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Wings poster

Movies that feel likeWings (1927)

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

If you loved Wings, the closest films we have are Mrs. Miniver (1942), Ashes and Diamonds (1958) and The Cranes Are Flying (1957). All three share Wings' contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Make Way for Tomorrow (1937).

πŸ… 94% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. William A. Wellmancontemplativekineticbleakromantictender
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel

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See it on the Mood Map

If Wings hit the spot, these will too

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

The same preoccupation in both: black and white

The difference: Trades the momentum of Wings for an angle of its own

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.

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

One thread runs through both: black and white

The difference: 31 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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: battlefield

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.

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

Both land stillness and bleakness at once

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

Romantic where it counts, tender underneath

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.

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

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

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

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans poster
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1927 Β· dir. F. W. Murnau
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.1drama Β· romance

Both are working the same pair: love triangle, silent film

A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.

Grand Hotel poster
Grand Hotel
1932 Β· dir. Edmund Goulding
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.3drama Β· romance

Romantic romance in both cases

Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.

Wuthering Heights poster
Wuthering Heights
1939 Β· dir. William Wyler
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.5drama Β· romancePrime VideoMax

Action built on tenderness, twice over

Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.

Make Way for Tomorrow poster
Make Way for Tomorrow
1937 Β· dir. Leo McCarey
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.2drama Β· romance

Contemplative war, and it commits to that

An elderly couple are forced to separate themselves from each other after their children refuse to take both into one house.

To Live poster
To Live
1994 Β· dir. Zhang Yimou
πŸ… 87%β˜… 8.3drama Β· romance Β· war

Drama with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

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

Doctor Zhivago poster
Doctor Zhivago
1965 Β· dir. David Lean
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance Β· war

Common ground: world war i

The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Wings’ defining feeling.