Movies like Yosōi no machi (1979)
The best movies like Yosōi no machi (1979) are I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017), Girl in the Box (2016) and Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022). If Yosōi no machi hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Yosōi no machi
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLa Dolce Vita (1960)8.0/10 from 2,103 votes
- NewestHarceleurs (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseIntentions of Murder (1964)Also in Japanese
I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFamily 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 thisIntentions of Murder (1964)
The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo the Ends of the Earth (2019)
A young Japanese woman named Yoko finds her cautious and insular nature tested when she travels to Uzbekistan to shoot the latest episode of her travel variety show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarmonium (2016)
Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Eel (1997)
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wings of the Kirin (2012)
A man's body is found under the statue of a winged kirin in the Nihombashi area of Tokyo. A suspect named Yashima has a car accident and falls unconscious while he is attempting to run away. Yashima's lover Kaori comes from Fukushima and tells detectives that he is absolutely not a criminal. Meanwhile, Detective Kyoichiro Kaga's (Hiroshi Abe) investigates and uncovers a point of contact between the dead body and Yashima. A hidden fact of the victim is revealed which even his children did not know about...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Family (2013)
An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their grown children, only to find them preoccupied and self-involved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJimmy P. (2013)
At the end of WWII, Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot who fought in France, suffers from unexplainable symptoms and is admitted to a military hospital. When doctors suspect schizophrenia, an eccentric psychoanalyst takes up the case and starts a conversation with the veteran.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bet (1968)
In this 16 mm feature film, the journalist Miguel Salguero portrays the adventures of a group of people who make a bet and undertake a risky trip by land to Puerto Limón, crossing mighty rivers and wild nature, at a time when there was no road to the Caribbean port.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
When Silence Barks (2026)
At 17, Jérémy dreams of becoming a filmmaker and shares an incredibly close bond with his older brother Théo, a rising rap artist. But the onset of psychotic symptoms throws the family’s fragile balance into turmoil. Amid denial, crises and attempts to create together, the two brothers fight to preserve their bond. Jérémy must learn to accept his illness, live with it, and ultimately let go of the life he had imagined for himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special 2008 (2008)
As Nessa and the Wests head to Essex to spend Christmas with the Shipmans, Gavin and Stacey have a startling announcement to make.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Classmate is a Widow (2023)
I'm sorry, darling... Misato, at the young age of 33, becomes a widow after her husband dies of illness. Ten months after the funeral, she receives a call from a man named Sato, her husband's former subordinate, who wants to pay his respects and comes to her house. Coincidentally, he is Misato's classmate and first love. Reunited with Sato, Misato finds herself alone with him on the living room sofa, and as she looks at her husband's portrait, she feels a small flame ignited within her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Blood of Exile (1971)
Two high-school students, one French and one Algerian, have grown up together. Their friendship initially crosses the national and political division between their communities. As the independence struggle intensifies, however, their lives begin to diverge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ricky (1996)
After his mother's death, young Ricky has only one obsession: kill his dad, who'll be released from jail the following week. On his way to the prison, Ricky meets Pillier, a down on his luck salesman...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa Dolce Vita (1960)
Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Yosōi no machi?
The closest matches to Yosōi no machi are I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017), Girl in the Box (2016) and Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Yosōi no machi?
Start with I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017), the closest match to Yosōi no machi.
What is the highest-rated movie like Yosōi no machi?
La Dolce Vita (1960), rated 8.0/10 by 2,103 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Yosōi no machi?
Harceleurs (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Yosōi no machi?
Yes: Intentions of Murder (1964), To the Ends of the Earth (2019) and Harmonium (2016).
How are movies similar to Yosōi no machi chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Yosōi no machi, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.