feelsalike.comSign in
Amarcord poster

Movies that feel likeAmarcord (1973)

In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.

If you loved Amarcord, the closest films we have are Kes (1970), Breaking Away (1979) and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). All three share Amarcord's contemplative and wistful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Housekeeping (1987).

8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Stream it:HBO Max ↗
See it on the Mood Map

When is Amarcord streaming? →

If Amarcord hit the spot, these will too

Kes poster
Kes
1970 · dir. Ken Loach
🍅 100%★ 7.9dramaPrime Video

Both are working the same pair: small town life, growing up

The difference: Easier on the wit than Amarcord

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.

Breaking Away poster
Breaking Away
1979 · dir. Peter Yates
🍅 95%★ 7.7drama · comedy

One thread runs through both: growing up

Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.

Slums of Beverly Hills poster
Slums of Beverly Hills
1998 · dir. Tamara Jenkins
🍅 82%★ 6.7comedy · drama

The same preoccupation in both: semi autobiographical

The difference: 25 years apart, and the 1990s show

In 1976, a teenage girl struggles to cope while living with her neurotic lower-middle-class family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.

The Squid and the Whale poster
The Squid and the Whale
2005 · dir. Noah Baumbach
🍅 91%★ 7.3comedy · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: semi autobiographical

Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Big poster
Big
1988 · dir. Penny Marshall
🍅 98%★ 7.3fantasy · drama · comedyDisney+

Both land wit and play at once

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Amarcord does

When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.

Rushmore poster
Rushmore
1998 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 90%★ 7.6comedy · drama

Contemplative where it counts, wistful underneath

When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max's new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention.

Housekeeping poster
Housekeeping
1987 · dir. Bill Forsyth
🍅 92%★ 7.2comedy · drama

Common ground: small town life

In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950s, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie, whose views of the world and its conventions don't quite live up to most people's expectations.

Eighth Grade poster
Eighth Grade
2018 · dir. Bo Burnham
🍅 99%★ 7.3comedy · dramaNetflix

Comedy built on wit, twice over

Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.

The Breakfast Club poster
The Breakfast Club
1985 · dir. John Hughes
🍅 87%★ 7.8comedy · dramaHulu

Playful drama, and it commits to that

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Local Hero poster
Local Hero
1983 · dir. Bill Forsyth
🍅 100%★ 7.3comedy · drama

Both lean on comfort more than on comedy

An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don't go as expected.

Gregory's Girl poster
Gregory's Girl
1980 · dir. Bill Forsyth
🍅 95%★ 7.1comedy · romance

Drama with a pulse of wistfulness, in both cases

A teenager falls hard for the female soccer player who has replaced him on the team and attempts to pursue her.

Easy A poster
Easy A
2010 · dir. Will Gluck
🍅 85%★ 7comedyParamount+

Cozy comedy in both cases

Olive, an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.

In the mood for more witty?

all witty movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Amarcord’s defining feeling.