Movies like Aria 2007
If you like "Aria" you are looking for melancholic, poignant and reflective movies about / with memory, grief, loss, quest, healing, nostalgia and puppet themes of Drama genre shot in Japan.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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Aria (2007)
25
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
The piano tuner Ota is still in mourning for the loss of his beloved wife. He would like to go on, but he can’t find the beach where his wife wanted her ashes to be scattered. While helping his friend Kojima with his antique shop, Ota meets the old Kuzo, a ventriloquist with a mysterious and fascinating female puppet, Aria, and his disciple, Senju. But during a show, the old man collapses. At the hospital, he asks Ota to find a piano he sold a long time ago to a pawn shop, and dies. Ota and Senju decide to look for the piano, even if Kuzo will not be able to enjoy it anymore, as a way to carry on the master’s memory. Just before the departure, a mysterious and beautiful woman enters the antique shop, claiming to be Kuzo’s daughter. She wants to join them in the quest for the piano. The three leave in search of the long forgotten piano: they will meet a number of uncommon characters, who will guide them in a journey through the master’s past, and their memories, towards the future.
Style:
melancholic, poignant, reflective, atmospheric, existential
Plot:
memory, grief, loss, quest, healing, nostalgia, puppet, bittersweet, friendship, minimalism, forgiveness, road trip, antique shop, ventriloquism, mystery woman, classical music, pawnshop, magic realism, search, mysterious woman
Time:
contemporary
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Aria
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out melancholic, art house, existential and reflective films with plots about loss, grief, memory, healing, bittersweet, nostalgia and friendship mostly in Drama and Family genres. Some movies like Aria: Petal Dance (2013), Dream State (2018), Meiyazhagan (2024), Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994), Railroad Man (1999). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Four women, who have their own different sorrows, embark on a road trip. They look back at their past and restart their lives... Jinko (Aoi Miyazaki) and Motoko (Sakura Ando) have been friends since their university days. One day, they hear a rumor ...
Style:
road movie, contemplative, melancholic, poetic, existential ...
Plot:
road trip, beach, female friendship, character study, slice of life, introspection, grief, loss, ocean, minimalism, nostalgia, personal growth ...
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Following the death of his estranged father, Louis is left feeling he hasn't achieved as much as he had hoped for. A chance encounter with figures from his past triggers a set of events that shakes his perception of life.
Style:
poignant, melancholic, emotional, reflective, art house ...
Plot:
grief, coming of age, self discovery, mourning, loss, family drama, realism, male protagonist, bittersweet, chance meeting, intimate, memory ...
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: India
Duration: 177 min.
Story:
Twenty-two years after losing his home, Arulmozhi Varman returns to his native Thanjavur to attend his cousin's wedding. Amidst the celebrations, Arul is reintroduced to an upbeat man whom he cannot recall. With the help of the unknown man, ...
Style:
emotional, reflective, poignant, melancholic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
homecoming, memory, identity, empathy, nostalgia, introspection, healing, bittersweet, intimate, reminiscence, friendship, community ...
Similarity:
80%
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
While middle-aged Vincent (Didier Sandre) makes a sand castle on a beach in Brittany, France, his sister Zaza (Catherine Ferran) and brother Francois (Charles Berling) spend a summer day reflecting on death and loss. They think back on their sister ...
Style:
melancholic, reflective, poignant, contemplative, emotional ...
Plot:
loss, grief, mourning, character study, bereavement, beach, memory, intimate, family relations, relationships, small town, minimalism ...
Time:
90s
Place:
brittany
Similarity:
76%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
A railway stationmaster at a dying end-of-the-line village in Hokkaido is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter. When the railroad line is scheduled to be closed, he is offered a job at a hotel, but he is emotionally unable to part with ...
Style:
art house, melancholic, reflective, poignant
Plot:
winter, grief, mourning, nostalgia, bittersweet, loneliness, loss, character study, memory, regret, aging, family tragedy ...
Place:
japan, hokkaido
Similarity:
72%
2K
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
The Aso family live in the old town of Nara. One Day, Kei, one of the Aso's twin boys suddenly disappears. Five years later seventeen-year old Shun, the remaining twin, is an art student. He now has to move forward with his life, together with ...
Style:
aesthetic, melancholic, emotional, captivating, disturbing ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
disappearance, grief, loss, coming of age, family drama, loss of brother, dysfunctional family, twin brother, family problems, lifestyle, mysterious disappearance, memory ...
Time:
year 2003, 2000s
Similarity:
71%
172
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
As a civil war shakes the Quebec province of Canada, Valerie is the sole survivor of a mass execution where her boyfriend is killed. Years later, she’s in a close relationship with her new partner, Gabriel. At the Long Term Care Center where she ...
Style:
captivating, serious, thought provoking, dramatic, melancholic ...
Plot:
grief, civil war, love, male nudity, female nudity, loss, trauma, survivor, couple relations, time, male female relationship, public execution ...
Place:
quebec, canada
Similarity:
70%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
An insecure, aggressive widow of a tea garden manager reluctantly develops an affectionate relationship with an Indian housewife and her family.
Style:
intercultural, reflective, melancholic, atmospheric, tension ...
Plot:
friendship, character study, grief, empathy, memory, healing, gardening, loneliness, mourning, social class, isolation, reconciliation ...
Time:
year 1985, 80s
Similarity:
68%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A classical musician travels to the South of France to escape his demons and wait for his new love, a younger woman named Sophia. Trying to come to peace with his new life in these slow, peaceful surroundings, his seemingly chance meeting with ...
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, atmospheric, reflective ...
Plot:
classical music, love story, changing lives, male female relationship, problem, relationships, couple relations, love and romance, love interest, love, relationship problems, love triangle ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
60%
534
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
A Beijing professor returns to his stomping grounds for a friend's funeral. Reflecting on the past, he meets a tea shop owner who sparks feelings of love in a time of pain.
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, melancholic, reflective ...
Plot:
mourning, memory, nostalgia, past, love and romance, love affair, couple relations, romantic relationship, troubled past, male female relationship, couples, love story ...
Similarity:
58%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A former music industry mogul grieving the death of his wife at an isolated lake-side home finds subtle redemption in the youthful spirit of friendship cultivated with two young boys.
Style:
melancholic, emotional, reflective, psychological, ambiguous ending
Plot:
character study, mourning, loss, solitude, grief, introspection, friendship, isolation, redemption, healing, loneliness, slow burn ...
Similarity:
58%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
A tale of self-rediscovery seen through the eyes of a grief-stricken trumpeter, who finds salvation in a lighthouse and its two suicidal visitors.
Style:
emotional, dramatic, contemplative, atmospheric, melancholic ...
Plot:
lighthouse, grief, suicide, seaside, empathy, loneliness, trumpet player, salvation, healing, intimate, mourning, redemption ...
Similarity:
56%
Genre: Drama
Country: Estonia
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
With his last breath Uu's friend entrusts him with the secret of how to go to the past. Uu is an engineer and doesn't believe in miracles, but the trick works. In the past there is a pleasant, eternal summer, long hair, girls and Jenkki ...
Style:
poignant, existential, sentimental, reflective
Plot:
travel, nostalgia, choice, youth, coming of age, melancholy, regret, loss, memory, aging, engineer, father son relationship ...
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: Portugal, Spain
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
The disappearance of his wife leaves Fernando, a quiet geography teacher, completely devastated. Aimless, he impersonates another man as a gardener at a Portuguese country house, where he forms an unexpected friendship with the owner.
Style:
melancholic, emotional, psychological, atmospheric, existential ...
Plot:
grief, loss, character study, loneliness, identity, intimate, country house, memory, minimalism, friendship, impostor, gardener ...
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A middle-aged man sets out on a symbolic journey through past, present, and future to learn why an old friend committed suicide, and learns much about his own life along the way.
Style:
reflective, existential, melancholic, bleak, philosophical ...
Plot:
suicide, memory, existential crisis, symbolism, loss, midlife crisis, self discovery, guilt, flashback, mature, regret, isolation ...
Place:
poland
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, Spain
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A story about aging, motherhood and life. About looking back and not understanding how you got to where you are, about wounds so deep that all the energy is spent on not wanting to see them. An intimate drama where, through fiction, the director ...
Style:
poignant, emotional, melancholic, contemplative, art house ...
Plot:
aging, motherhood, family drama, autobiography, loss, blindness, elderly man, grief, trauma, reflection, regret, realism ...
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Abhay, shattered by betrayal and loneliness, prepares to end his life beneath the night sky. But the sudden laughter of a mysterious woman pierces his darkness.
Style:
melancholic, art house
Plot:
betrayal, loss, loneliness, trust, hopes, soul searching, grief, redemption, existential crisis, mental health, forgiveness, chance meeting ...
Similarity:
49%
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, Spain, France
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
An old man lives alone in a shabby cabin in a remote mountainous area of Mexico. His house is set to be demolished in order to facilitate the redevelopment of the area. He doesn't know how to protect his house. Time goes by and one day a young ...
Style:
atmospheric, melancholic, contemplative, poignant, slow cinema ...
Plot:
character study, loneliness, isolation, loss, aging, memory, poverty, intimate, beach, journey, grief, slice of life ...
Similarity:
47%
Movie in collections
195
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Anna, 50 years old, moves into her new house. Rooms are full of boxes which contain a lot of things and plenty of memories. Anna has lived many lives and her past comes out of these boxes. Her parents surely, but also her children and their fathers, ...
Style:
poignant, art house, melancholic, bleak, atmospheric ...
Plot:
midlife crisis, female protagonist, memory, family drama, loss, reflection, regret, ghost, family secret, grief, aging, introspection ...
Place:
brittany
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
When Cem finds himself at the brink of losing the love of his life, Alara, he embarks on an expedition to the Blue Cave, Alara's most beloved archeological site, to feel close to her again.
Style:
romantic drama, poignant, emotional, atmospheric, melancholic ...
Plot:
cave, love, longing, relationships, journey, grief, promise, loss, bittersweet, intimate, faithfulness, introspection ...
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Fuke visits his uncle Idriz and aunt Sabira to fix a broken boiler. He soon finds out there's a lot more that needs to be repaired. Idriz and Sabira aren't ready to accept the loss of their only son in the Balkan war, seven years earlier. ...
Style:
melancholic, reflective, art house, tear jerker
Plot:
balkan war, family drama, grief, loss, mourning, intimate, nostalgia, slice of life, memory, healing, reconciliation, getting home ...
Time:
2000s
Place:
bosnia herzegovina, bosnia, balkan, former yugoslavia
Similarity:
45%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
A single mother receives a phone call saying her son had died from a shark attack in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, where she now visits annually on her son’s death anniversary. One day, she meets two young Japanese surfers who tell her about a young ...
Style:
emotional, captivating, suspenseful, thrilling, psychological ...
Plot:
surfing, shark attack, single mother, grief, loss, social problems, animal attack, dangerous animal, shark, secret, mother and son, family problems ...
Place:
hawaii
Similarity:
44%
468
Genre: Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Tai-hung, in his 50s, lives happily with his wife. Informed of the death of his high school friend, Tai-hung’s secret past resurfaces. The feature debut from promising new Hong Kong talent Jun Li.
Style:
captivating, thrilling, psychological, melancholic, emotional ...
Plot:
transgender, grief, lgbt, transgender woman, character study, identity, gender issues, problem, changing lives, family relations, lifestyle change, couple relations ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
china
Similarity:
44%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
The heroes of the movie last seen each other on the Belarusian railway station in the summer of 1945. A quarter-century, they meet at the funeral of comrade.
Style:
disturbing, touching, sincere, thought provoking, poignant ...
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
friendship, world war two, memory, society, life is a bitch, destiny, life & death, justice, hopes, loss, nostalgia, social realism ...
Time:
20th century
Place:
soviet union, moscow russia, russia, ussr
Similarity:
44%
121
Genre: Drama
Country: Portugal
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
In this evocative story told ingeniously with minimal dialogue, men and women from various backgrounds and places each deal with the loss of a loved one.
Style:
poignant, melancholic, emotional, art house, contemplative ...
Plot:
grief, loss, loneliness, solitude, mourning, minimal dialogue, empathy, bereavement, memory, healing, intimate, soul searching ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
The appetizer is an introduction, the dessert is a farewell in this story of an indelible bond forged between a promising young filmmaker and an iconic actress.
Style:
reflective, emotional, contemplative, art house, life affirming ...
Plot:
friendship, chemistry, intimate, healing, grief, personal growth, film industry, bittersweet, mature, loss, aging, creativity ...
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
The story of a self-help group of 4 people with a terminal illness, led by a therapist without experience.
Style:
emotional, sincere, poignant, touching, existential ...
Plot:
mortality, support group, terminal illness, acceptance, personal growth, humanism, bittersweet, intimate, therapy, friendship, therapist, loss ...
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia, China
Duration: 280 min.
Story:
Liu and Deng are a couple both in their 70s who have been married for nearly half a century and lived in a small inland city of China. The family of Liu and Deng is a typical ordinary family of China. The eldest daughter Liqin, divorced with a ...
Style:
reflective, sentimental, melancholic
Plot:
elderly, aging, marriage, nostalgia, intimate, bittersweet, slice of life, commitment, intimacy, sacrifice, resilience, road trip ...
Place:
china
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Life is a one take proposition. In ONE TAKE, Kevin never stopped loving Jessie even though she left him years ago and is reported to be dead. When Kevin, out-of-the-blue, receives a card in the mail - an old photo of the two of them with a ...
Style:
romantic drama, independent film, melancholic, existential, twist ending ...
Plot:
loss, grief, character study, loneliness, obsession, sacrifice, imagination, relationships, family secret, memory, revelation, haunting ...
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Miguel travels to Pontevedra, his hometown, with the request of serching for some locations for a movie. His trip takes him back to the place where he grew up, meeting up with some old friends, but also leads him to the possibility of a new ...
Style:
contemplative, atmospheric, serious, realistic, art house ...
Plot:
friendship, small town, love and romance, fall in love, introspection, workplace, self discovery, workplace situations, hopes, artists and showbiz, unfulfillment, homecoming ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
spain
Similarity:
36%
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