Movies like Tokyo Refugees (2014)
The best movies like Tokyo Refugees (2014) are Shoplifters (2018), We Are Little Zombies (2019) and Café Lumière (2004). If Tokyo Refugees hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTokyo Godfathers (2003)7.9/10 from 1,594 votes
- NewestStardom in Korakuen 2026 Feb. (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseShoplifters (2018)Also in Japanese
Shoplifters (2018)
In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Are Little Zombies (2019)
Their parents are dead. They should be sad, but they can't cry. So they form a kick-ass band. This is the story of four 13-year-olds in search of their emotions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwallowtail Butterfly (1996)
The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShelter (2014)
Hannah and Tahir fall in love while homeless on the streets of New York. Shelter explores how they got there, and as we learn about their pasts we realize they need each other to build a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Does Not Exist (2023)
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUrchin (2025)
Mike, a rough sleeper in London, is trapped in a cycle of self-destruction as he attempts to turn his life around. Along the way, he encounters unexpected chances for a fresh start.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoor Cow (1967)
Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure–if that.
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 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Always Comes (2025)
Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRepast (1951)
In post-WWII Osaka, a middle-aged woman is forced to examine her dreary life and marriage when her husband's young and flirtatious cousin arrives for a brief stay to escape an arranged marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing Flynn (2012)
Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaborosi (1995)
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLike Someone in Love (2012)
An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him, he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her body. But the web that is woven between them in the space of twenty four hours bears no relation to the circumstances of their encounter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThrow Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (1971)
An experimental, psychedelic odyssey through Japanese subculture experienced via the eyes of a disillusioned young man, who must contend with intense familial dysfunction, psychosexual alienation, and existentialist malaise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPigs and Battleships (1961)
In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappyend (2024)
In a near-future Japanese city bracing for a devastating earthquake, a group of teenage friends navigate personal struggles and fractured bonds amid rising tension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Address (2025)
A group of individuals who unexpectedly fall into homelessness. They bond together as an unconventional family, struggling to survive on the streets while warding off a harassing gang, an unforgiving community, and local authorities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Miss Hokusai (2015)
A daughter is constantly overshadowed by her famous father, but she is determined to make her own mark in the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabel (2006)
Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Cowboy (2024)
Brash businessman Hideki (Arata Iura) convinces his Tokyo bosses he can turn a profitless Montana cattle ranch into a premiere-performing asset. However, when his Japanese Wagyu-beef expert fails him, Hideki is poised to fail unless he identifies a missing element that's key to the transformation: himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Feb. (2026)
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Feb. was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on February 13, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom in Korakuen 2026 Feb. (2026)
Stardom in Korakuen 2026 Feb. was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on February 28, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In the main event, Konami defended the Wonder of Stardom Championship against Hina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Izo (2004)
Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTJPW club eX: Chapter Pause (2026)
TJPW club eX: Chapter Pause was a professional wrestling event promoted by Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). It was held on February 15, 2026 at Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX in Tokyo, Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisElizabeth's Gift (2012)
When a precious little girl dies tragically of a rare heart condition, her grieving parents are left to pick up the pieces of their once perfect life. In a sequence of events influenced by faith (and perhaps miracles), they are guided to a homeless girl on the streets, and a battle ensues to reunite as a family and heal their broken hearts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Tokyo Refugees?
The closest matches to Tokyo Refugees are Shoplifters (2018), We Are Little Zombies (2019) and Café Lumière (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Tokyo Refugees?
Start with Shoplifters (2018), the closest match to Tokyo Refugees.
What is the highest-rated movie like Tokyo Refugees?
Tokyo Godfathers (2003), rated 7.9/10 by 1,594 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Tokyo Refugees?
Stardom in Korakuen 2026 Feb. (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Tokyo Refugees?
Yes: Shoplifters (2018), We Are Little Zombies (2019) and Café Lumière (2004).
How are movies similar to Tokyo Refugees chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Tokyo Refugees, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.