feelsalike.comSign in
City of Angels poster

Movies that feel likeCity of Angels (1998)

When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.

If you loved City of Angels, the closest films we have are What Dreams May Come (1998), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) and A Ghost Story (2017). All three share City of Angels' contemplative and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

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

9 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the Mood Map

When is City of Angels streaming? →

If City of Angels hit the spot, these will too

What Dreams May Come poster
What Dreams May Come
1998 · dir. Vincent Ward
🍅 51%★ 7drama · fantasy · romance

Common ground in both: afterlife and heaven

After Chris Nielsen dies in a car accident, he is guided through the afterlife by his spirit guide, Albert. His new world is beautiful and can be whatever Chris imagines. Even his children are there. But, when his wife, Annie, commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris ignores Albert's warnings and journeys there to save her. Upon arrival, Chris finds that rescuing Annie will be more difficult than he'd imagined.

Only Lovers Left Alive poster
Only Lovers Left Alive
2013 · dir. Jim Jarmusch
🍅 86%★ 7.2drama · romance · fantasy

Both land stillness and dream logic at once

A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, already played over several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.

A Ghost Story poster
A Ghost Story
2017 · dir. David Lowery
🍅 91%★ 6.8drama · fantasy · romance

Romantic and tender in the same breath

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

Romeo + Juliet poster
Romeo + Juliet
1996 · dir. Baz Luhrmann
🍅 75%★ 6.7drama · romanceMaxHulu

One thread runs through both: suicide

The difference: Easier on the dream logic than City of Angels

In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.

The Lake House poster
The Lake House
2006 · dir. Alejandro Agresti
🍅 36%★ 6.8romance · drama · fantasy

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

When architect Alex Wyler moves into an unusual glass house on stilts over a lake, he discovers a note from the previous tenant in the mailbox--but no one's lived in the house for years. He replies and soon discovers that he's corresponding with a doctor named Kate Forster. Their correspondence, only through the 'magical' mailbox, turns romantic and their paths cross in unexpected ways, but when they try to truly connect, danger looms. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Wings of Desire poster
Wings of Desire
1987 · dir. Wim Wenders
🍅 95%★ 7.9drama · fantasy · romanceMax

The same preoccupation in both: angel

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.

Meet Joe Black poster
Meet Joe Black
1998 · dir. Martin Brest
🍅 48%★ 7.2fantasy · drama · romancePrime Video

Common ground: life and death

Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan?

Closer poster
Closer
2004 · dir. Mike Nichols
🍅 67%★ 7.1drama · romance

Melancholy romance in both cases

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

P.S. I Love You poster
P.S. I Love You
2007 · dir. Richard LaGravenese
★ 7drama · romance

Fantasy with a pulse of romance, in both cases

A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

The Time Traveler's Wife poster
The Time Traveler's Wife
2009 · dir. Robert Schwentke
🍅 38%★ 7.1drama · romance · fantasyParamount+

Drama built on dream logic, twice over

Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.

Remember Me poster
Remember Me
2010 · dir. Allen Coulter
🍅 26%★ 7.1drama · romancePeacock

Tender romance, and it commits to that

Still reeling from a heartbreaking family event and his parents' subsequent divorce, Tyler Hawkins discovers a fresh lease on life when he meets Ally Craig, a gregarious beauty who witnessed her mother's death. But as the couple draws closer, the fallout from their separate tragedies jeopardizes their love.

Blue Valentine poster
Blue Valentine
2010 · dir. Derek Cianfrance
🍅 87%★ 7.3drama · romancePrime VideoParamount+

Melancholy fantasy in both cases

Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies →

The best-reviewed films that share City of Angels’ defining feeling.