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Movies like And Life Goes On (2019)

The best movies like And Life Goes On (2019) are Millennium Actress (2002), Asako I & II (2018) and Ocean Waves (1993). If And Life Goes On hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Millennium Actress (2002)

    Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

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  2. Asako I & II (2018)

    Asako lives in Osaka. She falls in love with Baku, a free-spirit. One day, Baku suddenly disappears. Two years later, Asako now lives in Tokyo and meets Ryohei. He looks just like Baku, but has a completely different personality.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Ocean Waves (1993)

    At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Dolls (2002)

    Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

    Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. The Wind Rises (2013)

    A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Weathering with You (2019)

    The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if taking its cue from his life. After many days of solitude, he finally finds work as a freelance writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then, one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  8. Radiance (2017)

    The story follows the social intercourse between a cameraman, Masaya, with a visual impairment, and Misako who disconnects from the world.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016)

    Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  10. Fukushima 50 (2020)

    Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan risk their lives and stay at the nuclear power plant to prevent total destruction after the region is devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Suzume (2022)

    Suzume, 17, lost her mother as a little girl. On her way to school, she meets a mysterious young man. But her curiosity unleashes a calamity that endangers the entire population of Japan, and so Suzume embarks on a journey to set things right.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  12. Godzilla (2014)

    Ford Brody, a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe. Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating crisis when an ancient alpha predator arises from the sea to combat malevolent adversaries that threaten the survival of humanity. The creatures leave colossal destruction in their wake, as they make their way toward their final battleground: San Francisco.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. Family Romance, LLC (2019)

    Love is a business at Family Romance, a company that rents human stand-ins for any occasion. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps make his clients’ dreams come true. But when the mother of 12-year-old Mahiro hires Ishii to impersonate her missing father, the line between acting and reality threatens to blur.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. The Land of Hope (2012)

    An old couple, their only son, the son's wife, a young man and his lover live peacefully in a village. Then, a terrifying earthquake strikes that causes a nearby nuclear station to explode. The residents must evacuate, but the family lives on a farm, with only half of the area designated as an evacuation area.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Barefoot Gen 2 (1986)

    Three years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Hereafter (2010)

    Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Giovanni's Island (2014)

    In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)

    One year after the events of the anime, Rintarou begins to feel the repercussions of extensive time travel, and eventually completely fades from reality. Kurisu, being the only companion to remember him, now must find a way to bring him back.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. The Impossible (2012)

    In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper (2014)

    A rash of sniper attacks leaves the streets of Tokyo empty and the public terrified to go outside. It’s up to Conan and his friends to find the culprit, but the case goes deeper than it seems. Military cover-ups, conspiracies and murder abound in this fast-paced, thrilling mystery!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. STAR DRIVER: The Movie (2013)

    Star Driver takes place on the fictional Southern Cross Isle. One night, a boy named Takuto washes up on shore swimming from the mainland. He later enrolls in Southern Cross High School as a freshman and makes new friends.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama

  22. The Guardian (2006)

    A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's 'A' School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Service Oath (2026)

    A member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, Lieutenant Kasuga, was assigned to the earthquake-stricken area. Though he had lost his wife and young daughter in the tsunami, Kasuga concealed his own grief and devoted himself entirely to his mission. At an evacuation shelter, he encountered a boy named Kazuki Yoshimura, who had also lost his family and shut his heart. As Kazuki quietly observed the Self-Defense Forces at work, he eventually began to help people around him as well. Two people who met at the depths of despair decided to believe in hope and began to move forward. A story of “rebirth”, arising from loss.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  24. Bakuryū Sentai Abarenjā 20th: Yurusa Rezaru Abare (2023)

    20 years after their battle with the Evolians had ended, a new threat appears to threaten the long-lasting peace that the Abarangers have enjoyed. For the first time in a long while, they transform to fight but the public seems to think their actions are barbaric acts of destruction. In the Reiwa Era, is the justice they once fought for now considered an outdated style of heroism?

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  25. The 11th Hour (2007)

    A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  26. Ultraman Connection Presents: Tamashii Nations Special Streaming featuring Ultraman Trigger (2022)

    Ultraman Connection Presents: Tamashii Nations Special Streaming featuring Ultraman Trigger is a special filmed stage show based on various Ultraman characters and released on YouTube as a part of the eponymous stream.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

    When an oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, an aircraft crew are sent to shut the operation down and fly them out. On the flight out over the desert on the way to Beijing, Capt. Frank Towns and co-pilot A.J. are unable to keep their cargo plane, a C-119 Flying Boxcar, in the air when a violent sandstorm strikes. Crash-landing in a remote uncharted part of the desert, the two pilots and their passengers -- a crew of oil workers and a drifter -- must work together to survive by rebuilding the aircraft. Soon, low supplies and a band of merciless smugglers add even greater urgency to their task.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  28. Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room - Nankai Mission (2025)

    A massive volcanic eruption has occurred on a remote island in the southern seas, creating an unprecedented disaster. The Nankai MER members must go save everyone in the island.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  29. The Hurt Locker (2008)

    During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  30. The Land Before Time (1988)

    An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive and live in peace. Along the way he meets four other young dinosaurs, each one a different species, and they encounter several obstacles as they learn to work together in order to survive.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like And Life Goes On?

The closest matches to And Life Goes On are Millennium Actress (2002), Asako I & II (2018) and Ocean Waves (1993). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after And Life Goes On?

Start with Millennium Actress (2002), the closest match to And Life Goes On.

What is the highest-rated movie like And Life Goes On?

A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016), rated 8.4/10 by 4,773 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like And Life Goes On?

Service Oath (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Japanese movies like And Life Goes On?

Yes: Millennium Actress (2002), Asako I & II (2018) and Ocean Waves (1993).

How are movies similar to And Life Goes On chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside And Life Goes On, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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