Movies like Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories (2025)
The best movies like Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories (2025) are Earthquake Bird (2019), The Caveman's Valentine (2001) and The Locksmith (2023). If Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories hooked you with its drama and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPast Lives (2023)7.7/10 from 2,551 votes
- NewestVeronica's Secret (2026)Released 2026
Earthquake Bird (2019)
Tokyo, Japan, 1989. Lucy Fly, a foreigner who works as a translator, begins a passionate relationship with Teiji, a mysterious man obsessed with photography.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Locksmith (2023)
A thief fresh out of prison, tries to work his way back into the life of his daughter and ex-fiancé. Determined, he is forced to use the skills he has as a gifted locksmith. Things take a tumultuous turn after an unexpected disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlack Butterfly (2017)
Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNocebo (2022)
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Secret (2014)
In 1860s Paris, a young woman, Therese, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the sickly Camille by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. She spends her days behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominos with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband’s alluring friend, Laurent, she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences. Based on Emile Zola’s novel, Thérèse Raquin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCaged (2021)
An African American male is imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement after being found guilty of murdering his wife, as he's haunted by internal demons and his dead wife, and pushed to the breaking point by an abusive female guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisKidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
The true story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, the grandson of the founder of the Heineken brewery, and his driver. They were released after a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders was paid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSleep, My Love (1948)
A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got there. Danger and suspense ensue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Heat (2024)
An expat PI is hired to investigate a suspicious death in Crete, Greece, where jealousies run deep amongst the victim's powerful family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisAshes in the Snow (2018)
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll the Devils Are Here (2025)
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bone to Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
A librarian with a sharp mind for murder, Aurora Teagarden is known around her small town as a master sleuth. When her friend Jane unexpectedly dies and leaves Aurora everything in her will, she also leaves a troubling murder mystery haunting her neighborhood. It is up to Aurora to piece together the clues—including a skull, its missing skeleton and a suspicious group of neighbors—and solve the murder before she becomes the unlikely killer’s next victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Circus (2005)
The erotic novelist Taeko is writing a morbid story of a family destroyed by incest, murder and abuse. Her assistant, Yuji, sets on a mission to uncover the reality of this story, but the reality might be too much to bear.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVeronica's Secret (2026)
A girl's disappearance spirals into unraveling a dark past and its secrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Epitaph (TBA)
An ex-Army marksman's plan to avenge the murder of his parents brings him into business with a murder-for-hire organization and the C.I.A.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & romance
Not in Textbooks 5 (2019)
A school romantic comedy about the cohabitation life of a popular high school girl in a class and a Japanese language teacher who is swayed by her in the fifth in the series "Not in Textbooks!". Aya Shirakaba, a high school girl who attends Otome High School, and homeroom teacher Arihiko Tairaku lived together at the command of the leader of Yakuza, the father of Aya. One weekend, Tairaku invites a longing colleague, Yayoi Satsuki, to date, which was also Aya's birthday. Aya learns that Tairaku is going to date May. Ayaka Morikawa, who plays Aya Shirakaba, and Ryouma Baba, who plays Arihiko Tairaku, continue to star in the series, while Moemi Katayama and Anna Hongo have played the role of May, who is now gravure idol Natsuki Sena.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
I Am a Hero (2016)
A man witnesses a fatal traffic accident on his way home from work, and the victim is clearly killed on impact. A moment later, when the corpse stands up and walks away, it could be a hallucination or something far more extraordinary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPast Lives (2023)
After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Scarred Life 2: Blood Will Tell (1972)
President of the territorial yakuza organization is being manipulated by a crooked leader in the military and some capitalists Ishikiri. The plan is to get multiple family of the organized crime groups based in Osaka to war it out and order the Shima to the Onishi group of the branch to expand the territory. Now members of the same yakuza gang are forced to fight each other over territory and honor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories?
The closest matches to Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories are Earthquake Bird (2019), The Caveman's Valentine (2001) and The Locksmith (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories?
Start with Earthquake Bird (2019), the closest match to Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories?
Past Lives (2023), rated 7.7/10 by 2,551 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories?
Veronica's Secret (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories?
Yes: Earthquake Bird (2019), The Caveman's Valentine (2001) and The Locksmith (2023).
How are movies similar to Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chronicles of Sonatine or: Shadows of the Broken Memories, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.