Movies like I Must Live (1976)
The best movies like I Must Live (1976) are Midnight Runners (2017), Commitment (2013) and Christmas in August (1998). If I Must Live hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPurple Hearts (2022)8.0/10 from 2,977 votes
- NewestHarbin (2024)Released 2024
- In KoreanMidnight Runners (2017)Also in Korean
Midnight Runners (2017)
Two apathetic police academy recruits who become best buddies through the tough training together witness a woman being abducted right before their very eyes. As they were taught in the academy, they quickly report the incident to the police, but the police are in no hurry to jump on the case. So the duo decide to take the matter into their own hands and rescue the woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCommitment (2013)
The son of a North Korean spy decides to follow in his father's footsteps to protect his little sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChristmas in August (1998)
It's a sweltering summer, but Jung-won, a terminally ill, thirty-something photographer, is already in the winter of his life when he begins a tentative romance with a young traffic cop who doesn't know about his condition. Is their relationship doomed before it even begins?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarbin (2024)
In 1909, several years after Korea is forced into becoming a Japanese colony, freedom fighters plot the daring assassination of Japan's prime minister during their quest for independence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiracle: Letters to the President (2021)
Dreaming of making a way station for his sister and the villagers who have no choice but to commute along the dangerous train tracks every day, Joon-kyung sends many letters to the President, but with no reply. Ra-hee, who has a crush on Joon-kyung, does everything she can to help him meet the President.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObsessed (2014)
A secret, passionate affair happens in the summer of 1969 between Colonel Jin Pyeong, trapped in a loveless marriage with Soo Jin, and Jong Ga Heun, the Chinese-Korean wife of Captain Kyung Woo Jin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeart of Stone (2023)
An intelligence operative for a shadowy global peacekeeping agency races to stop a hacker from stealing its most valuable — and dangerous — weapon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove 911 (2012)
A doctor tries to woo a grieving, widowed firefighter in her attempt to get him to testify on her behalf in a medical malpractice case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Name Is Loh Kiwan (2024)
After defecting from North Korea, Loh Kiwan struggles to obtain refugee status in Belgium, where he encounters a dejected woman who has lost all hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDear John (2010)
While Sergeant John Tyree is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOriginal Sin (2001)
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpy Girl (2004)
Ko-bong has a huge crush on Gye-soon who works at a fast food restaurant without knowing that the girl he love is a spy from North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurple Hearts (2022)
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSecretly, Greatly (2013)
Three elite North Korean sleeper agents live under cover for so long that they believe their cover stories are their real identities. They are shocked when they are ordered to kill one another or face death at the hands of an elite hit team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBobby Deerfield (1977)
Bobby Deerfield, a famous American race car driver on the European circuit, falls in love with the enigmatic Lillian Morelli, who is terminally ill.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThread of Lies (2014)
Cheon-ji's unexpected suicide causes her mother Hyeon-sook and older sister Man-ji to be moved into another apartment. Tracking down clues from school, Man-ji discovers that Cheon-ji's best friend Hwa-yeon is behind everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeobok (2021)
Ex intelligence agent Ki-heon is tasked with safely transporting Seo Bok, the first ever human clone, who holds the secret of eternal life. Several forces try to take control of Seo Bok to serve their own agendas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Suspect (2013)
Betrayed and on the run, a former North Korean agent tries to seek revenge on the man who killed his wife, find his missing daughter, and uncover the secrets hidden inside the eyeglasses of a dead man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Berlin File (2013)
When an illicit arms deal goes bad, North Korean spy Pyo Jong-seong finds himself targeted not just by the South Koreans but also his own bosses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Lesson (2013)
Korea's most popular song writer Hee-soo runs into a nineteen-year-old boy in the elevator. Hee-soo is inspired by a new song watching him shake at her figure. She starts to tell him about women under the excuse that she's teaching him music. They fall for each other but things get complicated when her life teacher, Joon-ho who taught her about life and music comes back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Must Live?
The closest matches to I Must Live are Midnight Runners (2017), Commitment (2013) and Christmas in August (1998). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Must Live?
Start with Midnight Runners (2017), the closest match to I Must Live.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Must Live?
Purple Hearts (2022), rated 8.0/10 by 2,977 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Must Live?
Harbin (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like I Must Live?
Yes: Midnight Runners (2017), Commitment (2013) and Christmas in August (1998).
How are movies similar to I Must Live chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Must Live, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.