Movies Like Brief Encounter (1945)

Brief Encounter is a 1945 drama, romance film from David Lean with a MovieMagicScore of 7.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Anna Karenina and Mildred Pierce.

Drama Romance

Anna Karenina

1935

In 19th century Russia a woman in a respectable marriage to a senior statesman must grapple with her love for a dashing soldier.

6.5

MagicScore

Mildred Pierce

1945

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

7.6

MagicScore

Westfront 1918

1930

A group of German infantrymen of the First World War live out their lives in the trenches of France. They find brief entertainment and relief in a village behind the lines, but primarily terror fills their lives as the attacks on and from the French army ebb and flow. One of the men, Karl, goes home on leave only to discover the degradation forced on his family by wartime poverty. He returns to the lines in time to face an enormous attack by French tanks.

6.6

MagicScore

Before We Go

2014

A woman who is robbed on her way to catch the 1:30 train to Boston is left stranded in New York City. She meets a man who helps her during the course of the night and the two form a romance.

6.7

MagicScore

Revolutionary Road

2008

A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.

7.0

MagicScore

Alice

1990

Alice Tate, mother of two, with a marriage of 16 years, finds herself falling for a handsome sax player, Joe. Stricken with a backache, she consults herbalist Dr. Yang, who realizes that her problems are not related to her back, but in her mind and heart. Dr. Yang's magical herbs give Alice wondrous powers, taking her out of her well-established rut.

6.4

MagicScore

Freaks

1932

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

7.8

MagicScore

Green for Danger

1946

In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural hospital. But was the death accidental?

6.7

MagicScore

The Wife

2018

A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Two for the Road

1967

Architect Mark Wallace and his wife, Joanna, travel to France to meet with an affluent client. While there, they reflect on their first decade of marriage -- memories of when they first met, of courtship, and of road trips through the French countryside. As flirtation and playful quarreling turn to boredom with the banality of married life, the Wallaces struggle to rekindle their passion, while mutual infidelity threatens to tear them apart.

7.0

MagicScore

#11

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1921

Set in the years before and during World War I, this epic tale tells the story of a rich Argentine family, one of its two descending branches being half of French heritage, the other being half German. Following the death of the family patriarch, the man's two daughters and their families resettle to France and Germany, respectively. In time the Great War breaks out, putting members of the family on opposing sides.

6.6

MagicScore

#12

The Reader

2008

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

7.5

MagicScore

#13

The Mountain Between Us

2017

Stranded on a mountain after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must work together to endure the extreme elements of the remote, snow-covered terrain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing each other to survive and discovering their inner strength.

6.7

MagicScore

#14

The Starling Girl

2023

17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.

6.3

MagicScore

#15

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

2004

Mia Thermopolis is now a college graduate and on her way to Genovia to take up her duties as princess. Accompanied by her friend Lilly, Mia continues her 'princess lessons', like riding horses side-saddle and archery. But her already complicated life is turned upside down once again when she learns that she is to take the crown as queen earlier than expected, all while she meets a mysteriously charming young man.

6.7

MagicScore

#16

Son of Frankenstein

1939

One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

The Manxman

1929

A fisherman and a rising lawyer who grew up together as brothers fall in love with the same woman.

6.1

MagicScore

#18

Beyond the Universe

2022

While waiting for a kidney transplant, a young pianist finds an unexpected connection with her doctor — and the courage to fulfill her musical dreams.

8.0

MagicScore

#19

A Woman Without Love

1952

After indulging in an affair with a man (a friend of the family) she truly loves, a woman returns to her young son and husband for good, and loses contact with the man. Her husband is unaware of the affair. Twenty years later, there is news that the friend has died and left all of his money to the younger son in the family, which leads us to question this younger son's biological origin.

5.3

MagicScore

#20

We Live in Time

2024

An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.

7.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Brief Encounter?

The top films similar to Brief Encounter by MovieMagicScore are Anna Karenina (6.5), Mildred Pierce (7.6), Westfront 1918 (6.6). Each shares drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Brief Encounter worth watching?

Brief Encounter holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.7/10 from 670 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Brief Encounter?

Brief Encounter (1945) is a drama, romance film directed by David Lean, starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway.

Where can I find more recommendations like Brief Encounter?

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 Anna Karenina Movies like Mildred Pierce Movies like Westfront 1918 Movies like Before We Go Movies like Revolutionary Road Movies like Alice

About movies like Brief Encounter

This ranked list pairs Brief Encounter (1945), a drama and romance film from David Lean, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Celia Johnson 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.

← Back to Brief Encounter