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The Florida Project poster

Movies that feel likeThe Florida Project (2017)

The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.

If you loved The Florida Project, the closest films we have are Mud (2013), Leave No Trace (2018) and The Hand of God (2021). All three share The Florida Project'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 How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024).

πŸ… 96% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.6 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Sean Bakercontemplativewarmwistful
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Disney Plus

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See it on the Mood Map

If The Florida Project hit the spot, these will too

Mud poster
Mud
2013 Β· dir. Jeff Nichols
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.3drama

Both are working the same pair: friendship, motel

Two teenage boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and help him reunite with his lover and escape an avenging family and their armed posse.

Leave No Trace poster
Leave No Trace
2018 Β· dir. Debra Granik
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1drama

Both are built on the same subject: growing up

The difference: Takes it somewhere less warm than The Florida Project does

A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to authorities, they are sent on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own.

The Hand of God poster
The Hand of God
2021 Β· dir. Paolo Sorrentino
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.3dramaNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: growing up

In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies poster
How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
2024 Β· dir. Pat Boonnitipat
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.9dramaNetflix

Contemplative where it counts, wistful underneath

M, a university dropout low on money and luck, volunteers to take care of his terminally ill grandmother, in the hope of pocketing an inheritance.

Dead Poets Society poster
Dead Poets Society
1989 Β· dir. Peter Weir
πŸ… 85%β˜… 8.1drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: friendship

The difference: 28 years apart, and the 1980s show

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

Biutiful poster
Biutiful
2010 Β· dir. Alejandro G. IΓ±Γ‘rritu
πŸ… 66%β˜… 7.4dramaNetflix

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who's sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.

Malena poster
Malena
2000 Β· dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
πŸ… 54%β˜… 7.4drama

Wistful drama in both cases

12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.

The Way He Looks poster
The Way He Looks
2014 Β· dir. Daniel Ribeiro
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance

Drama built on warmth, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into romance than The Florida Project does

Leonardo is a blind teenager dealing with an overprotective mother while trying to live a more independent life. To the disappointment of his best friend, Giovana, he plans to go on an exchange program abroad. When Gabriel, a new student in town, arrives at their classroom, new feelings blossom in Leonardo making him question his plans.

20th Century Girl poster
20th Century Girl
2022 Β· dir. Bang Woo-ri
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.4romance Β· dramaNetflix

Both sit in the same warm register

In 1999, a teen girl keeps close tabs on a boy in school on behalf of her deeply smitten best friend – then she gets swept up in a love story of her own.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower poster
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2012 Β· dir. Stephen Chbosky
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.9dramaPrime Video

Both run contemplative where it counts

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.

Mommy poster
Mommy
2014 Β· dir. Xavier Dolan
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8drama

Two things both keep coming back to: parents and children and single mother

A peculiar neighbor offers hope to a recent widow who is struggling to raise a teenager who is unpredictable and, sometimes, violent.

The Straight Story poster
The Straight Story
1999 Β· dir. David Lynch
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8dramaDisney+

A streak of wistfulness through both

Retired farmer and widower Alvin Straight learns one day that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a severe stroke. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. He then has the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

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