Movies like The Summer of YaYa (2017)
The best movies like The Summer of YaYa (2017) are Shirley (2024), The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) and The First Grader (2010). If The Summer of YaYa hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)7.9/10 from 1,943 votes
- NewestUpstream (2024)Released 2024
- In ChineseThe Story of Qiu Ju (1992)Also in Chinese
Shirley (2024)
Shirley Chisholm makes a trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination after becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe First Grader (2010)
The true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau freedom fighter who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
When British Railways announce the closure of the Titfield to Mallingford branch line a group of local residents make a bid to run it themselves, backed by a monied member of the community who is attracted by the complete lack of licensing hours on trains. Unfortunately the local bus company starts to use methods that can hardly be seen as fair competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Story of Qiu Ju (1992)
When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chinese Widow (2017)
It’s 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has destroyed America’s morale. The US President Franklin D. Roosevelt then decides to risk it all by bombing Tokyo and raise more hope for his citizens. After completing its mission, a unit of the US Air Force is forced to make an emergency landing in China. Its commander Jack Turner (Emilie Hirsch) barely survives but gets rescued by Ying (Crystal Liu), a local widow who will stop at nothing to hide him from the Japanese occupant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMansfield Park (1999)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFist of Legend (1994)
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoxie (2021)
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOdd Thomas (2013)
In a California desert town, a short-order cook with clairvoyant abilities encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark, threatening forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
The story of Valerie Solanas, a '60s radical who preached misandry in her "SCUM" manifesto. She wrote a screenplay for a film that she wanted Andy Warhol to produce, but he repeatedly ignored her. So she shot him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Kind of Traitor (2016)
A young Oxford academic and his attorney girlfriend holiday in Morocco. They bump into a Russian millionaire who owns a peninsula and a diamond watch. He wants a game of tennis. What else he wants propels the lovers on a tortuous journey to the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's intelligence establishment, to Paris and the Alps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTai Chi Zero (2012)
In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, using their powerful Chen Style Tai Chi in all aspects of their lives. Lu Chan has arrived to train, but the villagers are forbidden to teach Chen Style to outsiders, and do their best to discourage him by challenging him to a series of fights. Everyone, from strong men to young children, defeats him using their Tai Chi moves. But when a man from the village's past returns with a frightening steampowered machine and plans to build a railroad through the village at any costs, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Lu Chan... who has a secret power of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHibiscus Town (1987)
Based on a novel by the same name written by Gu Hua, a melodrama about the life and travails of a young woman who lives through the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUpstream (2024)
A moment of impulsiveness turns Gao Zhilei into a "stay-at-home" individual, but he never expected his life to take a turn in the opposite direction. A series of changes compel him to take on his responsibilities as the head of the family. When life's burdens hit hard, he must confront himself and start anew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
Two teenagers trapped in an endless time loop set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTamara Drewe (2010)
A young newspaper writer returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMagnificent Bodyguards (1978)
Chan is asked by a young, wealthy lady to take her sick brother to a particular doctor in order to be cured. To reach this doctor, Chan and a handful of travelling companions must pass through bandit-infested wild country. They meet and kung-fu-fight several gangs of thugs along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBalzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
During the Cultural Revolution, two young men are sent to a remote mining village where they fall in love with the local tailor's beautiful granddaughter and discover a suitcase full of forbidden Western novels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod's Not Dead (2014)
After he refuses to disavow his faith, a devout Christian student must prove the existence of God or else his college philosophy professor will fail him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Summer of YaYa and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Summer of YaYa?
The closest matches to The Summer of YaYa are Shirley (2024), The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) and The First Grader (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Summer of YaYa?
Start with Shirley (2024), the closest match to The Summer of YaYa.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Summer of YaYa?
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019), rated 7.9/10 by 1,943 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Summer of YaYa?
Upstream (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Summer of YaYa?
Yes: The Story of Qiu Ju (1992), The Chinese Widow (2017) and Fist of Legend (1994).
How are movies similar to The Summer of YaYa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Summer of YaYa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.