Movies like Chasing the Fish Spirit (1960)
The best movies like Chasing the Fish Spirit (1960) are Wicked (2021), Peter Ibbetson (1935) and Once Upon a Time (2017). If Chasing the Fish Spirit hooked you with its fantasy and drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Writer's Odyssey (2021)7.1/10 from 393 votes
- NewestHer Story (2024)Released 2024
- In ChineseOnce Upon a Time (2017)Also in Chinese
Wicked (2021)
Ivy Morgan, a college student in New Orleans, falls for Ren Owens, the last person she expected to enter her rigidly controlled life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time (2017)
Bai Qian, a goddess and monarch from the Heavenly Realms, is sent to the mortal world to undergo a trial to become a High Goddess. There, she meets Ye Hua, with whom she falls in love and marries. When an old enemy reappears in her life, everything she holds dear is threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWinter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Future (2011)
When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTill We Meet Again (2021)
Ah Lun, who has a choice to make in the underworld, decides to be a god of love in Chinese mythology. As he advances with his tasks on Earth, his biggest challenge is to tie a red string with the woman he loves the most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrince Charming (2001)
After an extramarital indiscretion, a fairy-tale prince and his sidekick are turned into frogs for all eternity or until the prince can convince a maiden to kiss and then marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)
When schoolboy Wang Bao discovers a magical gourd that can instantly grant his every wish, the awkward child suddenly becomes a hero amongst his curious classmates. When the gourd proves more of a burden than a blessing and the boy decides to get rid of it, he quickly discovers that's easier said than done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStarry Starry Night (2011)
May is worried about her mother and father, whose marriage is on the rocks, and she yearns to return to the woods where her grandfather lives. One day, May befriends a boy as lonely as she is. When reality catches up, they run away to a beautiful world that belongs only to them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Days (2021)
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDonovan's Echo (2011)
A series of uncanny déjà vu events force a man to re-examine his tragic past, memory, instinct, and future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sun Also Rises (2007)
A polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones, shifting between a Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPainted Skin (2008)
Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) 'rescues' her from a band of bandits and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Destiny (2013)
As Cassie's birthday approaches, Lori discovers disturbing parallels between Cassie and her great aunt, who disappeared years before on her birthday. When signs of a curse appear, Cassie conjures up a little magic to make things right again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Writer's Odyssey (2021)
Lu Kongwen is the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, also named Kongwen, on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor. But through a strange twist of fate, the fantasy world of the novel begins to impact life in the real world, leading Guan Ning to accept a mission from Tu Ling to kill the author.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHer Story (2024)
Wang Tiemei, a single mother, loses her job and moves, befriending neighbor Xiaoye who appears cheerful but is depressed. Their bond grows as Tiemei navigates relationships with her ex-husband causing trouble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrotherhood of Blades (2014)
In the late Ming Dynasty, three sworn brothers who serve as the imperial secret police are dispatched to hunt down Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch politician who had been forced to resign from his influential post and exiled from Beijing. The brothers return successfully from their quest, only to find that their task was but the beginning of a strange conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Golden Lotus (1974)
Golden Lotus is based, in part, on Jin Ping Mei, a famous erotic novel of ancient China. Li Han-Hsiang adapted part of the story into this film, which starts with Hsi Men Ching, a successful merchant, wooing Pan Chin Lien, the beautiful wife of one of the townspeople.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Shepherd (2023)
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPainted Skin: The Resurrection (2012)
According to demon lore, it takes hundreds of years to attain human form. Even then, lacking a human heart, a demon cannot experience the true pains and passions of existence. However, there is a legend that if a pure human heart is freely offered to a demon, it can become a mortal and experience true life. Sequel of Painted Skin (2008).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chasing the Fish Spirit?
The closest matches to Chasing the Fish Spirit are Wicked (2021), Peter Ibbetson (1935) and Once Upon a Time (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chasing the Fish Spirit?
Start with Wicked (2021), the closest match to Chasing the Fish Spirit.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chasing the Fish Spirit?
A Writer's Odyssey (2021), rated 7.1/10 by 393 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chasing the Fish Spirit?
Her Story (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Chasing the Fish Spirit?
Yes: Once Upon a Time (2017), Till We Meet Again (2021) and The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007).
How are movies similar to Chasing the Fish Spirit chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chasing the Fish Spirit, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















