leisurely backdrop

Movies with leisurely vibe

A Lot Like Love

1. A Lot Like Love

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Relationship Drama
6.6
20051h 47min

Overview

On a flight from Los Angeles to New York, Oliver and Emily make a connection, only to decide that they are poorly suited to be together. Over the next seven years, however, they are reunited time and time again, they go from being acquaintances to close friends to... lovers?

Themes

Loneliness and connection, Timing vs commitment, Recurrent reconnections, Career vs romance, Unspoken affection, Alternative life choices

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Sideways

2. Sideways

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Relationship Drama
7.5
20042h 7min

Overview

Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.

Themes

Class tension, Romantic deception, Friendship strain, Artistic insecurity, Alcohol as escape, Reputation risk

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Imaginary Heroes

3. Imaginary Heroes

Comedy Drama Tragic Drama
7.0
20041h 51min

Overview

Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best competitive swimmer, so everyone is shocked when he inexplicably commits suicide. As the following year unfolds, each member of his family struggles to recover from the tragedy with mixed results.

Themes

Substance use coping, Communication breakdown, Parental pressure and withdrawal, Unspoken family secrets, Grief and routine disruption, Intergenerational distance

Available on

Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Cold Mountain

4. Cold Mountain

War History Adventure Romance 19th Century Wars
7.2
20032h 34min

Overview

In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada, who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby, a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbor.

Themes

Violence and coercion, Desertion and duty, Romance amid hardship, Loss and longing, Women sustaining homes, Rape attempt

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

A Touch of Spice

5. A Touch of Spice

Comedy Drama Family Drama Parody
7.4
20031h 48min

Overview

"A Touch of Spice" is a story about Fanis, a young Greek boy growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor, teaches him that both food and life require a little salt to give them flavor. They both require... A Touch of Spice. Fanis grows up to become an excellent cook and uses his cooking skills to spice up the lives of those around him. 35 years later he leaves Athens and travels back to his birthplace of Istanbul to reunite with his grandfather and his first love. He travels back only to realize that he forgot to put a little bit of spice in his own life.

Themes

Homeland longing, Intergenerational mentorship, Diasporic displacement, Culinary symbolism, Cross-cultural romance, Memory and tradition, Political tension between nations

Available on

Kanopy
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Under the Tuscan Sun

6. Under the Tuscan Sun

Romance Comedy Romantic Comedy
6.8
20031h 53min

Overview

After a rough divorce, Frances, a 35-year-old professor and writer from San Francisco takes a tour of Tuscany at the urgings of her friends. On a whim she buys Bramasole, a run down villa in the Tuscan countryside and begins to piece her life together starting with the villa and finds that life sometimes has unexpected ways of giving her everything she wanted.

Themes

Reinvention through relocation, Home renovation as healing, Cross-cultural friendship, Divorce resilience, Belonging through community, Love after heartbreak, Independence and self-discovery

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Holes

7. Holes

Adventure Family Drama Comedy Coming-of-Age Adventure
7.0
20031h 57min

Overview

After being wrongfully convicted for stealing a pair of shoes, Stanley Yelnats is sent away to Camp Green Lake, a boys detention facility where inmates are forced to dig holes all day in the hot desert sun as a form of character building. But Stanley and the other boys start to unravel a mystery, linked with the camps tough-as-nails warden —and possibly Stanley’s family itself.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Survival under harsh systems, Injustice in punishment, Legacy of misfortune, Authority and accountability, Collective resilience

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Willard

8. Willard

Horror Drama Thriller Psychological Horror Revenge Thriller
6.1
20031h 40min

Overview

Desperate for companionship, the repressed Willard befriends a group of rats that inhabit his late father's deteriorating mansion. In these furry creatures, Willard finds temporary refuge from daily abuse at the hands of his bedridden mother and his father's old partner, Frank. Soon it becomes clear that the brood of rodents is ready and willing to exact a vicious, deadly revenge on anyone who dares to bully their sensitive new master.

Themes

Power dynamics, Misfit loneliness, Workplace domination, Revenge through subjugation, Confinement and revolt, Animal companionship vs loneliness

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Love Liza

9. Love Liza

Comedy Drama Dark Comedy Tragic Drama
6.9
20021h 30min

Overview

Following the unexplained suicide of his wife Liza, website designer Wilson Joel turns to huffing gasoline fumes and remote control gaming while avoiding an inevitable conflict with his mother-in-law.

Themes

Grief and coping, Addiction as escape, Isolation after loss, In-law tension, Suicide aftermath, Degradation of lifestyle

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Twilight Samurai

10. The Twilight Samurai

Drama Romance Historical Drama Passionate Romance
8.1
20022h 9min

Overview

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

Themes

Class inequality, Economic precarity, Loyalty under pressure, Gender expectations, Marriage for status, Duty vs romance

Available on

filmingo
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.