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The Garden of Words poster

Movies that feel likeThe Garden of Words (2013)

Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.

If you loved The Garden of Words, the closest films we have are 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) and Weathering with You (2019). All three share The Garden of Words' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is House of Hummingbird (2019).

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If The Garden of Words hit the spot, these will too

5 Centimeters per Second poster
5 Centimeters per Second
2007 · dir. Makoto Shinkai
★ 7.4animation · romance · dramaMax

Makoto Shinkai directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.

Blue Is the Warmest Color poster
Blue Is the Warmest Color
2013 · dir. Abdellatif Kechiche
🍅 88%★ 7.6romance · drama

The same two preoccupations: growing up, and high school student

Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself.

Weathering with You poster
Weathering with You
2019 · dir. Makoto Shinkai
🍅 92%★ 7.5animation · drama · fantasyMax

The same hand behind both of them: Makoto Shinkai

The difference: Easier on the wistfulness than The Garden of Words

The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if taking its cue from his life. After many days of solitude, he finally finds work as a freelance writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then, one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.

Devdas poster
Devdas
2002 · dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali
★ 7.6drama · romance

The same mix in both: stillness, then romance

In 1900s India, Calcuttan zamindar Devdas Mukherjee — unable to marry his lover — takes up alcohol and the company of a courtesan to alleviate the pain.

A Walk to Remember poster
A Walk to Remember
2002 · dir. Adam Shankman
🍅 30%★ 7.3drama · romance

One thread runs through both: growing up

When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's minister. Jamie has a "to-do" list for her life, as well as a very big secret she must keep from Landon.

Flavors of Youth poster
Flavors of Youth
2018 · dir. Joshua
🍅 83%★ 6.6animation · romance · dramaNetflix

Both land tenderness and wistfulness at once

The rigorous city life of China, while bustling and unforgiving, contains the everlasting memories of days past. Three stories told in three different cities, follow the loss of youth and the daunting realization of adulthood. Though reality may seem ever changing, unchangeable are the short-lived moments of one's childhood days. A plentiful bowl of noodles, the beauty of family and the trials of first love endure the inevitable flow of time, as three different characters explore the strength of bonds and the warmth of cherished memories. Within the disorder of the present world, witness these quaint stories recognize the comfort of the past, and attempt to revive the neglected flavors of youth.

The Way He Looks poster
The Way He Looks
2014 · dir. Daniel Ribeiro
🍅 93%★ 7.9drama · romance

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

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.

Little Women poster
Little Women
2019 · dir. Greta Gerwig
🍅 95%★ 7.7drama · romanceHulu

Romance with a pulse of romance, in both cases

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

20th Century Girl poster
20th Century Girl
2022 · dir. Bang Woo-ri
🍅 86%★ 7.4romance · dramaNetflix

Tender animation in both cases

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.

Y Tu Mamá También poster
Y Tu Mamá También
2001 · dir. Alfonso Cuarón
🍅 90%★ 7.7drama · romance

Drama built on wistfulness, twice over

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.

House of Hummingbird poster
House of Hummingbird
2019 · dir. Kim Bora
🍅 98%★ 7.4dramaPrime Video

Contemplative animation, and it commits to that

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tender than The Garden of Words does

14-year-old Eun-hee moves through life like a hummingbird searching for a taste of sweetness wherever she may find it. Ignored by her parents and abused by her brother, she finds her escape by roaming the neighborhood with her best friend, going on adventures, and exploring young love.

Call Me by Your Name poster
Call Me by Your Name
2017 · dir. Luca Guadagnino
🍅 95%★ 7.8romance · dramaNetflix

Romance built on romance, twice over

In the summer of 1983, a 17-year-old Elio spends his days in his family's villa in Italy. One day Oliver, a graduate student, arrives to assist Elio's father, a professor of Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Garden of Words’ defining feeling.