Movies Like Magnolia (1999)

Magnolia is a 1999 drama film from Paul Thomas Anderson with a MovieMagicScore of 7.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with My Life Without Me and Beyond Silence.

Drama

My Life Without Me

2003

A fatally ill mother with only two months to live creates a list of things she wants to do before she dies without telling her family of her illness.

6.1

MagicScore

Beyond Silence

1996

Beyond Silence is about a family and a young girl’s coming of age story. This German film looks into the lives of the deaf and at a story about the love for music. A girl who has always had to translate speech into sign language for her deaf parents yet when her love for playing music grows strong she must decide to continue doing something she cannot share with her parents.

6.9

MagicScore

Go for Zucker

2004

Germany director Dani Levy filmed this comedy about Jewish life in today’s Germany along side the familiar east-west conflict. With it great success this film is a joyful comedy of humor and knowledge.

6.1

MagicScore

Dolls

2002

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

7.6

MagicScore

Finding Forrester

2000

Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.

7.1

MagicScore

8½

1963

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

8.1

MagicScore

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

2002

The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.

6.5

MagicScore

The State I Am In

2001

Clara and Hans are left-wing terrorists who have been sought by police for almost fifteen years. Their increasingly rebellious daughter Jeanne begins to pose a threat to their security when she falls in love with a boy she meets on the beach.

6.8

MagicScore

Fanny and Alexander

1982

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

7.8

MagicScore

#10

La Dolce Vita

1960

Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

8.1

MagicScore

#11

21 Grams

2003

Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.

7.3

MagicScore

#12

Babel

2006

Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.

7.2

MagicScore

#13

Ronia: The Robber's Daughter

1984

Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

Monster's Ball

2001

A prison guard begins a tentative romance with the unsuspecting widow of a man whose execution he presided over.

6.8

MagicScore

#15

Sleepless in Seattle

1993

After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Talking about his father’s loneliness soon leads to a meeting with a young female journalist, who has flown to Seattle to write a story about the boy and his father.

6.7

MagicScore

#16

City of Men

2007

Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

7.0

MagicScore

#17

Doctor Zhivago

1965

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.

7.5

MagicScore

#18

How to Train Your Dragon 2

2014

Five years have passed since Hiccup and Toothless united the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Now, they spend their time charting unmapped territories. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider. Now, Hiccup and Toothless find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior.

7.7

MagicScore

#19

Field of Dreams

1989

Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers turn up to play.

7.1

MagicScore

#20

The Discovery of Heaven

2001

Disappointed with humanity, God wants to revoke his contract with humanity and wants to take back the stone tablets containing the ten commandments. To this end an angel is sent out to affect the personal lives of three humans so an appropriate child may be conceived.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Magnolia?

The top films similar to Magnolia by MovieMagicScore are My Life Without Me (6.1), Beyond Silence (6.9), Go for Zucker (6.1). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Magnolia worth watching?

Magnolia holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.7/10 from 3,788 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Magnolia?

Magnolia (1999) is a drama film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Where can I find more recommendations like Magnolia?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like My Life Without Me Movies like Beyond Silence Movies like Go for Zucker Movies like Dolls Movies like Finding Forrester Movies like 8½

About movies like Magnolia

This ranked list pairs Magnolia (1999), a drama film from Paul Thomas Anderson, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tom Cruise take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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