Movies like The Manila Lover (2019)
The best movies like The Manila Lover (2019) are Metro Manila (2013), The Kindness of Strangers (2019) and Insiang (1976). If The Manila Lover hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBird (2024)7.2/10 from 250 votes
- NewestWhere Ever You Are (2026)Released 2026
Metro Manila (2013)
Looking for a brighter future in metropolitan Manila, Oscar Ramirez and his family leave their miserable life in the rice terraces of Banaue, in the northern Philippines. In the sweltering capital, where all kind of perils lurk in every corner, Oscar catches a lucky break when he is offered a steady work for an armored truck company and the senior officer Ong takes him under his wing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Kindness of Strangers (2019)
Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter. While stealing food at a Russian restaurant called ‘Winter Palace’, Clara meets Marc, who has been given the chance to help the old eatery regain its former glory. The ‘Winter Palace’ soon becomes a place of unexpected encounters between people who are all undergoing some sort of crisis and whom fate has now brought together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInsiang (1976)
A story about the life of a young girl living with her mother in the slums of Manila, which becomes unbearable when her mother's young boyfriend moves in with them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManila in the Claws of Light (1975)
Julio, a young fisherman from a provincial village, descends into social alienation as he arrives in Manila to search for his loved one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
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 thisThe Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEffie Gray (2014)
A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Jasmine (2013)
After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBird (2024)
12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeatwave (2022)
A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMost (2003)
A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Milk (2025)
Rose and her daughter Sofia travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the shamanic Dr. Gomez, a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair. But in the sultry atmosphere of this sun-bleached town Sofia, who has been trapped by her mother’s illness all her life, finally starts to shed her inhibitions, enticed by the persuasive charms of enigmatic traveller Ingrid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrotherly Love (2015)
West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Never Sang for My Father (1970)
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Pip (2012)
As a war rages on in the province of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, a young girl becomes transfixed by the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, which is being read at school by the only white man in the village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWorking Girl (1988)
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she takes a risky chance to reclaim it by impersonating him and running the project from his position.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDiary ng Panget (2014)
A young woman takes a job as a personal maid for a rich young man. The pair do not get along, but soon due to their classmates' games of love, their relationship grows more complicated than before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPlus. Minus. (2019)
Told in reverse chronological order, an aspiring drag queen creates a world out of desolated motel rooms with the guy he met online.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Paraiso: Three Stories of Hope (2007)
Three uplifting stories of faith, compassion and courage provide the framework for this inspirational film. First, Jocelyn, a victim of the mudslides in Leyte, finds strength in the face of tragedy; next, a family's adoption of a neglected young boy brings healing; and in the final chapter, widower Rudy Abad decides to build a village in the Philippines in memory of his wife, who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Stepmother (1996)
The loving and nurturing Mariel marries Edward after his first wife abandons him and their three children. Mariel strives to win the acceptance and affection of her new stepchildren, even as she tries to define her role in the family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Tale of Filipino Violence (2022)
With the imminent death of his autocratic grandfather, coinciding with the burgeoning oppressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, Servando Monzon III, inheritor of the hacienda and businesses of his powerful clan, agonises on becoming the new feudal lord and capitulating with Marcos’ designs to control the Philippines. Aware of his clan’s long history of violence, Monzon knows the very violent history of his county and foresees a very violent future with the dictatorship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
22 July (2018)
On 22 July 2011, neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 young people attending a Labour Party Youth Camp on Utøya Island outside of Oslo. This three-part story focuses on the survivors, the political leadership of Norway, and the lawyers involved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPagnanasa (1998)
A young travelling salesman Rodel and a young innocent student Aleli. Aleli befriended a mature woman who is expert in love. The lady taught her and lured her to fantasize and to seek the love offered by men. Aleli became curious about the love that this lady is talking about and is out there to find love for herself until she dated Rodel who ended up raping her. After her painful encounter with Rodel, she got addicted to that sexual feeling and affection that he gave to her. This terrible experience made her to crave for more love from Rodel. Is her addiction with making love to Rodel going to stop or will it continue until she becomes a slave to it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Yesterday's Promise (1994)
Three strong-willed sisters face tough choices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Where Ever You Are (2026)
After living in Denmark for 38 years, Francisco has decided to move back to his homeland, the Philippines—a country he feels he has never really left. So, on a cold winter evening, he meets with his daughter, who was born and raised in Denmark, to tell her that he plans to leave just a few days later.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Manila Lover and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Manila Lover?
The closest matches to The Manila Lover are Metro Manila (2013), The Kindness of Strangers (2019) and Insiang (1976). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Manila Lover?
Start with Metro Manila (2013), the closest match to The Manila Lover.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Manila Lover?
Bird (2024), rated 7.2/10 by 250 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Manila Lover?
Where Ever You Are (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Manila Lover chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Manila Lover, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.