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From Up on Poppy Hill poster

Movies that feel likeFrom Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.

If you loved From Up on Poppy Hill, the closest films we have are The Sea Inside (2004), After the Wedding (2006) and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013). All three share From Up on Poppy Hill's contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Floating Weeds (1959).

🍅 87% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Goro Miyazakicontemplativeromantic
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Sundance Now · Artiflix

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If From Up on Poppy Hill hit the spot, these will too

The Sea Inside poster
The Sea Inside
2004 · dir. Alejandro Amenábar
🍅 85%★ 7.9drama

The same preoccupation in both: romance

Ramón Sampedro is a ship mechanic and part-time poet left a quadriplegic following a diving accident. Ramón fought for 30 years for the legal right to end his own life. He develops close relationships with his long-term lawyer Julia and his friend Rosa, who tries to convince him that his life is worth living. Despite his situation, Ramón manages to inspire those around him to live life to the fullest.

After the Wedding poster
After the Wedding
2006 · dir. Susanne Bier
🍅 87%★ 7.7drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then romance

A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag poster
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
2013 · dir. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
🍅 75%★ 8.2drama

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The true story of the "Flying Sikh" world champion runner and Olympian Milkha Singh who overcame the massacre of his family, civil war during the India-Pakistan partition, and homelessness to become one of India's most iconic athletes.

The Quiet Girl poster
The Quiet Girl
2022 · dir. Colm Bairéad
🍅 97%★ 7.7drama

Animation built on romance, twice over

A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.

Yi Yi poster
Yi Yi
2000 · dir. Edward Yang
★ 8.1drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.

When We Were Kings poster
When We Were Kings
1996 · dir. Leon Gast
🍅 100%★ 7.9documentaryMax

Romantic animation in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to documentary than From Up on Poppy Hill does

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

Floating Weeds poster
Floating Weeds
1959 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
🍅 96%★ 7.9dramaMax

One thread runs through both: post war japan

The difference: Made in the 1950s, in a different era of the craft

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Black Narcissus poster
Black Narcissus
1947 · dir. Emeric Pressburger
🍅 100%★ 7.7dramaMax

Both know what they want from drama

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

East of Eden poster
East of Eden
1955 · dir. Elia Kazan
🍅 86%★ 7.8drama

The same drama instincts

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

Only Yesterday poster
Only Yesterday
1991 · dir. Isao Takahata
🍅 100%★ 7.6animation · dramaMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: based on manga

In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.

Sidewalls poster
Sidewalls
2011 · dir. Gustavo Taretto
🍅 70%★ 7.5drama · romance

Drama of the same temperament

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?

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time poster
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
2006 · dir. Mamoru Hosoda
🍅 87%★ 7.6fantasy · animation · dramaMax

Both are working the same pair: high school, anime

When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to 'leap' backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.

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The best-reviewed films that share From Up on Poppy Hill’s defining feeling.