Movies like Grain in Ear (2005)
The best movies like Grain in Ear (2005) are Buddha Mountain (2011), One Second (2020) and Caught by the Tides (2024). If Grain in Ear hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Sun (2019)7.7/10 from 275 votes
- NewestNowhere, Somewhere (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseBuddha Mountain (2011)Also in Chinese
Buddha Mountain (2011)
In Chengdu, China, a retired female opera singer named Master Chang takes in a trio of young tenants into her boarding home. The tenants include a rock singer and a college student who has run away from home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Second (2020)
A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaught by the Tides (2024)
Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLighting Up the Stars (2022)
Having been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Joy Luck Club (1993)
Through a series of flashbacks, four Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China explore their pasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOff the Map (2003)
An 11-year-old girl watches her father come down with a crippling depression. Over one summer, she learns answers to several mysteries and comes to terms with love and loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Sun (2019)
A family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (2020)
In the Chinese town of Fuyang, four brothers go about their day-to-day lives, their destinies shaped by love and challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Dog (2024)
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Yellow Sea (2010)
A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere, Somewhere (2026)
After her father's sudden death, Korean-Chinese Park Lim moves to Korea to be with her mother. She fights to prove herself and shed the 'irresponsible Joseonjok' label. But when a job offer comes from China, she hesitates due to her work schedule. Her mother objects-and the two clash over their views on prejudice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Threshold of Death (2019)
Dong-jin works at the immigration office, detecting illegal immigrants and entrants. He rarely meets his father, who has Alzheimer's disease, and it's awkward for him to meet his brother, Dong-seok, and his family. Nam-il, a colleague, uses his position to commit corruption and the youngest, Eun-seong, is too compassionate. One day, Dong-jin meets an ethnic Korean call girl named Yeon-hwa and starts to like her. She gets a call from a broker that he's withholding her niece, Soon-bok, who escaped from the North. Looking at Yeon-hwa and Soon-bok's sadness and innocent lives, Dong-jin's life begins to change. His father dies and Yeon-hwa kills herself. Dong-jin tries his best to save Soon-bok. He risks everything for her, but his efforts become worthless when Nam-il frames him for his irregularities and Eun-seong betrays him to protect their own family. Dong-jin loses everything and is left only with his search for Soon-bok.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pollock (2017)
The delivery person, Kim Su is learning Korean while working in Korea. One day, he happens to catch the criminal by motorcycle accident and get a bounty. As he gets money, he would like to treat his Korean teacher and classmates to meals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sea Fog (2014)
A fishing-boat crew takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeautiful Days (2018)
At the request of his dying father, Zhenchen, a Chinese student, goes to Seoul in search of his mother, whom he has not seen for fourteen years. He soon discovers that she is working as a hostess in a bar…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coin Locker Girl (2015)
Il-young tries to get away from her adoptive mother because she does not want to get involved in her mother's criminal activities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDooman River (2010)
Chang-ho, 12, becomes friends with a North-Korean immigrant about the same age who just crossed the Dooman river, border between North-Korea and China. His mute sister and his wise grandfather accompany him through a series of misfortunes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Little Television (2019)
A TV producer from a broadcasting station in Yanji, China visits so-called Chinatown of Seoul, Daerim-dong, to interview a Chinese Korea family. The producer spends a day with them while shooting their daily lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stateless Things (2012)
Stateless Things crosscuts between the lives of two young men, one an illegal immigrant from North Korea stuck in dead-end jobs, the other the kept boy of a married businessman stifling in a swanky apartment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Grain in Ear and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Grain in Ear?
The closest matches to Grain in Ear are Buddha Mountain (2011), One Second (2020) and Caught by the Tides (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Grain in Ear?
Start with Buddha Mountain (2011), the closest match to Grain in Ear.
What is the highest-rated movie like Grain in Ear?
A Sun (2019), rated 7.7/10 by 275 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Grain in Ear?
Nowhere, Somewhere (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Grain in Ear?
Yes: Buddha Mountain (2011), One Second (2020) and Caught by the Tides (2024).
How are movies similar to Grain in Ear chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Grain in Ear, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.