Movies like Naku onna (1980)
The best movies like Naku onna (1980) are Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986), Afterlife of the Party (2021) and A Thousand Words (2012). If Naku onna hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSlumberland (2022)7.2/10 from 999 votes
- NewestThe People's Joker (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseLove & Peace (2015)Also in Japanese
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifting off into memories of his troubled childhood, Jo Jo revisits his youth, recalling his eventual rise to fame and the decadence that followed. As he considers his existence, he must decide if he wants to go on living or not.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterlife of the Party (2021)
A social butterfly who dies during her birthday week is given a second chance to right her wrongs on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Thousand Words (2012)
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove & Peace (2015)
A man, who once dreamed of becoming a punk rocker, is working as a low salaryman at a musical instrument parts company. He's secretly in love with his colleague. One day, he finds a little turtle on the rooftop, naming it Pikadon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaughty or Nice (2012)
Krissy Kringle receives a delivery intended for Santa Claus. A magical book that shows if a person has been naughty or nice. She uses the book's power to find out about those around her, which leads to some very unusual and unintended results. Krissy realizes that everyone has some good and some not so good in them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Winnipeg (2008)
The geographical dead center of North America and the beloved birthplace of Guy Maddin, Winnipeg, is the frosty and mysterious star of Maddin’s film. Fact, fantasy and memory are woven seamlessly together in this work, conjuring a city as delightful as it is fearsome.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe People's Joker (2024)
An aspiring clown grappling with her gender identity combats a fascistic caped crusader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2011)
Amber, a mean popular girl who gets electrocuted and dies, is not allowed to enter into heaven unless she helps the least popular girl in school become Prom Queen within a week, but things do not go as planned.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGlory to the Filmmaker! (2007)
Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020)
A rebellious teenage princess discovers she has superhuman abilities and joins a secret society of extraordinary second-born royals tasked with protecting the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Willoughbys (2020)
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House of Tomorrow (2019)
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSymbol (2009)
A Japanese man in polka-dot pajamas wakes up in a room with no doors. Meanwhile, a middle-aged Mexican wrestler prepares for his most challenging match ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSlumberland (2022)
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlmost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970)
Stud's world revolves entirely around sex, sex, and more sex — an interest he shares with his way-out friends and his girl Kitty, who likes her men mean and muscular!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPeople of Twilight (1984)
A woman runs a “mistress service” and interviews young women for “dates” with men. Various couples get together but someone is following and watching them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Twin Blades of the Ninja (2007)
For Yamame and Suzume, two beautiful young ninjas-in-training, the prospects of a long life are shortened dramatically when they choose the wrong Samurai to relieve of his wallet. Suddenly the buxom pair find themselves caught up in a deadly game with both the life of a princess and their own at stake! But despite the overwhelming odds that face them, Yamame and Suzu have at least one trick no one's expecting inside their ninja arsenal... and they're willing to bare ALL their weapons in order to survive!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Naked and Betrayed (2004)
Hard-partying friends Talisa, Cory and city council candidate Mike Finnegan (minus wife Stephanie) celebrate with Claire and Jason on the eve of their wedding. The genders separate for stag and spa parties and the friends swing, but a tragic death closes the stag party, and relationships are troubled while police investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Am Your God (1983)
A traveling middle-aged woman plans to stay overnight in Bosnian town. In her dreams, she gets sexually aroused by a thought of young receptionist, whose father doesn't let him to meet with the girl he loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Devil Angel (1995)
Chi Kit worked in a stock company. One day, the stock market crashed and Chi Kit ran into bankruptcy. He called his girlfriend Siu Suen and told her everything. Siu Suen loved Chi Kit so much that she took all her savings and ran away with him to Singapore to hide away from their debts. Unfortunately, Chi Kit met a wealthy woman with an interesting proposal, and it changed everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ballads (1993)
The story of a young man who tragically lost his lover in a horriffic motorcycle accident. Now working at a video store and selling uncensored gay hardcore pornography under the counter, he one day discovers the worlds most bizarre snuff video... which happens to "star" a man who looks exactly like his dead lover. Pushed over the edge by this event, the protagonist goes on a violent rampage, attempting to murder everybody involved in the video's creation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dangerous Affairs (1990)
The young scion of a rich lineage should get married and give an heir to the family. But no one wants to touch his girlfriend before marriage and instead consoled with the beautiful waitress. But things get complicated and suddenly strange deaths begin to hit the family members.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kelly's First Nudist Retreat (2003)
Kelly fantasizes about steamy sexual escapades, but can never find the courage to fulfill them. Finally, through a nudist retreat, Kelly realizes exactly what she needs to do to be cured.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Woman Who Wants to Be Raped ~ Requiem for Masochism ~ (1992)
Keiharu Suzuki’s body was set ablaze by a bondage rape soaked in blood! The woman who could never forget that pleasure eventually… An unexpected twist and a chilling conclusion. The entire piece is stained with twisted ecstasy…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Naku onna and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Naku onna?
The closest matches to Naku onna are Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986), Afterlife of the Party (2021) and A Thousand Words (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Naku onna?
Start with Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986), the closest match to Naku onna.
What is the highest-rated movie like Naku onna?
Slumberland (2022), rated 7.2/10 by 999 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Naku onna?
The People's Joker (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Naku onna?
Yes: Love & Peace (2015), Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007) and Symbol (2009).
How are movies similar to Naku onna chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Naku onna, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.