Movies like Early Spring (1956)
The best movies like Early Spring (1956) are Romance Doll (2020), Chikamatsu Monogatari (1954) and Not Easily Broken (2009). If Early Spring hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLate Spring (1949)8.0/10 from 506 votes
- NewestMy Happy Marriage (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseRomance Doll (2020)Also in Japanese
Romance Doll (2020)
It was a pre-destined love and marriage for Sonoko and Tetsuo. They tied the knot and became husband and wife no questions asked. All is well then. Well, perhaps not. Each holds a secret that even the binds of matrimony cannot untie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChikamatsu Monogatari (1954)
When the wife of a 17th-century Kyoto scrollmaker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves truly falling for one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Happy Marriage (2023)
An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDolls (2002)
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Sky (1994)
Hank Marshall is a tough, square-jawed, straitlaced Army engineer and nuclear science expert, assigned to help conduct weapons testing in 1950s America. Hank has become a thorn in the side of the Army, though, for a couple of very different reasons. He is an outspoken opponent of atmospheric testing, though his superiors hold contrary views and want to squelch his concerns...and his reports. The other problem is his wife, Carly. She is voluptuous and volatile, wreaking havoc in his personal life and stirring up intrigue at each new Army base.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Made a Beautiful Bouquet (2021)
Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoodbye Again (1961)
Middle-aged businesswoman Paula Tessier rejects the advances of her client's amusing 25-year-old son, Philip Van der Besh, but reconsiders when her longtime philandering partner begins yet another casual affair with a younger woman. She soon learns that May-December romances with older women are frowned upon in society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn from the Side (2022)
Mark, a new and inexperienced rugby club member, finds himself drawn to Warren, a seasoned first team player. When a series of happenstances at an away fixture lead to a drunken encounter, Mark and Warren unwittingly embark on a romantic affair they struggle to hide from their partners and teammates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPersuasion (1995)
In early 19th-century England, dire financial straits reacquaint the aristocratic Anne Elliot with her wealthy ex-fiance Frederick Wentworth. The two must choose between either putting the past behind them or listening to their hearts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)
The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLate Spring (1949)
Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAn Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHappy Hour (2015)
Four women in their thirties reevaluate their relationships, both shared and private, after a startling revelation concerning one's marriage forces each of them to ask one of life's biggest questions: "Am I who I want to be?"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInitiation Love (2015)
Set in Shizuoka and Tokyo, Japan in the late 1980's. Takkun is a university student in Shizuoka attempting to find a job. Mayu is a dental hygienist. They meet through a blind date and begin to date, but Takkun finds a job in Tokyo and goes there. They begin a long distance relationship, but their relationship breaks down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarly Summer (1951)
In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFahrenheit 451 (1966)
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCloud 9 (2008)
A romantic drama about a woman who enters into an affair after 30 years of marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Alone (2004)
Maria is a student at the university of Essen, Germany, living and working in a gray, unpleasant, and anonymous environment. While she has little problem finding someone for a one night stand, she rebuffs her lovers in such a rude way that they actually don't know what's going on. But what seems to be a negative attitude at first glance is in fact much worse: Maria is suffering from borderline syndrome, a serious psychotic disease that makes her fail to develop a continuous, reliable personality, from her own perspective as well as from the perspective of those she meets. Then one day, she bumps into Jan, a student who falls in love with her without delay. He's awaiting a hard time when he has to learn how hard it is to stay loyal and faithful to a person who, in her own words, "has a different world inside of her head" and who feels that "there is something inside of me that eats me up."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Tokyo! (2008)
Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde, a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDamage (1992)
The life of a respected British politician at the height of his career crumbles when he becomes obsessed with his son's lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Here to Eternity (1953)
In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlice (1990)
Alice Tate, mother of two, with a marriage of 16 years, finds herself falling for a handsome sax player, Joe. Stricken with a backache, she consults herbalist Dr. Yang, who realizes that her problems are not related to her back, but in her mind and heart. Dr. Yang's magical herbs give Alice wondrous powers, taking her out of her well-established rut.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLabyrinth of Passion (1982)
An array of outrageous people, including a desperate nymphomaniac and a terrorist with an acute sense of smell, seek love and happiness in Madrid.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this99 Francs (2007)
Paris, France, 2001. Octave Parango, a young advertiser working at the Ross & Witchcraft advertising agency, lives a suicidal existence, ruled by cynicism, irresponsibility and debauchery. The obstacles he will encounter in developing a campaign for a new yogurt brand will force him to face the meaning of his work and the way he manages his relationship with those who orbit around his egotistic lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Sonata (2008)
The winds of change blow as a family grapples with unemployment, alienation, mistrust and a lack of communication. When a Japanese salaryman loses his job to outsourcing to China, it's simply the beginning of a series of shattering incidents, leading to the implosion of the family unit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDerailed (2005)
When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, they are forced to turn the tables on him to save their families.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Early Spring and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Early Spring?
The closest matches to Early Spring are Romance Doll (2020), Chikamatsu Monogatari (1954) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Early Spring?
Start with Romance Doll (2020), the closest match to Early Spring.
What is the highest-rated movie like Early Spring?
Late Spring (1949), rated 8.0/10 by 506 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Early Spring?
My Happy Marriage (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Early Spring?
Yes: Romance Doll (2020), Chikamatsu Monogatari (1954) and My Happy Marriage (2023).
How are movies similar to Early Spring chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Early Spring, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.