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

  2000s
  Coastal Seadir. Asghar Farhadi
• 2022

  Aftersun

  Turkey — 1990s
  Coastal Seadir. Charlotte Wells
• 1972

  Aguirre, the Wrath of God

  Peru — 1700s
  Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Werner Herzog
• 2023

  American Fiction

  Boston · Los Angeles — 2020s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Cord Jefferson
• 2018

  Annihilation

  Near Future
  Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Alex Garland
• 2016

  Aquarius

  Recife — 2010s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
• 2007

  Atonement

  London — 1930s · 1940s
  Rural · Urban · Coastal Seadir. Joe Wright
• 2012

  Beasts of the Southern Wild

  Near Future
  Rural · Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Benh Zeitlin
• 2013

  Before Midnight

  Greece — 2010s
  Coastal Seadir. Richard Linklater
• 1966

  Black Girl

  Dakar · French Riviera — 1960s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Ousmane Sembène
• 1981

  Body Heat

  1980s
  Coastal Sea · Suburbandir. Lawrence Kasdan
• 1996

  Breaking the Waves

  Scotland — 1970s
  Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Lars von Trier
• 2022

  Decision to Leave

  Busan — 2020s
  Urban · Coastal Sea · Mountaindir. Park Chan-wook
• 2017

  Dunkirk

  Dunkirk — 1940s
  Coastal Seadir. Christopher Nolan
• 2015

  Embrace of the Serpent

  1900s · 1910s · 1940s
  Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Ciro Guerra
• 1982

  Fitzcarraldo

  Iquitos — 1900s
  Wilderness · Coastal Seadir. Werner Herzog
• 1970

  Five Easy Pieces

  Los Angeles · Washington (state) — 1970s
  Rural · Island · Coastal Seadir. Bob Rafelson
• 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
• 2020

  Greyhound

  1940s
  Coastal Seadir. Aaron Schneider
• 2001

  In the Bedroom

  Maine — 2000s
  Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Todd Field
• 2002

  Insomnia

  Alaska — 2000s
  Rural · Coastal Seadir. Christopher Nolan
• 1975

  Jaws

  1970s
  Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Steven Spielberg
• 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
• 2012

  Life of Pi

  1970s
  Coastal Sea · Islanddir. Ang Lee
• 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
• 1954

  On the Waterfront

  New York City — 1950s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Elia Kazan
• 1966

  Persona

  1960s
  Coastal Seadir. Ingmar Bergman
• 2023

  Poor Things

  London · Lisbon · Alexandria · Paris — 1800s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Yorgos Lanthimos
• 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
• 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
• 2011

  Take Shelter

  2010s
  Rural · Coastal Seadir. Jeff Nichols
• 1959

  The 400 Blows

  Paris — 1950s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. François Truffaut
• 1993

  The Firm

  Memphis · Cayman Islands — 1990s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Sydney Pollack
• 2019

  The Lighthouse

  1800s
  Island · Coastal Seadir. Robert Eggers
• 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
• 2009

  The Road

  Near Future
  Wilderness · Rural · Coastal Seadir. John Hillcoat
• 1999

  The Talented Mr. Ripley

  New York City · Italy — 1950s
  Urban · Coastal Seadir. Anthony Minghella
• 1998

  The Thin Red Line

  1940s
  Wilderness · Island · Coastal Seadir. Terrence Malick
• 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
• 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
• 1953

  Ugetsu

  Japan — Medieval
  Rural · Coastal Seadir. Kenji Mizoguchi
• 2001

  Y Tu Mamá También

  Mexico — 1990s
  Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Alfonso Cuarón