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The Seventh Seal poster

Movies that feel likeThe Seventh Seal (1957)

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

If you loved The Seventh Seal, the closest films we have are Wild Strawberries (1957), Persona (1966) and Tokyo Story (1953). All three share The Seventh Seal's dreamlike and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Passion of Anna (1969).

πŸ… 93% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ingmar Bergmandreamlikecontemplative
8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Criterion Channel Β· Darkroom

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If The Seventh Seal hit the spot, these will too

Wild Strawberries poster
Wild Strawberries
1957 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.1dramaMax

The same hand behind both of them: Ingmar Bergman

Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.

Persona poster
Persona
1966 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 91%β˜… 8dramaMax

Ingmar Bergman working the same nerve twice

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.

Tokyo Story poster
Tokyo Story
1953 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1dramaMax

Dreamlike where it counts, contemplative underneath

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

After Life poster
After Life
1999 Β· dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.6fantasy Β· drama

Dreamlike fantasy in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then, over the course of the week, assist them in choosing a single memory to keep for eternity.

Finding Neverland poster
Finding Neverland
2004 Β· dir. Marc Forster
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.6drama Β· fantasyRent or buy

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boysβ€”who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.

The Master and Margarita poster
The Master and Margarita
2024 Β· dir. Michael Lockshin
β˜… 7.1fantasy Β· drama

Both lean on dream logic more than on fantasy

A struggling writer in 1930s Soviet Moscow finds his life transformed when a mysterious professor arrives with his bizarre entourage, including a wisecracking trickster, a deadly assassin, a vampire maid, and a giant talking black cat, turning the city upside down while exposing the hypocrisy of those in power.

The Tree of Life poster
The Tree of Life
2011 Β· dir. Terrence Malick
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.8drama Β· fantasy

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives poster
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
2010 Β· dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.7drama Β· fantasy

Both know what they want from fantasy

Suffering from a kidney disease and sure of his death, Uncle Boonmee assembles his relatives in the countryside. He reminisces about his past lives and plans to visit a place before dying.

Fanny and Alexander poster
Fanny and Alexander
1982 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama Β· mysteryMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: mortality

The difference: Leans harder into mystery than The Seventh Seal does

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

Ugetsu poster
Ugetsu
1953 Β· dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama Β· mysteryMax

Drama in the same key

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

The Passion of Anna poster
The Passion of Anna
1969 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6drama

The drama is handled with the same confidence

A recently divorced man and an emotionally devastated widow begin a love affair.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
2013 Β· dir. Isao Takahata
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8animation Β· drama Β· fantasyMax

Fantasy of the same temperament

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Seventh Seal’s defining feeling.