Movies like China Syndrome (2004)
The best movies like China Syndrome (2004) are Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998), Shame (2011) and Pimp (2018). If China Syndrome hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedShame (2011)6.9/10 from 3,570 votes
- NewestTriggers (2025)Released 2025
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShame (2011)
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.
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 thisHungry 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 thisThe Corruptor (1999)
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets things done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outrage (1964)
At a disused railway station, three men -- a con artist, a preacher, and a prospector -- discuss the recent trial and sentencing of the outlaw Juan Carrasco for the murder of a man and the rape of his wife. In their recounting, the three explore the conflicting testimonies of the parties involved in the crimes. Disconcerting new questions arise with each different version of the event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013)
A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGummo (1997)
Teenagers Solomon and Tummler kill time in Xenia, Ohio, a small town that has never recovered from the tornado that ravaged the community in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crew (2008)
Hoping to raise enough capital to finance a legitimate business and leave behind his life of crime, Liverpool underworld boss Ged Brennan sends his brother Ratter and a crew to pull a daring final heist. But when Ratter kills a drug kingpin during the job, Brennan must turn to rival crook Franner to avert an all-out gangland war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAddicted (2014)
A gallerist risks her family and flourishing career when she enters into an affair with a talented painter and slowly loses control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAuto Focus (2002)
A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter. This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarming (2018)
Based on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells the story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he becomes the feared leader of a white skinhead gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotti (1996)
John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOdd Birds (1987)
In 1965, an Asian-American girl wants to be an actress despite the odds. Her mother thinks it's just a silly dream. However, her quirky middle-aged high school teacher decides to help her try out for a Broadway musical.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Matrimony (2007)
A woman finds the key to a room in the attic that her husband forbids her from entering. When she opens the door, she is confronted with the haunting existence of the woman her husband refuses to forget.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The White Masai (2005)
A girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to adapt to the Masai's way of life and get used to their food which includes milk mixed with blood. She also has to face her husband's attitude towards women and what he expects from a wife. Nonetheless, Carola is welcomed warmly into the tribe she has chosen to join.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPiccadilly (1929)
A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Art of Love (2021)
A mysterious, erotic and haunting love story between a writer/professor at Puerto Rico's leading University and an aspiring artist from the immigrant Chinese community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Triggers (2025)
A miserable office worker receives a mysterious package in the mail, and the consequences are more than what most had bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Love and Bruises (2011)
Hua, a woman in her late twenties, goes against her family to become a teacher in Paris. She falls in love with men who physically abuse her. Will she ever find her true love?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
For Your Convenience (2021)
A short film following a day in the life of an Asian American woman as she attempts to get by during the height of the pandemic while beginning to encounter the growing hostility facing her community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cecilia (1983)
After repeatedly flaunting her peerless body to her servants, snobbish aristocrat Cecilia becomes the victim of rape. But the experience triggers a carnal awakening, full of socialite sex parties and woodland orgies. And before long, Cecilia finds her amorous adventures spinning out of control, particularly when her husband decides to join in on the free-love lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stay the Night (2022)
A failed work opportunity prompts chronically single Grace to pursue a one night stand with a stranger. Turns out he's an on-the-outs professional athlete in town with a problem of his own. Maybe they can help each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like China Syndrome?
The closest matches to China Syndrome are Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998), Shame (2011) and Pimp (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after China Syndrome?
Start with Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998), the closest match to China Syndrome.
What is the highest-rated movie like China Syndrome?
Shame (2011), rated 6.9/10 by 3,570 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like China Syndrome?
Triggers (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like China Syndrome?
Yes: Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998), Shame (2011) and Pimp (2018).
How are movies similar to China Syndrome chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside China Syndrome, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.