The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
2006Japan★ 7.87 pt match
Both films sit with loss of innocence, longing, and grief. Both circle the same ground: family wounds passed down and family duty. The feel is the same: melancholic, hopeful, and episodic.
Nomadland
2020USALanguage: EnglishDirected by Chloe Zhao★ 7.2
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Themes and style
Tone
melancholichopefulhauntingquietly devastating
Pacing
slow burndreamlikeepisodic
Story
journeysurvivalunraveling
Emotion
griefloss of innocencebelonginglongingfiguring out who you are
Themes
class and moneypovertyfamily wounds passed downcaught between worldsold ways vs. new worldfamily duty
Feel
quietly hauntingemotionally wreckingcerebraldiscussion startercathartic
Violence
noneWhere to watch
Foreign films like Nomadland
These foreign films share the same emotional core, themes, and structural feel as Nomadland. Every one of them has confirmed English subtitles or dubbing.
The Thin Yellow Line
2015Mexico★ 8.37 pt match
Both films sit with belonging, longing, and figuring out who you are. They share the same lens on poverty, class and money, and caught between worlds. The feel is the same: melancholic, quietly devastating, slow burn, and episodic.
Pather Panchali
1955India★ 7.87 pt match
Both films sit with grief, longing, and loss of innocence. The world both films live in revolves around poverty, class and money, and family wounds passed down. The feel is the same: melancholic, haunting, slow burn, and episodic.
The World of Apu
1959India★ 8.17 pt match
Both films sit with grief, longing, and figuring out who you are. Both circle the same ground: poverty, family wounds passed down, and family duty. Both move the same way too, melancholic, haunting, slow burn, and episodic.
Aparajito
1956India★ 7.96.5 pt match
Both films sit with longing, belonging, and loss of innocence. They share the same lens on poverty, family duty, and family wounds passed down. Both move the same way too, melancholic, hopeful, slow burn, and episodic.
My Blueberry Nights
2007France★ 6.46 pt match
Like Nomadland, this one is rooted in grief, longing, and figuring out who you are. They share the same lens on caught between worlds and old ways vs. new world. Same energy: melancholic, haunting, slow burn, and dreamlike.
The Legend of 1900
1998Italy★ 8.26 pt match
Both films sit with belonging, figuring out who you are, and longing. The world both films live in revolves around class and money, caught between worlds, and family wounds passed down. Same energy: melancholic, haunting, episodic, and dreamlike.
Stroszek
1977Germany★ 7.36 pt match
Like Nomadland, this one is rooted in belonging, longing, and figuring out who you are. Both circle the same ground: class and money, poverty, and caught between worlds. Same energy: melancholic, quietly devastating, slow burn, and episodic.