feelsalike.comSign in
Yi Yi poster

Movies that feel likeYi Yi (2000)

Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.

If you loved Yi Yi, the closest films we have are After the Wedding (2006), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and The Sea Inside (2004). All three share Yi Yi'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 Floating Weeds (1959).

8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Sundance Now

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 Yi Yi hit the spot, these will too

After the Wedding poster
After the Wedding
2006 · dir. Susanne Bier
🍅 87%★ 7.7drama

Common ground in both: daughter and wedding

A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag poster
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
2013 · dir. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
🍅 75%★ 8.2drama

Common ground: family

The true story of the "Flying Sikh" world champion runner and Olympian Milkha Singh who overcame the massacre of his family, civil war during the India-Pakistan partition, and homelessness to become one of India's most iconic athletes.

The Sea Inside poster
The Sea Inside
2004 · dir. Alejandro Amenábar
🍅 85%★ 7.9drama

Both land stillness and romance at once

Ramón Sampedro is a ship mechanic and part-time poet left a quadriplegic following a diving accident. Ramón fought for 30 years for the legal right to end his own life. He develops close relationships with his long-term lawyer Julia and his friend Rosa, who tries to convince him that his life is worth living. Despite his situation, Ramón manages to inspire those around him to live life to the fullest.

The Quiet Girl poster
The Quiet Girl
2022 · dir. Colm Bairéad
🍅 97%★ 7.7drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.

When We Were Kings poster
When We Were Kings
1996 · dir. Leon Gast
🍅 100%★ 7.9documentaryMax

Drama with a pulse of romance, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to documentary than Yi Yi does

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

A Brighter Summer Day poster
A Brighter Summer Day
1991 · dir. Edward Yang
🍅 100%★ 8.2crime · drama · romance

The same hand behind both of them: Edward Yang

A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

Floating Weeds poster
Floating Weeds
1959 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
🍅 96%★ 7.9dramaMax

Drama built on stillness, twice over

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Black Narcissus poster
Black Narcissus
1947 · dir. Emeric Pressburger
🍅 100%★ 7.7dramaMax

Both work the same romance

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

East of Eden poster
East of Eden
1955 · dir. Elia Kazan
🍅 86%★ 7.8drama

Both know what they want from drama

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

Head-On poster
Head-On
2004 · dir. Fatih Akin
★ 7.9drama · romance

One thread runs through both: family

With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.

Dil Chahta Hai poster
Dil Chahta Hai
2001 · dir. Farhan Akhtar
🍅 100%★ 8.1drama · romanceNetflix

Drama in the same key

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.

Rachel Getting Married poster
Rachel Getting Married
2008 · dir. Jonathan Demme
🍅 85%★ 6.6dramaNetflix

Both keep coming back to the same thing: wedding

A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies →

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