Movies Set at Sea

Few settings strip a story down like open water. With no easy way off the boat, the films set at sea collected here turn the ocean into pressure cooker, antagonist, and entire horizon — tagged by the era and the waters each one sails.

Explore all movies set at sea →

2009
About Elly
Iran — 2000s
Coastal Seadir. Asghar Farhadi
2013
About Time
London · Cornwall — 2010s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Richard Curtis
2022
Aftersun
Turkey — 1990s
Coastal Seadir. Charlotte Wells
1972
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Peru — 1700s
Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Werner Herzog
2013
All Is Lost
Indian Ocean — 2010s
Coastal Seadir. J.C. Chandor
2023
American Fiction
Boston · Los Angeles — 2020s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Cord Jefferson
1997
Amistad
Connecticut · Cuba · Sierra Leone — 1800s
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Steven Spielberg
2018
Annihilation
Florida — Near Future
Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Alex Garland
2016
Aquarius
Recife — 2010s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
1980
Atlantic City
Atlantic City — 1980s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Louis Malle
2019
Atlantics
Dakar — 2010s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Mati Diop
2007
Atonement
London — 1930s · 1940s
Rural · Urban · Coastal Seadir. Joe Wright
2012
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Louisiana — Near Future
Rural · Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Benh Zeitlin
2013
Before Midnight
Greece — 2010s
Coastal Seadir. Richard Linklater
1996
Big Night
New Jersey — 1950s
Coastal Seadir. Stanley Tucci
1966
Black Girl
Dakar · French Riviera — 1960s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Ousmane Sembène
1981
Body Heat
Florida — 1980s
Coastal Sea · Suburbandir. Lawrence Kasdan
1996
Breaking the Waves
Scotland — 1970s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Lars von Trier
2000
Cast Away
Memphis — 1990s · 2000s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Robert Zemeckis
2012
Cloud Atlas
San Francisco · London · Hawaii · Chatham Islands — 1800s · 1930s · 1970s · 2010s · Far Future
Urban · Island · Coastal Sea · Off Worlddir. Lilly Wachowski
2021
CODA
Gloucester · Boston — 2020s
Coastal Seadir. Sian Heder
2022
Decision to Leave
Busan — 2020s
Urban · Coastal Sea · Mountaindir. Park Chan-wook
2016
Deepwater Horizon
Louisiana · Gulf of Mexico — 2010s
Coastal Seadir. Peter Berg
1990
Dreams
Japan — 1800s · 1940s · Near Future · Timeless
Rural · Mountain · Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Akira Kurosawa
2017
Dunkirk
Dunkirk — 1940s
Coastal Seadir. Christopher Nolan
2014
Edge of Tomorrow
London · Paris — 2020s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Doug Liman
2015
Embrace of the Serpent
Colombia — 1900s · 1910s · 1940s
Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Ciro Guerra
1979
Escape from Alcatraz
San Francisco — 1960s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Don Siegel
2003
Finding Nemo
Sydney · Australia — 2000s
Coastal Seadir. Andrew Stanton
1997
Fireworks
1990s
Coastal Seadir. Takeshi Kitano
1982
Fitzcarraldo
Iquitos — 1900s
Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Werner Herzog
1970
Five Easy Pieces
Los Angeles · Washington (state) — 1970s
Rural · Island · Coastal Seadir. Bob Rafelson
2024
Flow
Timeless
Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Gints Zilbalodis
1994
Forrest Gump
Alabama · Vietnam · Washington, D.C. · New York City — 1950s · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s
Rural · Urban · Coastal Seadir. Robert Zemeckis
2008
Frozen River
New York State — 2000s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Courtney Hunt
1997
Gattaca
Near Future
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Andrew Niccol
1989
Glory
Boston · South Carolina — 1800s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Edward Zwick
2020
Greyhound
1940s
Coastal Seadir. Aaron Schneider
2022
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Italy — 1910s · 1930s · 1940s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Mark Gustafson
2001
In the Bedroom
Maine — 2000s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Todd Field
2016
In This Corner of the World
Hiroshima · Kure — 1930s · 1940s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Sunao Katabuchi
2002
Insomnia
Alaska — 2000s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Christopher Nolan
1975
Jaws
1970s
Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Steven Spielberg
1989
Kiki's Delivery Service
Timeless
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Hayao Miyazaki
2019
Klaus
Norway — 1800s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Sergio Pablos
1960
L'Avventura
Sicily — 1960s
Island · Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Michelangelo Antonioni
1960
La Dolce Vita
Rome — 1960s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Federico Fellini
1954
La Strada
Italy — 1950s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Federico Fellini
2014
Leviathan
Russia — 2010s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
2012
Life of Pi
Pondicherry · Montreal — 1970s
Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Ang Lee
2002
Lilo & Stitch
Hawaii — 2000s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Dean DeBlois
1983
Local Hero
Scotland · Houston — 1980s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Bill Forsyth
1990
Lord of the Flies
Pacific Ocean — 1990s
Island · Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Harry Hook
2016
Manchester by the Sea
Boston — 2010s
Coastal Sea · Suburbandir. Kenneth Lonergan
2003
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Galápagos Islands — 1800s
Coastal Seadir. Peter Weir
2016
Maudie
Nova Scotia — 1930s · 1940s · 1950s · 1960s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Aisling Walsh
1994
Muriel's Wedding
Sydney — 1990s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. P.J. Hogan
1954
On the Waterfront
New York City — 1950s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Elia Kazan
1966
Persona
1960s
Coastal Seadir. Ingmar Bergman
1991
Point Break
Los Angeles · Australia — 1990s
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Kathryn Bigelow
2023
Poor Things
London · Lisbon · Alexandria · Paris — 1800s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Yorgos Lanthimos
1992
Porco Rosso
Milan · Italy — 1920s · 1930s
Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Hayao Miyazaki
2019
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Brittany — 1700s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Céline Sciamma
1940
Rebecca
Monte Carlo · Cornwall — 1930s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Alfred Hitchcock
1954
Sansho the Bailiff
Japan — Medieval
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Kenji Mizoguchi
2016
Silence
Japan · Macau — Early Modern
Rural · Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Martin Scorsese
1959
Some Like It Hot
Chicago · Miami — 1920s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Billy Wilder
2013
Spring Breakers
Florida — 2010s
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Harmony Korine
1927
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1920s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. F. W. Murnau
2002
Sweet Home Alabama
Alabama · New York City — 2000s
Rural · Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Andy Tennant
2016
Swiss Army Man
2010s
Island · Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Daniel Kwan
2011
Take Shelter
Ohio — 2010s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Jeff Nichols
1959
The 400 Blows
Paris — 1950s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. François Truffaut
2000
The Beach
Thailand · Bangkok — 1990s
Island · Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Danny Boyle
2011
The Descendants
Hawaii — 2010s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Alexander Payne
2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
France
Coastal Seadir. Julian Schnabel
1993
The Firm
Memphis · Cayman Islands — 1990s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Sydney Pollack
1985
The Goonies
Astoria — 1980s
Coastal Sea · Underground · Suburbandir. Richard Donner
1990
The Hunt for Red October
Atlantic Ocean · Washington, D.C. — 1980s
Coastal Seadir. John McTiernan
2012
The Impossible
Thailand — 2000s
Coastal Seadir. J. A. Bayona
1999
The Iron Giant
Maine — 1950s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Brad Bird
2019
The Lighthouse
New England — 1800s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Robert Eggers
1973
The Long Goodbye
Los Angeles · Mexico — 1970s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Robert Altman
1987
The Lost Boys
California — 1980s
Coastal Seadir. Joel Schumacher
2004
The Notebook
South Carolina — 1940s · 2000s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Nick Cassavetes
2007
The Orphanage
Spain — 2000s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. J. A. Bayona
2019
The Peanut Butter Falcon
2010s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Tyler Nilson
2000
The Perfect Storm
Gloucester — 1990s
Coastal Seadir. Wolfgang Petersen
1993
The Piano
New Zealand — 1800s
Coastal Sea · Wilderness · Ruraldir. Jane Campion
1994
The Postman
Italy — 1950s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Michael Radford
1991
The Prince of Tides
New York City · South Carolina — 1990s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Barbra Streisand
1987
The Princess Bride
Timeless · 1980s
Rural · Coastal Sea · Mountaindir. Rob Reiner
2009
The Road
Near Future
Wilderness · Rural · Coastal Seadir. John Hillcoat
2004
The Sea Inside
Spain — 1990s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Alejandro Amenábar
1999
The Talented Mr. Ripley
New York City · Italy — 1950s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Anthony Minghella
1998
The Thin Red Line
Guadalcanal — 1940s
Wilderness · Island · Coastal Seadir. Terrence Malick
2021
The Tomorrow War
Miami · Dominican Republic · Russia — 2020s · Near Future
Urban · Coastal Sea · Wildernessdir. Chris McKay
1998
The Truman Show
1990s
Island · Coastal Seadir. Peter Weir
1964
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Cherbourg — 1950s · 1960s
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Jacques Demy
1995
The Usual Suspects
Los Angeles · New York City — 1990s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Bryan Singer
2015
The Wave
Norway — 2010s
Mountain · Coastal Seadir. Roar Uthaug
2007
This Is England
England — 1980s
Suburban · Coastal Seadir. Shane Meadows
1994
Three Colors: Red
Geneva — 1990s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
1997
Titanic
Atlantic Ocean — 1910s · 1990s
Coastal Seadir. James Cameron
1953
Tokyo Story
Tokyo · Onomichi — 1950s
Urban · Coastal Seadir. Yasujirō Ozu
2022
Triangle of Sadness
2020s
Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Ruben Östlund
2004
Troy
Troy · Greece — Ancient
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Wolfgang Petersen
1953
Ugetsu
Japan — Medieval
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Kenji Mizoguchi
2019
Us
Santa Cruz — 1980s · 2010s
Coastal Sea · Suburban · Undergrounddir. Jordan Peele
1998
Waking Ned
Ireland — 1990s
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Kirk Jones
2003
Whale Rider
New Zealand — 2000s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Niki Caro
2001
Y Tu Mamá También
Mexico — 1990s
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Alfonso Cuarón

Frequently asked

How many movies are set at sea?

Kinora's catalogue lists 112 films set at sea, spanning 1927–2024.

What are some movies set at sea?

Films set at sea in our catalogue include About Elly (2009), About Time (2013), Aftersun (2022), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), and All Is Lost (2013).

What is the oldest movie set at sea?

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) is the earliest film set at sea in our catalogue; the most recent is Flow (2024).