feelsalike.comSign in
What Dreams May Come poster

Movies that feel likeWhat Dreams May Come (1998)

After Chris Nielsen dies in a car accident, he is guided through the afterlife by his spirit guide, Albert. His new world is beautiful and can be whatever Chris imagines. Even his children are there. But, when his wife, Annie, commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris ignores Albert's warnings and journeys there to save her. Upon arrival, Chris finds that rescuing Annie will be more difficult than he'd imagined.

If you loved What Dreams May Come, the closest films we have are A Ghost Story (2017), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) and Closer (2004). All three share What Dreams May Come'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 Wings of Desire (1987).

10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Hulu

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the Mood Map

If What Dreams May Come hit the spot, these will too

A Ghost Story poster
A Ghost Story
2017 Β· dir. David Lowery
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.8drama Β· fantasy Β· romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: death

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

Only Lovers Left Alive poster
Only Lovers Left Alive
2013 Β· dir. Jim Jarmusch
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.2drama Β· romance Β· fantasy

Both land stillness and dream logic at once

A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, already played over several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.

Closer poster
Closer
2004 Β· dir. Mike Nichols
πŸ… 67%β˜… 7.1drama Β· romance

The same mix in both: romance, then tenderness

The difference: Takes it somewhere less dreamlike than What Dreams May Come does

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

The Time Traveler's Wife poster
The Time Traveler's Wife
2009 Β· dir. Robert Schwentke
πŸ… 38%β˜… 7.1drama Β· romance Β· fantasyParamount+

Contemplative drama in both cases

Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.

P.S. I Love You poster
P.S. I Love You
2007 Β· dir. Richard LaGravenese
β˜… 7drama Β· romance

Both lean on melancholy more than on romance

A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

Romeo + Juliet poster
Romeo + Juliet
1996 Β· dir. Baz Luhrmann
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.7drama Β· romanceMaxHulu

Romantic fantasy, and it commits to that

In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.

City of Angels poster
City of Angels
1998 Β· dir. Brad Silberling
β˜… 6.7drama Β· fantasy Β· romance

Common ground in both: afterlife and heaven

When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.

The Lake House poster
The Lake House
2006 Β· dir. Alejandro Agresti
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.8romance Β· drama Β· fantasy

Drama with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

When architect Alex Wyler moves into an unusual glass house on stilts over a lake, he discovers a note from the previous tenant in the mailbox--but no one's lived in the house for years. He replies and soon discovers that he's corresponding with a doctor named Kate Forster. Their correspondence, only through the 'magical' mailbox, turns romantic and their paths cross in unexpected ways, but when they try to truly connect, danger looms.Β They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Remember Me poster
Remember Me
2010 Β· dir. Allen Coulter
πŸ… 26%β˜… 7.1drama Β· romancePeacock

Romance built on tenderness, twice over

Still reeling from a heartbreaking family event and his parents' subsequent divorce, Tyler Hawkins discovers a fresh lease on life when he meets Ally Craig, a gregarious beauty who witnessed her mother's death. But as the couple draws closer, the fallout from their separate tragedies jeopardizes their love.

Blue Valentine poster
Blue Valentine
2010 Β· dir. Derek Cianfrance
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.3drama Β· romancePrime VideoParamount+

Fantasy with a pulse of melancholy, in both cases

Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.

Wings of Desire poster
Wings of Desire
1987 Β· dir. Wim Wenders
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.9drama Β· fantasy Β· romanceMax

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds β€” with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk β€” that it might be possible for him to take human form.

Meet Joe Black poster
Meet Joe Black
1998 Β· dir. Martin Brest
πŸ… 48%β˜… 7.2fantasy Β· drama Β· romancePrime Video

Both lean on dream logic more than on fantasy

Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan?

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share What Dreams May Come’s defining feeling.