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Better Days poster

Movies that feel likeBetter Days (2019)

A bullied teenage girl forms an unlikely friendship with a mysterious young man who protects her from her assailants, while she copes with the pressures of her final examinations.

If you loved Better Days, the closest films we have are Days of Being Wild (1990), 3-Iron (2004) and As Tears Go By (1988). All three share Better Days' contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Right Now, Wrong Then (2015).

πŸ… 97% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.6 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheungcontemplativegrittyromantictender
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Criterion Channel Β· MUBI

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If Better Days hit the spot, these will too

Days of Being Wild poster
Days of Being Wild
1990 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama Β· romanceMax

Contemplative where it counts, gritty underneath

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1990s show

Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

3-Iron poster
3-Iron
2004 Β· dir. Kim Ki-duk
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance Β· crime

Romantic and tender in the same breath

A drifter lives in people's houses while they are away and repays them by doing chores for them. His life changes when he meets a beautiful woman who wants to escape her unhappy marriage.

As Tears Go By poster
As Tears Go By
1988 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7drama Β· crime Β· romanceMax

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.

The Best Offer poster
The Best Offer
2013 Β· dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
πŸ… 56%β˜… 7.7drama Β· romance Β· crime

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Virgil Oldman is a world renowned antiques expert and auctioneer. An eccentric genius, he leads a solitary life, going to extreme lengths to keep his distance from the messiness of human relationships. When appointed by the beautiful but emotionally damaged Claire to oversee the valuation and sale of her family’s priceless art collection, Virgil allows himself to form an attachment to her – and soon he is engulfed by a passion which will rock his bland existence to the core.

Asako I & II poster
Asako I & II
2018 Β· dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.1drama Β· romance

Both lean on romance more than on romance

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than Better Days does

Asako lives in Osaka. She falls in love with Baku, a free-spirit. One day, Baku suddenly disappears. Two years later, Asako now lives in Tokyo and meets Ryohei. He looks just like Baku, but has a completely different personality.

Port of Shadows poster
Port of Shadows
1938 Β· dir. Marcel CarnΓ©
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.7romance Β· drama Β· crime

Tender drama in both cases

Down a foggy, desolate road to the port city of Le Havre travels Jean, an army deserter looking for another chance to make good on life. Fate, however, has a different plan for him, as acts of both revenge and kindness render him front-page news.

Right Now, Wrong Then poster
Right Now, Wrong Then
2015 Β· dir. Hong Sang-soo
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.1drama Β· romance

Romance built on stillness, twice over

By mistake, film director Ham Chunsu arrives in Suwon a day early. With time to kill before his lecture the next day, Chunsu stops by a restored, old palace and meets an artist named Yoon Heejung. Together, they go to Heejung's workshop to look at her paintings, have Sushi with Soju for dinner, and get close. Later, they go to another cafΓ© and have more drinks with Heejung's acquaintances. When asked if he is married, Chunsu is forced to reveal the fact that he is, and Heejung gets deeply disappointed...

Read My Lips poster
Read My Lips
2001 Β· dir. Jacques Audiard
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.3crime Β· drama Β· romance

Crime built on grit, twice over

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than Better Days does

She is almost deaf and she lip-reads. He is an ex-convict. She wants to help him. He thinks no one can help except himself.

The Souvenir poster
The Souvenir
2019 Β· dir. Joanna Hogg
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.4drama Β· romanceRent or buy

Both lean on romance more than on drama

A shy but ambitious film student falls into an intense, emotionally fraught relationship with a charismatic but untrustworthy older man.

Weekend poster
Weekend
2011 Β· dir. Andrew Haigh
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.6drama Β· romanceRent or buy

Tender romance in both cases

After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special.

Sidewalls poster
Sidewalls
2011 Β· dir. Gustavo Taretto
πŸ… 70%β˜… 7.5drama Β· romance

Both play drama straight

Martin is a neurotic web designer taking baby steps out of the isolation of his one-room apartment and his virtual reality. Mariana is an artist fresh out of a long relationship. They are perfect for each other, live on the same street, in opposite buildings, but they never meet. Can the movement of a modern city of three million people bring them together?

Certified Copy poster
Certified Copy
2010 Β· dir. Abbas Kiarostami
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.2drama Β· romanceRent or buy

The same romance instincts

In Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged English writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Better Days’ defining feeling.