Movies like The Waves (1952)
The best movies like The Waves (1952) are Sisters of the Gion (1936), Village of the Damned (1995) and Juno (2007). If The Waves hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Life of Oharu (1952)7.8/10 from 206 votes
- NewestWardriver (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseSisters of the Gion (1936)Also in Japanese
Sisters of the Gion (1936)
A geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto feels obliged to help her lover when he asks to stay with her after going bankrupt and leaving his wife. However, her younger sister opposes this, thinking that they should both find wealthy patrons to support them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVillage of the Damned (1995)
An American village is visited by some unknown life form which leaves the women of the village pregnant. Nine months later, the babies are born, and they all look normal, but it doesn't take the "parents" long to realize that the kids are not human or humane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJuno (2007)
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sixteen year old high-schooler, Juno MacGuff, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFools Rush In (1997)
After a one night stand with Alex, Isabel realizes that she is pregnant and they decide to get married. However, along with the marriage comes compromise of one's own cultural traditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assessment (2025)
In a climate change-ravaged world, a utopian society optimizes life, including parenthood assessments. A successful couple faces scrutiny by an evaluator over seven days to determine their fitness for childbearing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Back-Up Plan (2010)
When Zoe tires of looking for Mr. Right, she decides to have a baby on her own. But on the day she's artificially inseminated, she meets Stan, who seems to be just who she's been searching for all her life. Now, Zoe has to figure out how to make her two life's dreams fit with each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWarm Bodies (2013)
After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Life of Oharu (1952)
During the Edo Period, a noblewoman's banishment for her love affair with a lowly page signals the beginning of her inexorable fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRecently, My Sister Is Unusual (2014)
Mitsuki and Yuya become stepsister and stepbrother because of their parents' marriage. Mitsuki can't get along with her new family and Yuya doesn't know how to approach his new stepsister. One day, Mitsuki becomes possessed by the spirit of Hiyori. Hiyori likes Yuya and believes Yuya can help her get to heaven. Hiyori places a leather chastity belt upon on Mitsuki and a plan takes place to help send Hiyori to heaven.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRape Zombie: Lust of the Dead 4 (2014)
In a devastated, post-apocalyptic world, all men have turned into rape demons. The only hope for the future is to travel to the past and prevent the outbreak, the source of which still remains a mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSakuran (2006)
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ones Below (2016)
A young affluent couple expecting their first child hits it off with the new couple that moves in downstairs, until a dinner party between them ends in a shocking accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Barbarian and the Geisha (1958)
Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country. Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners, as well as the love of a young geisha.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Realm of the Senses (1976)
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter We Collided (2020)
Tessa finds herself struggling with her complicated relationship with Hardin; she faces a dilemma that could change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWardriver (2026)
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCafé Lumière (2004)
In a distinctly contemporary Tokyo that looks backwards to the city’s disappearing past, Yoko is a writer investigating the life of a modernist composer of the 1930s. She is pregnant by a man she does not want to marry and has found a kindred spirit in a used bookstore owner who aids her research.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Switch (2010)
Kassie is a smart, fun-loving single woman who, despite her neurotic best friend Wally’s objections, decides it’s time to have a baby – even if it means doing it herself… with a little help from a charming sperm donor. But, unbeknownst to her, Kassie’s plans go awry because of a last-minute switch that isn’t discovered until seven years later… when Wally gets acquainted with Kassie’s cute, though slightly neurotic, son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWords Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)
After meeting one day, a shy boy who expresses himself through haiku and a bubbly but self-conscious girl share a brief, magical summer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Waves and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Waves?
The closest matches to The Waves are Sisters of the Gion (1936), Village of the Damned (1995) and Juno (2007). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Waves?
Start with Sisters of the Gion (1936), the closest match to The Waves.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Waves?
The Life of Oharu (1952), rated 7.8/10 by 206 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Waves?
Wardriver (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Waves?
Yes: Sisters of the Gion (1936), The Life of Oharu (1952) and Recently, My Sister Is Unusual (2014).
How are movies similar to The Waves chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Waves, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.