Movies Like Closely Watched Trains (1966)

Closely Watched Trains is a 1966 comedy, drama, war film from Jiří Menzel with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Cremator and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders.

Comedy Drama War

The Cremator

1969

In 1930s Prague, a Czech cremator who firmly believes cremation relieves one from earthly suffering is drawn inexorably to Nazism.

7.8

MagicScore

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

1970

Valerie, a Czechoslovakian teenager living with her grandmother, is blossoming into womanhood, but that transformation proves secondary to the effects she experiences when she puts on a pair of magic earrings. Now seeing the world around her in a different light, Valerie must endure her sexual awakening while attempting to discern reality from fantasy as she encounters lecherous priest Gracian, a vampire-like stranger and otherworldly carnival folk.

6.9

MagicScore

Summer of '42

1971

Over the summer of 1942 on Nantucket Island, three friends -- Hermie, Oscy and Benjie -- are more concerned with getting laid than anything else. Hermie falls in love with the married Dorothy, whose husband is an army pilot recently sent to the battlefront of World War II.

6.7

MagicScore

Pearls of the Deep

1966

A manifesto of sorts for the Czech New Wave, this five-part anthology shows off the breadth of expression and the versatility of the movement’s directors. Based on stories by the legendary writer Bohumil Hrabal, the shorts range from the surreally chilling to the caustically observant to the casually romantic, but all have a cutting, wily view of the world.

5.9

MagicScore

The Summer I Turned 15

1976

The story Peter is telling the about a special summer, when he is invited over to summer holiday from bickering parents, to his aunt and uncle in the country. He's been there before, but this summer was quite one to remember.

5.5

MagicScore

A Canterbury Tale

1944

Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.

6.9

MagicScore

The Battle of the Rails

1946

A dramatized account of the French Resistance, this wartime film depicts how railway workers sabotaged German trains to disrupt troop movements and supply lines during the Nazi occupation. Blending documentary realism with fiction, it pays tribute to the courage and sacrifice of ordinary workers who became central to the fight for liberation.

6.8

MagicScore

Mermaids

1990

Fifteen-year-old Charlotte Flax is tired of her wacky mom moving their family to a different town any time she feels it is necessary. When they move to a small Massachusetts town and Mrs. Flax begins dating a shopkeeper, Charlotte and her 9-year-old sister, Kate, hope that they can finally settle down. But when Charlotte's attraction to an older man gets in the way, the family must learn to accept each other for who they truly are.

6.7

MagicScore

Carnal Knowledge

1971

Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Yes, God, Yes

2020

Alice, a young innocent Catholic girl, is tempted into masturbating after an AOL chat suddenly turns sexual, however is conflicted as the act would be considered a sin.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

Empire of the Sun

1987

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

The Tin Drum

1979

Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.

6.9

MagicScore

#13

Capricious Summer

1968

Middle-aged Antonin and his friends, the major, now retired, and the canon, are in the river, swimming and philosophizing. Then it starts to rain. It just seems to be that sort of summer. Antonin runs the swimming bath with his portly wife Katherine... A man appears with his horse-drawn caravan. He lays a striped pole across the river and walks over. With a handstand and a magic trick, Ernie the Conjuror invites everyone to that evening's performance... Ernie is a tightrope walker of only modest skill, but with a slim and beautiful assistant, Anna. Antonin speaks to her. The two spend the night in the change room by the river, Antonin massaging her feet all night long. Katherine decides to move into the caravan with Ernie. But now the major and even the canon sense Anna's attractiveness...

6.4

MagicScore

#14

Penda's Fen

1974

Through a series of real and imagined encounters with angels, demons, and England's pagan past, a pastor's son begins to question his religion and politics, and comes to terms with his sexuality.

7.5

MagicScore

#15

Blue Is the Warmest Color

2013

Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself.

7.1

MagicScore

#16

Stealing Beauty

1996

Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

My Year of Dicks

2023

An imaginative 15-year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early '90s.

6.4

MagicScore

#18

Smooth Talk

1985

Connie, the fifteen-year-old black sheep of her family, finds her summertime idyll of beach trips, mall hangouts, and innocent flirtations shattered by an encounter with a mysterious stranger.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Reckless Summer

2021

15-year-old Solange lives in a little town in the French Alps. When her parents get divorced, she discovers her femininity and has her first sexual experiences.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Hard Feelings

2023

Teenagers Charly and Paula worry that sex could ruin their friendship, while their suddenly and surprisingly bossy private parts urge them to go for it.

5.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Closely Watched Trains?

The top films similar to Closely Watched Trains by MovieMagicScore are The Cremator (7.8), Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (6.9), Summer of '42 (6.7). Each shares comedy/drama/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Closely Watched Trains worth watching?

Closely Watched Trains holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 250 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Closely Watched Trains?

Closely Watched Trains (1966) is a comedy, drama, war film directed by Jiří Menzel, starring Václav Neckář, Jitka Scoffin, Vladimír Valenta.

Where can I find more recommendations like Closely Watched Trains?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like The Cremator Movies like Valerie and Her Week of Wonders Movies like Summer of '42 Movies like Pearls of the Deep Movies like The Summer I Turned 15 Movies like A Canterbury Tale

About movies like Closely Watched Trains

This ranked list pairs Closely Watched Trains (1966), a comedy and drama and war film from Jiří Menzel, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Václav Neckář 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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