Film

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

A tender, visually lush coming-of-age story about two Mexican-American teens in 1987 El Paso who meet at a swimming pool and develop an intimate friendship that forces them both toward self-understanding. It's patient, beautifully shot, and moves at the speed of genuine emotional discovery rather than plot mechanics. For anyone who's felt out of step with the world around them.

TMDb rating3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a quiet, observant coming-of-age story where two awkward boys circle each other's loneliness with more tenderness than plot, and a lot of heart in small moments.

Skip it if you need brisk momentum or a clear plot engine, since it often lingers in long stretches of talk and wandering afternoons rather than building to set pieces.

What it asks of you: Expect an unhurried pace across about ninety-seven minutes, scenes that linger and sit in quiet melancholy, with plenty of room for awkward silences to do their work.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Call Me by Your Name2017

A similarly unhurried romance between two young men, set in a sun-drenched landscape that feels almost a character itself. Both films trust silence and glances to do the work that dialogue doesn't need to.

But The pacing will feel glacial if you want narrative propulsion, and the ending may leave you aching rather than satisfied.

Call Me by Your Name poster

The Farewell2019

Another film about cultural identity and family secrets, shot with the same warm intimacy. Lulu Wang captures what it means to exist between worlds, just from a different angle and with more dark humor woven through.

But It's quieter than you might expect from a film that deals with mortality, which some find frustrating rather than moving.

The Farewell poster

Moonlight2016

Three chapters across a young Black man's life, exploring identity and desire with the same poetic restraint. Both films understand that self-discovery isn't a single revelation—it's a gradual unfurling.

But The fragmented structure and refusal to explain itself demands active attention; passive watching won't work.

Moonlight poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Fits2016

Both films understand adolescent self-discovery as a physical, embodied experience, not just an intellectual one. Movement, silence, and presence matter more than explanation.

A mesmerizing, nearly dialogue-free film about a Black girl joining a competitive dance team in Cincinnati. Like Aristotle and Dante, it's about the body as a way of understanding yourself and connecting with others, but it trusts visual language almost entirely—it's hypnotic.

But The spare, experimental approach and lack of conventional plot will feel like too little story for viewers who need clear narrative scaffolding.

The Fits poster
More like this (8)

Heartstopper2022

A British series about two schoolboys discovering their feelings for each other. It has the same warmth and lack of manufactured conflict, treating teenage romance with genuine tenderness rather than melodrama.

But If you found the earnestness of young-love stories cloying, this will feel relentlessly wholesome.

Heartstopper poster

Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019

A film about connection between two women, set in the past, with painterly cinematography and a refusal to rush intimacy. The same attention to small gestures and the weight of unspoken feelings.

But It moves very deliberately, and the relationship doesn't follow conventional dramatic beats, which can feel plotless to some viewers.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire poster

Everything Sucks!2018

A single-season series about misfits in a 1999 high school, dealing with identity and belonging. It has genuine heart beneath its comedic surface and understands the specific loneliness of not quite fitting.

But It was cancelled after one season, so there's no resolution—some find that more frustrating than cathartic.

Everything Sucks! poster

Red, White & Royal Blue2023

Another recent LGBTQ+ romance that prioritizes emotional authenticity over spectacle. It shares Aristotle and Dante's belief that intimate conversations matter more than grand gestures.

But The political backdrop can feel tacked on, and the rom-com structure is more conventional than what Aristotle and Dante attempts.

Red, White & Royal Blue poster

Pose2018

Set in the 1980s-90s ballroom scene, it captures a specific cultural moment with precision and warmth. The ensemble cast finds both humor and heartbreak in belonging and chosen family.

But The soap-opera elements intensify as seasons progress; the subtlety of the early episodes gets overwhelmed by plot machinery.

Pose poster

Song Without a Name2020

A Peruvian film shot in black and white about a mother searching for her stolen newborn. It's a quiet, meditative film about loss and identity that shares Aristotle and Dante's refusal to sentimentalize pain.

But The deliberate pacing and bleak subject matter make it a heavy watch, and the narrative is intentionally ambiguous in ways that frustrate conventional story-seekers.

Song Without a Name poster

The Half of It2020

Both center Mexican and Asian-American teens in stories about love and identity, resisting the invisibility of these narratives in mainstream cinema. Both also use friendship as the true emotional center, not romance.

A Vietnamese-American teen writes love letters for a jock while navigating her own feelings for him. It's a fresh take on Cyrano de Bergerac that's funny, sweet, and genuinely about the confusion of being young and caught between worlds.

But The tone bounces between comedy and sincerity, which can feel uneven; some viewers find the shifts jarring rather than charming.

The Half of It poster

We Are Who We Are2020

Both use setting—El Paso and an Italian military base—as more than backdrop; place itself shapes identity and possibility. Both understand that coming-of-age happens at the pace of genuine psychological change, not plot momentum.

An Italian miniseries about two American military teens discovering themselves at a US base abroad. It's shot with painterly precision and moves with the same refusal to hurry; Luca Guadagnino's direction is hypnotic, and it captures the strange geography of adolescence.

But At nine hours, it requires patience; the narrative is deliberately dreamy and ambiguous, and some plot threads dissolve rather than resolve.

We Are Who We Are poster

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Heartbeats, The Universe