Movies like Kashinju (1987)
The best movies like Kashinju (1987) are Hungry Hearts (2015), Pimp (2018) and My Brother the Devil (2012). If Kashinju hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHungry Hearts (2015)6.5/10 from 228 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In JapanesePassion (2008)Also in Japanese
Hungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Lords of Discipline (1983)
Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaked as We Came (2013)
After an unexpected phone call, Laura and her brother Elliot rush to their family’s country estate to find their mother, Lilly, gravely ill and living with a handsome young stranger named Ted. Estranged for some time, their mother’s condition sets Laura and Elliot on a path to realizing where their own lives have gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPassion (2008)
A young couple's announcement of their engagement to their friends is followed by a series of interactions and conflicts that forces everyone to reflect on their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParked (2010)
Fred Daly returns to Ireland with nowhere to live but his car. Then dope-smoking 21-year-old Cathal parks beside him, and brightens up his lonely world. Encouraged by Cathal, Fred meets attractive music teacher Jules. Growing closer, these three outsiders are set on a course that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
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 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 thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
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 thisJungleland (2020)
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPainful Bliss: Final Twist (1977)
A young executive has a really bad night after an encounter with a crazed bisexual wannabe yakuza and his horny girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Favorite Wife is Addicted to Sex (1997)
Hinako, a married woman, feels unsatisfied with her married life with her husband, Takashi, so she suddenly declares a domestic separation and indulges in an affair with Shima, her senior from high school. Meanwhile, Hinako was confused when Yuri, whom she met at her favorite snack bar, asked her out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Married Woman Boutique: Women Indulging in Scandalous Love Affair (2002)
Kimie steps into a boutique each day to support her household in place of her husband, who is unable to work due to heart disease—while her own spirit aches with longing. She surrenders willingly to the irresistible pull of Tsukuda, the dashing apparel‐maker’s salesman whose whispered promises slip between her legs like silk. Kenji, burning to reclaim his former glory, watches his world unravel when he discovers the affair that simmered beneath Kimie’s restraint. And as the truth of Kimie’s glowing secret—her pregnancy—dawns on him, his reproaches choke in his throat, meeting instead a startling, fervent embrace from the woman he thought he knew…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Demeking (1998)
When he is hit by a car on the street, the young man Daikoku foresees the monster Demking appearing at the end of the century. In preparation for the coming confrontation with the Demeking, he organizes a modern-day Seven Lucky Gods composed entirely of antisocial people. This is a utopian epic that, despite the ridiculousness of the story, is the most powerful depiction of the motifs seen in the first two films, which attempt to play on the sense of apocalypse through unrealistic imagination, while staying within a tenuous sense of reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gigolo: A Docu-Drama (1982)
Kabukicho, Shinjuku, the number one entertainment district in Japan. There are professional gigolos who make this sleepless city their base and get what they want, from money and women to desire. They are the "gigolo" gang led by the charismatic Naoki Fushimi. Akira, Yuki, and Ryoma are aiming to become full-fledged gigolos. Akira has a girlfriend named Mariko who is a model for vinyl magazines. But that's not enough for a gigolo. For a gigolo, having sex for free is meaningless. Yuki finds a soapland girl named Misa, and Ryoma finds a woman named Yoko, and they spend a sensual night together. Meanwhile, Akira is taken by Mariko to help with a vinyl magazine shoot. Akira is getting increasingly impatient with his life, which can hardly be called gigolo...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tutor Touching (2018)
Seiji (Yasuyuki Sakurai), who dropped out of high school, was aiming for high school graduation and university entrance exams, thanks in part to his private tutor Chieko (Sumire Nagai). Chieko is an active female college student, and Seiji's age and home environment are close, so her mother, Fumie (Handa Sasa), pours her excessive interference into her son. It made me hate. One day, Fumie discovers that her classmate Midori (Miu Kiritani), who likes Seiji, is about to have her first experience with Seiji, and she is furious. She even ripped the two apart with her insane protests to Midori's parents. A few days later, Seiji, who has cut off his relationship, promises to meet Midori in the park at night, but Fumie quietly follows Seiji, who has left home...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming Out, Our Declaration as a Couple (1993)
A suspicious man named Yoshioka, who claims to be a friend of Takashi's late father, offers a car as payment for two university students acting in a private adult video. The two friends Takashi and Shogo desperately want a car to make their campus life more meaningful, so they reluctantly agree to appear in a gay adult video together. They somehow manage to get through the humiliating filming and get the promised car. Takashi thinks he'll never do it again, but at that moment something he doesn't realize is beginning to sprout inside him. The next day, Takashi is called by Yoshioka to visit his office. Yoshioka's sponsor, a man who calls himself Hayami, appears before Takashi. Hayami asks Takashi to appear in another gay adult video, and if he refuses, he will copy Yoshioka's tape and distribute it everywhere. Takashi succumbs to the blackmail threats, but during the filming of the video, Shogo looks for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rose Youth (1992)
Takeo is a university student struggling to pay off his loans and lives a tight life while working part-time as a male escort. For him, sex is just about money or pleasure. After picking up a female university student, Takeo catches a sexually transmitted disease and his debts and medical expenses pile up, putting him in a desperate situation. Then another man called Shinji comes up with a brilliant idea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Crazy as Hell (1992)
Takeshi, an up-and-coming fashion designer, is being courted by his manager Ichiro, but somehow manages to escape. He didn't hate Ichiro, but there was something about him that made him want to avoid him..
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Two People Like This (1998)
Junnosuke and Kazuhiko are a couple who live with each other. However, one day Kazuhiko gets drunk and sleeps with a female employee of the company and she gets pregnant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Kashinju and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kashinju?
The closest matches to Kashinju are Hungry Hearts (2015), Pimp (2018) and My Brother the Devil (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kashinju?
Start with Hungry Hearts (2015), the closest match to Kashinju.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kashinju?
Hungry Hearts (2015), rated 6.5/10 by 228 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kashinju?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Kashinju?
Yes: Passion (2008), Painful Bliss: Final Twist (1977) and My Favorite Wife is Addicted to Sex (1997).
How are movies similar to Kashinju chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kashinju, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.