Movies like Ilo Ilo (2013)
The best movies like Ilo Ilo (2013) are Little Man Tate (1991), Goal! (2005) and What Maisie Knew (2013). If Ilo Ilo hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRaise the Red Lantern (1991)8.0/10 from 884 votes
- NewestPetrichor (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseUpstream (2024)Also in Chinese
Little Man Tate (1991)
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoal! (2005)
Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer... However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that—a dream. Until one day an extraordinary turn of events has him trying out for Premiership club Newcastle United.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath of a Salesman (1985)
Willy Loman, an aging, failing salesman, struggles to accept reality and his failure to achieve the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStillwater (2021)
Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUpstream (2024)
A moment of impulsiveness turns Gao Zhilei into a "stay-at-home" individual, but he never expected his life to take a turn in the opposite direction. A series of changes compel him to take on his responsibilities as the head of the family. When life's burdens hit hard, he must confront himself and start anew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCassandra's Dream (2007)
The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Jasmine (2013)
After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod's Creatures (2022)
In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this99 Homes (2015)
After his family is evicted from their home, proud and desperate construction worker Dennis Nash tries to win his home back by striking a deal with the devil and working for Rick Carver, the corrupt real estate broker who evicted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoman of Straw (1964)
Anthony Richmond schemes to get the fortune of his tyrannical, wheelchair-using tycoon uncle Charles Richmond by persuading Maria, a nurse he employs, to marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreathe In (2013)
When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLosing Isaiah (1995)
Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Taste of Honey (1961)
While out to avoid spending time with her narcissistic and promiscuous mother, sixteen-year-old Jo has a brief affair that leaves her pregnant and abandoned. When her mother remarries, Jo's only support becomes her friend Geoffrey, a homosexual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaipei Story (1985)
A young woman urgently seeks to navigate the maze of contemporary Taipei and find a future. She hopes that her boyfriend Lung is the key to the future, but Lung is stuck in a past that combines baseball and traditional loyalty that leads him to squander his nest egg bailing her father out of financial trouble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Book of Henry (2017)
Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King's Avatar: For the Glory (2019)
In this prequel to the animated series The King's Avatar, Ye Xiu enters into the pro gaming world of Glory, and competes in the first Pro League series tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaise the Red Lantern (1991)
In 1920s China, 19-year-old Songlian becomes a concubine of a powerful lord and is forced to compete with his three wives for the privileges gained.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTerrorizers (1986)
An uncompromising look into urban life from the eyes of a voyeuristic photographer, a rebellious teenager, and a married couple teetering on the edge of adultery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sleepover (2020)
Two siblings who discover their seemingly normal mom is a former thief in witness protection. Mom is forced to pull one last job, and the kids team up to rescue her over the course of an action-packed night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThose Left Behind (2017)
A family finally comes to terms with the grief over their son's suicide 25 years earlier.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lucid Love (2024)
Juno, an ordinary man, always feels insecure because he has a beautiful girlfriend, while Trish, a beautiful woman, is always played by men. They never expected to meet in a place full of wonders, a place that would determine their love lives, in a lucid dream.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tere Bin : Brain Overpowering Heart (TBA)
In a near-future world where emotions can be scientifically altered, a young man is confronted with a revolutionary neural technology designed to suppress emotional pain. As love, memory, and logic collide, he must decide whether a life free from heartbreak is worth the cost of losing genuine human emotion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Les Misérables (1978)
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBungalow (2023)
A young couple’s attempt to transform a dilapidated house into their dream home spirals into a nightmare, exposing the financial, social and sexual anxieties of millennials living in a society obsessed with performance and success.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Petrichor (2026)
Introverted Noah reluctantly spends his summer vacation with his family in the French countryside. One day, he meets siblings Julie and Léo at the lake. Despite the language barrier, a relationship develops between him and Julie that oscillates between attraction and repulsion, causing Noah to grapple with his sexual orientation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Hologram for the King (2016)
Alan Clay, a struggling American businessman, travels to Saudi Arabia to sell a new technology to the King, only to be challenged by endless Middle Eastern bureaucracy, a perpetually absent monarch, and a suspicious growth on his back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Quiet Man (1952)
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBroken Embraces (2009)
Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNino Live (2017)
“Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies.”” – George Washington Spying has always claimed the highest position in the hierarchy of human behavior. And thus it forms the crux of the film ‘Nino Live’. Based in the modern age, the film shows how an entire life can go public in this era of wires and networks. The film revolves around the journey of a child from adolescence to early manhood, all caught on celluloid.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ilo Ilo?
The closest matches to Ilo Ilo are Little Man Tate (1991), Goal! (2005) and What Maisie Knew (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ilo Ilo?
Start with Little Man Tate (1991), the closest match to Ilo Ilo.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ilo Ilo?
Raise the Red Lantern (1991), rated 8.0/10 by 884 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ilo Ilo?
Petrichor (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Ilo Ilo?
Yes: Upstream (2024), Taipei Story (1985) and The King's Avatar: For the Glory (2019).
How are movies similar to Ilo Ilo chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ilo Ilo, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.