Movies like Don't let it bring you down (1993)
The best movies like Don't let it bring you down (1993) are Stray Dog (1949), House of Bamboo (1955) and The Wings of the Kirin (2012). If Don't let it bring you down hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStray Dog (1949)7.6/10 from 385 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseStray Dog (1949)Also in Japanese
Stray Dog (1949)
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of Bamboo (1955)
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wings of the Kirin (2012)
A man's body is found under the statue of a winged kirin in the Nihombashi area of Tokyo. A suspect named Yashima has a car accident and falls unconscious while he is attempting to run away. Yashima's lover Kaori comes from Fukushima and tells detectives that he is absolutely not a criminal. Meanwhile, Detective Kyoichiro Kaga's (Hiroshi Abe) investigates and uncovers a point of contact between the dead body and Yashima. A hidden fact of the victim is revealed which even his children did not know about...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNinja (2009)
A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWanda (1970)
After a string of abusive relationships, Wanda abandons her family and seeks solace in the company of a petty criminal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLupin the IIIrd: Fujiko's Lie (2019)
Fujiko Mine, the devastating femme fatale whose only loyalty is to her desire, befriends a young boy whose late father hid away a fortune. A killer is on the boy's trail and it's up to Fujiko to stop him: but where do her interests really lie?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDetective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea (2013)
It’s a high-stakes mystery on the high seas! Enjoying a free prize cruise on a military ship, Conan and his friends find their relaxation interrupted by the threat of possible explosives on board! It’s a race against time to find the culprit and save the ship — and potentially the whole country!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare (2016)
On a dark night, the Japanese police is raided by a spy. Different countries' intelligence agencies - such as England's MI6, Germany's BDN, and America's CIA - as well as the FBI's secret files are going to be taken, but public safety officers lead by Tooru Amuro arrive just in time. The spy steals a car and escapes. The spy and Amuro are then locked in a dead heat on the highway, and just as it is about to cause an accident with multiple cars, the spy's car is hit by FBI agent Shuichi Akai's rifle bullet and falls of the roadway. The next day, Conan and his friends go to a newly-remodeled aquarium in Tokyo. Under the main attraction, a Ferris wheel, Conan finds an attractive woman alone and injured. Her left and right eyes are different colors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (2008)
In an alternate version of 1949 Japan in which World War II never happened, the Japanese capital of Teito is home to both an ultra rich upper class and the dirt poor masses. The city is thrown into a state of panic when a phantom thief called “The Kaijin (Fiend) with 20 Faces” (K-20 for short) begins to use his mysterious abilities to steal from the rich and give to the poor. One day a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for K-20’s crimes and becomes determined to clear his name. He teams up with K-20’s next target, a wealthy duchess named Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu) and her detective fiancé (Toru Nakamura), to take K-20 down once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInitial D Legend 3: Dream (2016)
Takumi Fujiawara has garnered the attention of the street racer Ryousuke Takahashi, leader of the RedSuns. As he prepares for the biggest race in his life, Takumi finds himself trying to juggle his passion for racing with his personal life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleach the Movie: Fade to Black (2008)
A strange disturbance in the World of the Living sends Ichigo and Kon to the Soul Society, where the Seireitei has been devastated by an explosion of reishi and Rukia is missing. Stranger still, none of the Soul Reapers remember Ichigo, and they think he’s the one responsible for the destruction. Now on the run, Ichigo is forced into a lonely battle in order to find Rukia and stop the real culprits!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInitial D Legend 2: Racer (2015)
The leader of rival group Myogi NightKids, Takeshi, wants to challenge the now infamous Takumi in a race down Akina. As Takumi questions his identity as a racer, he discovers that, behind the wheel, there’s more to lose than just a simple race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSex and Fury (1973)
Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shunosuke, a radical set on murdering prominent politician Kurokawa, and Christina, an American spy posing as a gambler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Sudden Death (2020)
Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Days of American Crime (2020)
In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to crime and terrorism, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal that will make it impossible for anyone to knowingly break the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Woman Who Wants to Be Raped ~ Requiem for Masochism ~ (1992)
Keiharu Suzuki’s body was set ablaze by a bondage rape soaked in blood! The woman who could never forget that pleasure eventually… An unexpected twist and a chilling conclusion. The entire piece is stained with twisted ecstasy…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Nights on the Road (1952)
An aging truck driver finds smuggled money and becomes involved with a hijacking crowd.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Service Oath (2026)
A member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, Lieutenant Kasuga, was assigned to the earthquake-stricken area. Though he had lost his wife and young daughter in the tsunami, Kasuga concealed his own grief and devoted himself entirely to his mission. At an evacuation shelter, he encountered a boy named Kazuki Yoshimura, who had also lost his family and shut his heart. As Kazuki quietly observed the Self-Defense Forces at work, he eventually began to help people around him as well. Two people who met at the depths of despair decided to believe in hope and began to move forward. A story of “rebirth”, arising from loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Vivere (2007)
On Christmas Eve, Francesca sets out for Rotterdam in order to find her little sister, who has run off with her musician boyfriend. On the way, she picks up Gerlinde, a heartbroken older woman at the end of her rope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Up-and-coming (TBA)
Friday, July 4 marks the end of a chapter for Sacha: her final day of drama school and the beginning of the long road to finding her place as an actress. That very evening, she heads to the Avignon Festival. She sets off in her van with four friends - a journey to come to terms with failure and to prove, to her family and to herself, that she made the right choice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ballads (1993)
The story of a young man who tragically lost his lover in a horriffic motorcycle accident. Now working at a video store and selling uncensored gay hardcore pornography under the counter, he one day discovers the worlds most bizarre snuff video... which happens to "star" a man who looks exactly like his dead lover. Pushed over the edge by this event, the protagonist goes on a violent rampage, attempting to murder everybody involved in the video's creation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Les petites couleurs (2002)
Swiss drama in the form of a road movie starring Bernadette Lafont. Hairdresser Christelle is harassed daily by her chauvinistic husband until she can no longer stand it and flees. She then meets the strong landlady Mona and learns to see her life from a different perspective.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ardara (2019)
Macià decides to visit Ireland following a route that his parents did 20 years ago. Bruna and María seek a place to escape and disconnect. Their trips intersect in Ardara, Donegal County, where they share the last summer days. A summer that ends abruptly where Europe ends. ARDARA reconstructs their journey through what the people who saw them tell us. The film is the portrait of all three and that of the people who knew them. A story that reflects on the very fact of telling stories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Road to Sampo (1975)
Passing through a jail and a construction site, a young laborer meets a middle-aged man returning to Sampo after ten years' absence. Together, they track down a young woman who ran away from the restaurant she was waitressing at, but instead of turning her in for a reward, the trio decide to go on an adventure together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Whale Hunting (1984)
A disillusioned student meets a eccentric beggar and a mute prostitute he falls in love with. Together, without money, they cross South Korea to help the girl go home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Don't let it bring you down?
The closest matches to Don't let it bring you down are Stray Dog (1949), House of Bamboo (1955) and The Wings of the Kirin (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Don't let it bring you down?
Start with Stray Dog (1949), the closest match to Don't let it bring you down.
What is the highest-rated movie like Don't let it bring you down?
Stray Dog (1949), rated 7.6/10 by 385 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Don't let it bring you down?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Don't let it bring you down?
Yes: Stray Dog (1949), The Wings of the Kirin (2012) and Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko's Lie (2019).
How are movies similar to Don't let it bring you down chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Don't let it bring you down, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.