Movies like A carp jumps in his mind (2005)
The best movies like A carp jumps in his mind (2005) are Empire of the Sun (1987), Emperor (2012) and Kensuke's Kingdom (2024). If A carp jumps in his mind hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedOctober Sky (1999)7.7/10 from 1,530 votes
- NewestUNABOMBER (2026)Released 2026
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmperor (2012)
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKensuke's Kingdom (2024)
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUNABOMBER (2026)
Follow Ted Kaczynski's transformation from Harvard prodigy into the infamous Unabomber. Subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray, Kaczynski's troubled past resurfaces decades later when his manhunt, led by FBI agent Joanne Miller, brings to light the chilling consequences of ambition and isolation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnthinkable (2010)
The government gets wind of a plot to destroy America involving a trio of nuclear weapons for which the whereabouts are unknown. It's up to a seasoned interrogator and an FBI agent to find out exactly where the nukes are.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen the Wind Blows (1986)
With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSayonara (1957)
Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver is reassigned to a Japanese air base and is confronted with US racial prejudice against the Japanese people. The issue is compounded because a number of the soldiers become romantically involved with Japanese women, in defiance of US military policy. Ordinarily, a by-the-book officer, Gruver must take a position when a buddy of his, an enlisted man, Joe Kelly, falls in love with a Japanese woman, Katsumi, and marries her. Gruver risks his position by serving as best man at the wedding ceremony.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTed K (2021)
An exploration of Ted Kaczynski's life in Lincoln, Montana in the years leading up to his arrest as The Unabomber.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMine (2016)
After a failed assassination attempt, a soldier finds himself stranded in the desert. Exposed to the elements, he must survive the dangers of the desert and battle the psychological and physical toll of the treacherous conditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOctober Sky (1999)
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaredevil vs. Spider-Man (2003)
Spider-Man is transported to an alien world by the Beyonder. He must lead a force of Earth's greatest heroes against their greatest foes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMad God (2021)
A silent figure known as The Assassin travels through a nightmare underworld of tortured souls, ruined cities and wretched monstrosities forged from the primordial horrors of the unconscious mind of Phil Tippett, the world's preeminent stop-motion animator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic in Year Zero! (1962)
While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he sets about the business of surviving in a world where, he knows, the old ideals of humanity will be the first casualties.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGray Matter (2023)
All her life, Aurora has been taught by her mother that the superhuman abilities they possess, the abilities that make them unique, also make them dangerous. Now, on one fateful and deadly night, Aurora will find out if her mother was telling the truth and just what consequences the use of her powers might have.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHideaways (2011)
The elder one of each generation in the Furlong family is equipped with an extraordinary capacity. James discovers the nature of his at the time of an accident which causes the death of his father and his grandmother. Haunted by this mysterious evil he hides in a forest not to harm anybody. A few years later, Mae also takes refuge it in the forest and meets James.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHiroshima (2005)
The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects feature what occurred aboard the Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the bomb) and inside the exploding bomb.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove and Monsters (2020)
Seven years since the Monsterpocalypse began, Joel Dawson has been living underground in order to survive. But after reconnecting over radio with his high school girlfriend Aimee, Joel decides to venture out to reunite with her, despite all the dangerous monsters that stand in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A carp jumps in his mind?
The closest matches to A carp jumps in his mind are Empire of the Sun (1987), Emperor (2012) and Kensuke's Kingdom (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A carp jumps in his mind?
Start with Empire of the Sun (1987), the closest match to A carp jumps in his mind.
What is the highest-rated movie like A carp jumps in his mind?
October Sky (1999), rated 7.7/10 by 1,530 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A carp jumps in his mind?
UNABOMBER (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A carp jumps in his mind?
Yes: Empire of the Sun (1987), Emperor (2012) and Kensuke's Kingdom (2024).
How are movies similar to A carp jumps in his mind chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A carp jumps in his mind, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















