (2006) are PlayTime (1967), Marche à l'ombre (1984) and The Gentleman from Epsom (1962). If Looking for Kafka hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmélie (2001)7.9/10 from 12,823 votes
- NewestBreaking Point (2024)Released 2024
- In FrenchPlayTime (1967)Also in French
PlayTime (1967)
Clumsy Monsieur Hulot finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris. He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist, and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently meet, developing an interest in one another. They eventually get together at a chaotic restaurant, along with several other quirky characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarche à l'ombre (1984)
Two friends, one a musician the other constantly depressed wander around Greece and France till they get to Paris without a penny to their name. Here they spend nights in the underground, and squat in houses with the African immigrants. One day they both fall in love with Mathilde a blond dancer and follow her to New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gentleman from Epsom (1962)
The story takes place in the racecourses around Paris. A so-called major sells his tips to naive characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFour Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987)
Two young girls meet, Reinette from the countryside and Mirabelle from Paris, and decide to take a flat together in Paris where they attend University. Four successive stories about their daily lives illustrate the very different views, characters and relation to the world of these two friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZazie dans le Métro (1960)
A brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Men and a Cradle (1985)
Three young men - Jacques, Pierre, and Michel - share an apartment in Paris, and have many girlfriends and parties. Once, during a party, a friend of Jacques' tells him he has a quite compromising package to deliver, and asks him if he can leave it discreetly at their place. Jacques agrees and, as he works as a steward, flies away for a one-month trip in Japan, telling Pierre and Michel about the package. Then, one of Jacques' former girlfriends drops a baby before their door, making Pierre and Michel believing it is the package they are waiting for. Their lives are then completely changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBenny & Joon (1993)
A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost in Paris (2017)
Fiona visits Paris for the first time to assist her myopic Aunt Martha. Catastrophes ensue, mainly involving Dom, a homeless man who has yet to have an emotion or thought he was afraid of expressing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoing Places (1974)
Two whimsical, aimless thugs harass and assault women, steal, murder, and alternately charm, fight, or sprint their way out of trouble. They take whatever the bourgeoisie holds dear, whether it’s cars, peace of mind, or daughters. Marie-Ange, a jaded, passive hairdresser, joins them as lover, cook, and mother confessor. She’s on her own search for seemingly unattainable sexual pleasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Influence (1990)
Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmélie (2001)
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEmployee of the Month (2022)
Vincent, a civil servant, has always enjoyed the benefits of his family's status. When the government votes on a massive savings plan, Vincent is pushed out. When he is transferred to the North Pole, he meets Eva and finds love. It's time for him to choose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942)
Paris, France. Commissaire Wens follows the lead of a ruthless murderer to an unexpected place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Women on the 6th Floor (2011)
Paris, in the early 1960s. Jean-Louis Joubert is a serious but uptight stockbroker, married to Suzanne, a starchy class-conscious woman and father of two arrogant teenage boys, currently in a boarding school. The affluent man lives a steady yet boring life. At least until, due to fortuitous circumstances, Maria, the charming new maid at the service of Jean-Louis' family, makes him discover the servants' quarter on the sixth floor of the luxury building he owns and lives in. There live a crowd of lively Spanish maids who will help Jean-Louis to open to a new civilization and a new approach of life. In their company - and more precisely in the company of beautiful Maria - Jean-Louis will gradually become another man, a better man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis Je T'aime (2006)
Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Phantom of Liberty (1974)
This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAres (2016)
In a near future, the world order has changed. With its 10 millions of unemployed citizens, France has now become a poor country. Its people wavers between rebellion and resignation and find an outlet in the shape of TV broadcast ultra brutal fights in which the players are legally doped and unscrupulous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect Enemy (2021)
Famed architect Jeremy Angust is approached on his trip to the Paris Airport by a chatty girl named Texel Textor who needs a ride. He obliges and after they part ways at the airport entrance, he misses his flight. As he settles in the lounge, he encounters the mysterious young Texel again, who insists on telling her strange story — and the conversation grows stranger and more twisted until it turns sinister and deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreaking Point (2024)
Mathieu owes everything to his friend Vincent : his house, his job, and even his life, ten years ago. With their wives, they are an inseparable quartet, and live the easy life on the French Riviera. But Mathieu discovers Vincent is cheating on his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Looking for Kafka?
The closest matches to Looking for Kafka are PlayTime (1967), Marche à l'ombre (1984) and The Gentleman from Epsom (1962). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Looking for Kafka?
Start with PlayTime (1967), the closest match to Looking for Kafka.
What is the highest-rated movie like Looking for Kafka?
Amélie (2001), rated 7.9/10 by 12,823 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Looking for Kafka?
Breaking Point (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Looking for Kafka?
Yes: PlayTime (1967), Marche à l'ombre (1984) and The Gentleman from Epsom (1962).
How are movies similar to Looking for Kafka chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Looking for Kafka, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.