Movies like Behind The Shadows (2023)
The best movies like Behind The Shadows (2023) are Borrowed Hearts (1997), Karen Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle (2017) and Disappearing Acts (2000). If Behind The Shadows hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest rated20th Century Girl (2022)8.2/10 from 872 votes
- NewestIf You had Stayed (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanVirgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000)Also in Korean
Borrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaren Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle (2017)
Maggie, a single mom has to balance between her career and her son, Jordan. Jordan finds a tutor named Casey to help him at school, and Casey becomes like a father figure. Will the three of them find happiness and love once again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisappearing Acts (2000)
A struggling construction worker and an aspiring musician find themselves falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Around the Corner (2018)
Claire (Alexandra Breckenridge), a savvy venture capitalist from New York City, escapes to a quaint town in Vermont for the holidays and becomes a guest of the Fortenbury Bookstore. Upon arrival, Claire finds Christmas celebrations have been canceled by the town after a flood and the bookstore is in a dire state of disrepair. She immediately takes on the challenge to revitalize the store, but clashes with the owner, Andrew (Jamie Spilchuk), who initially rejects all her proposed improvements. Eventually, sparks fly as the two begin a budding romance, and Claire’s infectious optimism inspires Andrew to join her in reviving the yuletide spirit. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Claire discovers that Andrew is planning to sell the bookstore in the New Year. Will the spirit of Christmas be enough to change Andrew’s mind and encourage him to follow his heart?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sleeping Dictionary (2003)
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition, Selima is assigned to sleep with Truscott and teach him the native language and customs. But when they fall in love, both colonists and natives object to their plans to marry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVirgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000)
When filmmaker Young-soo introduces writer Soo-jung to his friend Jae-hoon, he unintentionally creates a love triangle. While Jae-hoon pursues Soo-jung, Young-soo clashes with his crew. Yet, just as the story appears to end, it starts all over again, this time with plenty of variations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDitto (2022)
A college student in 1999 discovers a mysterious ham radio that connects him to a woman from 2022, sparking an impossible love story across time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRacing with the Moon (1984)
In a small coastal California town, Henry and Nicky are pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievous and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas in August (1998)
It's a sweltering summer, but Jung-won, a terminally ill, thirty-something photographer, is already in the winter of his life when he begins a tentative romance with a young traffic cop who doesn't know about his condition. Is their relationship doomed before it even begins?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like this20th Century Girl (2022)
In 1999, a teen girl keeps close tabs on a boy in school on behalf of her deeply smitten best friend – then she gets swept up in a love story of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPurple Hearts (2022)
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Best of Me (2014)
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMore Than Blue (2009)
A terminally ill man tries to find a suitable husband for the friend he has loved since childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Family (2011)
A young witch visits her cousin in a small town during a heated mayoral election race. Her kind-hearted cousin, the town’s beloved “good witch” and newlywed with two teenage step-kids, is running for office, but must keep her family from falling apart when their visitor uses her magic to put them—and the whole town—under her bitter spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChungking Express (1994)
Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLivin' with the Devil (2025)
After a recent breakup, a couple finds themselves financially trapped under the same roof, navigating the complexities of living together while separated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Method (2017)
A seasoned actor and a pop star are cast as leads in a gay romantic play. As the actor teaches the pop star method acting, the line between fiction and reality is blurred and they become drawn to each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIf You had Stayed (2026)
After a tragic choice leads him to the brink, a disillusioned artist named Michael awakens on a mysterious beach. a liminal space where lost souls come to confront their pasts. Guided by Bob, a charismatic yet enigmatic caretaker, Michael embarks on a surreal journey through the pivotal moments of his life: love, heartbreak, and devastating loss. As he confronts hidden truths and unspoken regrets, Michael is faced with one profound question: Was it worth it, and what would life be like if he had stayed?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Where Your Eyes Linger (2023)
Friendship evolves into something more between two high school students: a playful chaebol heir and the diligent bodyguard who's always by his side.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Mermaid's Jade (2019)
In a power-hungry Chang’an, a vengeful merman returns to the man who once owned him—this time with a blade, not love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Sold Out (2021)
A female talent scout takes a down-on-his-luck construction worker under her wing and helps him rise to his potential as a singer/songwriter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Futureless Things (2014)
The various faces of youth and people in an enclosed space of a convenience store for 12 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Love (1973)
Sixteen-year-old students of a grammar school are supposed to write essays on "Love". The class best student Andrea (Jaroslava Schallerová) writes about a patriotic love to a country as she has no experience with a partner love. She has been living alone with her divorced pretty mother Eva (Milena Dvorská), a dentist, for many years. Recently, however, Eva met her former school-days love at a graduates' party, nowadays a famous hockey goalkeeper Brukner (Frantisek Velecký). Also his marriage fell apart; he leaves the national team and decides to leave Prague for his home town and to share flat with Eva. He takes with him his son Petr (Oldrich Kaiser), in Andrea's age, who gets his last chance to finish a grammar school in the town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
Penniless man-about-town Michael Gore-Brown is delighted to hear he has been left a high-class Mayfair fashion salon. His intention is to sell it as quickly as possible, but on meeting Ellen, chief designer and manager, he quickly changes his mind and turns his attention to courting her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Behind The Shadows and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Behind The Shadows?
The closest matches to Behind The Shadows are Borrowed Hearts (1997), Karen Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle (2017) and Disappearing Acts (2000). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Behind The Shadows?
Start with Borrowed Hearts (1997), the closest match to Behind The Shadows.
What is the highest-rated movie like Behind The Shadows?
20th Century Girl (2022), rated 8.2/10 by 872 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Behind The Shadows?
If You had Stayed (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Behind The Shadows?
Yes: Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000), Ditto (2022) and Christmas in August (1998).
How are movies similar to Behind The Shadows chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Behind The Shadows, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.