Movies like Shanghai Shimen Road (2010)
The best movies like Shanghai Shimen Road (2010) are Hounddog (2008), Buddha Mountain (2011) and Fast Girls (2012). If Shanghai Shimen Road hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYi Yi (2000)8.0/10 from 727 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseBuddha Mountain (2011)Also in Chinese
Hounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuddha Mountain (2011)
In Chengdu, China, a retired female opera singer named Master Chang takes in a trio of young tenants into her boarding home. The tenants include a rock singer and a college student who has run away from home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaught by the Tides (2024)
Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Dog (2024)
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOne Week Friends (2022)
A high school student suffers from a strange amnesia, causing her memories to only last a week. After she befriends a new student, his kindness and persistence make her gradually open up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Second (2020)
A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
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 thisDwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (2020)
In the Chinese town of Fuyang, four brothers go about their day-to-day lives, their destinies shaped by love and challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Time Is It There? (2001)
A street vendor with a grim home-life forges a connection with a young woman on her way to Paris.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Memory Book (2014)
Budding photographer Chloe (Ory) comes from a family of failed romances. At a local flea market, she stumbles upon an old photo album from the 1970s, chronicling the ideal romance of a happy couple (Hindle and Barbeau). Unable to find her own "true love," she sets out to find the couple in the album and prove that true love exists. Along the way, she meets Gabe Sinclair (Macfarlane), a mysterious, but charming bartender, who seizes the opportunity to join Chloe's mission and soon finds himself falling in love with her. With limited resources, the two go on an adventure, searching for clues that will lead them to the couple, and hopefully to true love. As the search continues, Chloe begins taking an interest in Gabe, but won't let these feelings distract her from her mission to find the couple. Will Chloe learn to give up her fear of falling in love and finally find true happiness?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOver-Exposed (1956)
This titillating bit of pulp sensationalism was the last in a string of "B" films that Cleo Moore starred in at Columbia. Moore plays Lila Crane, an ambitious clip-joint floozie turned photographer with flexible morals and a penchant for fast money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Photographer (1974)
A murder story with a comedic twist. A famous photographer uses his models for more than taking pictures. He needs them as victims to satisfy his blood-lust. Each murder becomes more bizarre than the next.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Roman Holiday (1953)
Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European princess Ann takes off for a night while in Rome. When a sedative she took from her doctor kicks in, however, she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley, who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSummer to Winter (2014)
Tam, an introvert, finds solace in his unlikely friendship with the optimistic Kimhan by the sea, but as they grow close, their future together remains uncertain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Photographic Memory (2012)
A young man attempts to have a nice breakfast but his attention keeps being drawn to something on the wall in front of him. He decides to take action in order to remedy the situation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Suburban Fantasy (2022)
On the night before he is set to leave his Rhode Island home to study photography in New York City, Rocco must decide how much he's willing to give up to follow his dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Furrow of the Peach (1976)
A former priest has become bored to the point of impotence by the easy availability of beautiful women. He misses the shame of the priesthood which made sex more enjoyable, and this leads to his strange fascination with photographing asses. He gets involved with a sexy married woman, but he is more interested in her virginal maid.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Yi Yi (2000)
Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shanghai Shimen Road?
The closest matches to Shanghai Shimen Road are Hounddog (2008), Buddha Mountain (2011) and Fast Girls (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shanghai Shimen Road?
Start with Hounddog (2008), the closest match to Shanghai Shimen Road.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shanghai Shimen Road?
Yi Yi (2000), rated 8.0/10 by 727 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shanghai Shimen Road?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Shanghai Shimen Road?
Yes: Buddha Mountain (2011), Caught by the Tides (2024) and Black Dog (2024).
How are movies similar to Shanghai Shimen Road chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shanghai Shimen Road, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.