Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Past Lives:
Anyone But You
While Anyone But You might offer a few chuckles and some eye candy in the form of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, it’s a mostly forgettable affair that leaves you craving a rom-com with some actual bite and fizz.
We Live in Time
A movie like We Live in Time really shouldn’t work. The overly sentimental cancer drama is a well-trodden path, with its fair share of genuinely touching entries but even more bogged down by predictability and melodrama. We Live in Time doesn’t completely avoid these familiar pitfalls, as it leans into some of the same cheesy tropes that often plague this subgenre.
All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers emerges as one of the most quietly devastating and emotionally resonant films of 2023. From its opening scene, where Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal) meet in the empty expanse of their apartment complex, the film invites viewers into a world filled with space, vibrant colors, and thoughtful design. Andrew Haigh, known for his work on films like Weekend and 45 Years, crafts a poignant narrative that explores the complexities of love, loss, and the haunting specter of the past. What transpires certainly stands as one of his best works yet as a director.
Falcon Lake
Charlotte Le Bon‘s Falcon Lake feels singular in a way that is so difficult to accomplish in the 2020s. Teenage romance movies are circulated by the dozens in the era of streaming services (Netflix churns out a remarkable number of horrendous attempts at this every year), but they never feel as cared for or honest as this movie does.
Materialists
Materialists feels like a transitional work. It shows Celine Song experimenting with scale, ensemble dynamics, and new narrative textures—but it lacks the intimacy and precision that defined her first film. It’s a movie with moments that flirt with those same highs in small doses, but one that ultimately falls short. Still, it leaves me hopeful: the emotional territory Song wants to chart is rare in contemporary cinema, and while Materialists stumbles, it’s a sign that she’s aiming high. Her best films are likely still ahead.
Sometimes I Think About Dying
Sometimes I Think About Dying has a distinct tone, but I was able to look past its understated delivery and find a lot to appreciate. Daisy Ridley and Dave Merheje share a unique chemistry that stands out among the early 2024 releases.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is just as ridiculous and comical as its English-language title would suggest. The movie is a riff on the vampire genre in a similar way that What We Do in the Shadows is. They both poke fun at the blasé, mundane, and almost emo way in which we consume much of the vampire material that’s been produced this century. Because vampires have become synonymous with counterculture, often because the motifs and iconography of these monsters reflect that of the unimpressed teenage mindset.
Read our full review of Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Elemental
Elemental acts as a surprising return to the roots of Pixar. It’s a movie with a host of relevant themes and messages rolled into a sincere and effective love story. It’s been a a minute since Pixar landed an original story with such a clear balance of narrative and comedy.
One Fine Morning
One Fine Morning showcases Mia Hansen-Løve’s masterful ability to capture the bittersweet complexities of life in both the good and the bad. Léa Seydoux and Pascal Greggory star.
You Hurt My Feelings
You Hurt My Feelings is a movie tearing apart the artistic complex. A film that questions whether professionals can have their lives figured out in the twenties or thirties. It’s honest and personal, as if Nicole Holofcener is using Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a stand in for directors and creatives everywhere.
