Movies Like Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)

Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 drama film from Pat O'Connor with a MovieMagicScore of 5.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and The Secret of Roan Inish.

Drama

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

1962

A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.

7.9

MagicScore

The Secret of Roan Inish

1994

Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother was washed out to sea and never seen again, so when Fiona spies a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish, she is compelled to investigate.

6.7

MagicScore

Marvin's Room

1996

A leukemia patient attempts to end a 20-year feud with her sister to get her bone marrow.

6.7

MagicScore

Crimes of the Heart

1986

Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.

6.0

MagicScore

The Grass Harp

1996

Based on the novel by Truman Capote, this often-witty coming-of-age drama looks at a young man growing up with an unusual family in the Deep South in the 1940s. Becoming an orphan in 1935, Collin moves to his dad's cousins Verena and Dolly. Verena is a rich, bossy businesswoman. Dolly, Collin and the maid revolt, moving to a tree house.

5.8

MagicScore

Lady Sings the Blues

1972

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

6.9

MagicScore

The Sessions

2012

Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien maintains a career as a journalist and poet. A writing assignment dealing with sex and the disabled piques Mark's curiosity, and he decides to investigate the possibility of experiencing sex himself. When his overtures toward a caregiver scare her away, he books an appointment with sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene to lose his virginity.

6.9

MagicScore

To the Wonder

2013

After falling in love in Paris, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Their church's Spanish-born pastor struggles with his faith, while Neil encounters a woman from his childhood.

5.8

MagicScore

The Makioka Sisters

1983

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

7.4

MagicScore

#10

Ryan's Daughter

1970

The wife of an Irish school teacher is branded a traitor when she falls for a British officer who is part of an occupying force in 1917 Ireland.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie

2022

When five lovely young girls who hate studying hire part-time tutor Futaro, he guides not only their education but also their hearts. Time spent has brought them all closer, with feelings growing within the girls and Futaro. As they finish their third year of high school and their last school festival approaches, they set their sights on what’s next. Is there a future with one of them and Futaro?

8.3

MagicScore

#12

Oomuro-ke: Dear Sisters

2024

The first part of a YuruYuri spin-off duology featuring Sakurako and her sisters.

6.2

MagicScore

#13

Becoming Jane

2007

Though young Jane Austen's financially strapped parents expect her to marry the nephew of wealthy Lady Gresham, Jane herself knows that such a union will destroy her creativity and sense of self-worth. Instead, she becomes involved with Tom Lefroy, a charming but penniless apprentice lawyer who gives her the knowledge of the heart she needs for her future career as a novelist.

7.3

MagicScore

#14

Don't Lose Your Head

1967

Amidst the French revolution, Citizen Robespierre is beheading the aristocracy! When word gets to England, noblemen Sir Rodney Ffing and Lord Darcy Pue take it upon themselves to aid their French counterparts. Sir Rodney is a master of disguise, and becomes 'The Black Fingernail' scourge of Camembert and Bidet, leaders of the French secret police.

6.6

MagicScore

#15

5 Centimeters per Second

2007

Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

The Father

2020

A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

8.1

MagicScore

#17

Little Forest: Winter/Spring

2015

Ichiko bakes a cake for an end-of-year party with her friends. In the depths of winter, making mochi and curry keeps the people of Komori warm. Later, spring brings thoughts of her absent mother as well as rice planting and sakura, and she begins to think of leaving Komori behind again.

7.8

MagicScore

#18

Little Forest: Summer/Autumn

2014

Fleeing heartbreak in the big city, Ichiko returns to Komori, her rural hometown. She battles summer's rain and humidity, bakes her own bread, grows hothouse tomatoes and tills the fields. During autumn, the time for pickling and preserving fish and sweet potatoes, Ichiko begins reaping rice and recalls her departure five years before.

7.7

MagicScore

#19

Little Forest

2018

A young woman leaves the city to return to her hometown in the countryside. Seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, she becomes self-sufficient in a bid to reconnect with nature.

7.6

MagicScore

#20

The Quiet Man

1952

An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.

7.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Dancing at Lughnasa?

The top films similar to Dancing at Lughnasa by MovieMagicScore are What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (7.9), The Secret of Roan Inish (6.7), Marvin's Room (6.7). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Dancing at Lughnasa worth watching?

Dancing at Lughnasa holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.9/10 from 51 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Dancing at Lughnasa?

Dancing at Lughnasa (1998) is a drama film directed by Pat O'Connor, starring Meryl Streep, Catherine McCormack, Brid Brennan.

Where can I find more recommendations like Dancing at Lughnasa?

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 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?Movies like The Secret of Roan Inish Movies like Marvin's Room Movies like Crimes of the Heart Movies like The Grass Harp Movies like Lady Sings the Blues

About movies like Dancing at Lughnasa

This ranked list pairs Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), a drama film from Pat O'Connor, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Meryl Streep 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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