Movies Like What I See When I Look

If you liked What I See When I Look (2021), a movie directed by Lindsay Calleran, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Souvenir: Part II (2021)
★ 6.4/10
In the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship with a charismatic and manipulative older man, Julie begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately…
2
Past Lives (2023)
★ 7.7/10
After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
3
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
★ 7.8/10
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
4
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
★ 6.1/10
In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in…
5
Maria by Callas (2017)
★ 7.4/10
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York…
6
The Fabelmans (2022)
★ 7.5/10
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him…
7
The Art of Getting By (2011)
★ 6.6/10
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred…
8
Twenty Something (2021)
★ 7.2/10
Follows Gia, who has to deal with the challenges and insecurities of "adulting" during her 21st birthday.
9
Cosmic Ray (1962)
★ 6.4/10
Experimental short uses Ray Charles' “What'd I Say” as accompaniment to constantly shifting collage of female nude, cartoons, and newsreels of atomic bomb explosions.
10
Life in a Day (2011)
★ 7.2/10
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
11
Daybreak Express (1957)
★ 7.2/10
Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.
12
Everybody’s Everything (2019)
★ 8.4/10
The story of artist Lil Peep from his birth in Long Island and meteoric rise as a genre blending pop star & style icon, to his death due to an accidental opioid overdose in Arizona at just 21 years of age.
13
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
★ 6.5/10
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y…
14
42 Up (1999)
★ 7.6/10
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
15
Silent (2014)
★ 6.6/10
A duo of street performers learns how sound and picture work together to create amazing cinema experiences.
16
My Mom Jayne (2025)
★ 8/10
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and…
17
The Grandmother (1970)
★ 6.6/10
To escape neglect and abuse from his parents, a young boy plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother.
18
The Karate Kid (1984)
★ 7.2/10
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny…
19
The Fallout (2021)
★ 7.5/10
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
20
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
★ 6.3/10
Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to…