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To Live poster

Movies that feel likeTo Live (1994)

Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.

If you loved To Live, the closest films we have are Legends of the Fall (1994), Battle for Sevastopol (2015) and The Flowers of War (2011). All three share To Live's contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ashes and Diamonds (1958).

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See it on the Mood Map

If To Live hit the spot, these will too

Legends of the Fall poster
Legends of the Fall
1994 Β· dir. Edward Zwick
β˜… 7.5drama Β· western Β· romance

The same mix in both: stillness, then romance

The difference: Sits closer to western than To Live does

In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.

Battle for Sevastopol poster
Battle for Sevastopol
2015 Β· dir. Sergey Mokritsky
β˜… 7war Β· drama Β· romancePrime Video

Tender where it counts, bleak underneath

The difference: Trades the grit of To Live for an angle of its own

The story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the most successful female sniper in history.

The Flowers of War poster
The Flowers of War
2011 Β· dir. Zhang Yimou
πŸ… 41%β˜… 7.5drama Β· history Β· warPrime Video

Both are Zhang Yimou's work, and they rhyme

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

Ashes and Diamonds poster
Ashes and Diamonds
1958 Β· dir. Andrzej Wajda
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.7drama Β· war Β· romanceMax

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The difference: 36 years apart, and the 1950s show

A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.

The Cranes Are Flying poster
The Cranes Are Flying
1957 Β· dir. Mikhail Kalatozov
πŸ… 96%β˜… 8.3drama Β· romance Β· war

Romance with a pulse of romance, in both cases

Veronika and Boris come together in Moscow shortly before World War II. Walking along the river, they watch cranes fly overhead, and promise to rendezvous before Boris leaves to fight. Boris misses the meeting and is off to the front lines, while Veronika waits patiently, sending letters faithfully. After her house is bombed, Veronika moves in with Boris' family, into the company of a cousin with his own intentions.

As Tears Go By poster
As Tears Go By
1988 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7drama Β· crime Β· romanceMax

War built on grit, twice over

Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.

Mrs. Miniver poster
Mrs. Miniver
1942 Β· dir. William Wyler
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.6drama Β· romance Β· war

Tender drama, and it commits to that

Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxford-educated son Vin court Carol Beldon, the charming granddaughter of the local nobility as represented by Lady Beldon. Then the war comes and Vin joins the RAF.

Days of Being Wild poster
Days of Being Wild
1990 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama Β· romanceMax

Gritty romance in both cases

Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

The Best Years of Our Lives poster
The Best Years of Our Lives
1946 Β· dir. William Wyler
πŸ… 97%β˜… 8.1drama Β· romance Β· warPrime Video

War with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.

From Here to Eternity poster
From Here to Eternity
1953 Β· dir. Fred Zinnemann
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.6war Β· romance Β· dramaPrime Video

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.

Dil Chahta Hai poster
Dil Chahta Hai
2001 Β· dir. Farhan Akhtar
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1drama Β· romanceNetflix

Both lean on romance more than on romance

Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension.

Read My Lips poster
Read My Lips
2001 Β· dir. Jacques Audiard
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.3crime Β· drama Β· romance

Both lean on tenderness more than on war

She is almost deaf and she lip-reads. He is an ex-convict. She wants to help him. He thinks no one can help except himself.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share To Live’s defining feeling.