Movies like Sail (2018)
The best movies like Sail (2018) are Message in a Bottle (1999), The Blue Lagoon (1980) and A Letter to Three Wives (1949). If Sail hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPersuasion (2007)7.2/10 from 289 votes
- NewestLone Samurai (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchStormy Waters (1941)Also in French
Message in a Bottle (1999)
A woman finds a romantic letter in a bottle washed ashore and tracks down the author, a widowed shipbuilder whose wife died tragically early. As a deep and mutual attraction blossoms, the man struggles to make peace with his past so that he can move on and find happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Lagoon (1980)
Two small children and a ship's cook survive a shipwreck and find safety on an idyllic tropical island. Soon, however, the cook dies and the young boy and girl are left on their own. Days become years and Emmeline and Richard make a home for themselves surrounded by exotic creatures and nature's beauty. But will they ever see civilization again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Letter to Three Wives (1949)
A letter is addressed to three wives from their 'best friend', announcing that she's running away with one of their husbands – but she doesn't specify which one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove in the Time of Cholera (2007)
In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersuasion (2007)
Anne Elliot was once in love with Frederick Wentworth, a commander in the Royal Navy who was rejected by her snobby parents eight years ago. When the family hits hard times and are forced to rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law, Frederick returns as a captain - but will he remember Anne?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Good Old Summertime (1949)
Two co-workers in a music shop dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShip of Fools (1965)
A varied group of passengers aboard a ship bound for pre-WWII Germany represents a microcosm of early-1930s society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBottled with Love (2019)
After being stood up, Abbey gets inspired to open her heart in a letter, put it in a bottle and toss it out to sea. Months later, a man fishing discovers it and opts to reach out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLone Samurai (2025)
A violent and reckless samurai is shipwrecked on a remote island left without an avenue for his rage. After undertaking a spiritual journey to appease his aggressive thoughts, he finds himself abducted by external demons taking the form of cannibals, putting his sense of reality and deadly talents to the test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStormy Waters (1941)
A married tugboat captain falls for a woman he rescues from a sinking ship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960)
Lieutenant Rip Crandall is hoodwinked into taking command of the "Wackiest Ship in the Navy" – a real garbage scow with a crew of misfits who don't know a jib from a jigger. What none of them knows, including Crandall, is that this ship has a very important top-secret mission to complete in waters patrolled by the Japanese fleet. Their mission will save hundreds of allied lives – if only they can get there in one piece.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecret Admirer (1985)
An anonymous love letter left in Michael Ryan's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who comes in contact with it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGemma Bovery (2014)
Martin, an ex-Parisian well-heeled hipster passionate about Gustave Flaubert who settled into a Norman village as a baker, sees an English couple moving into a small farm nearby. Not only are the names of the new arrivals Gemma and Charles Bovery, but their behavior also seems to be inspired by Flaubert's heroes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeautiful Lies (2010)
A hairdresser forwards a passionate love letter to her widowed mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll of You (2025)
Laura and Simon have been best friends since college. Over the years, they've realized their bond is more than platonic. Can they—and should they—risk everything to explore a love that has existed all along?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRobinson Crusoe (1954)
The titular adventurer, after defying his parents to go to sea, survives a shipwreck and becomes a castaway on a deserted island for nearly thirty years, learning to build a new life from scratch, discovering companionship with a native man he names Friday, and eventually returning to civilisation a changed man, finding wealth and new challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMister Roberts (1955)
Mr. Roberts is a Navy officer who's yearning for battle but is stuck in the backwaters of World War II on a non-commissioned ship run by the bullying Captain Morton.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFifty Shades Darker (2017)
When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman on the Beach (1947)
A sailor suffering from post-traumatic stress becomes involved with a beautiful and enigmatic seductress married to a blind painter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sail?
The closest matches to Sail are Message in a Bottle (1999), The Blue Lagoon (1980) and A Letter to Three Wives (1949). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sail?
Start with Message in a Bottle (1999), the closest match to Sail.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sail?
Persuasion (2007), rated 7.2/10 by 289 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sail?
Lone Samurai (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Sail?
Yes: Stormy Waters (1941), Gemma Bovery (2014) and Beautiful Lies (2010).
How are movies similar to Sail chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sail, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.