Movies like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East (2020)
The best movies like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East (2020) are The Chinese Widow (2017), The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) and Life in a Day (2011). If Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFantastic Mr. Fox (2009)7.8/10 from 6,451 votes
- NewestNobody (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseThe Chinese Widow (2017)Also in Chinese
The 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 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 thisLife in a Day (2011)
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox, bored with his current life, plans a heist against the three local farmers. The farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with the sly fox, seek revenge against him and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
A young priest, Father Chisholm is sent to China to establish a Catholic parish among the non-Christian Chinese. While his boyhood friend, also a priest, flourishes in his calling as a priest in a more Christian area of the world, Father Chisholm struggles. He encounters hostility, isolation, disease, poverty and a variety of set backs which humble him, but make him more determined than ever to succeed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRailroad Tigers (2016)
A railroad worker in China in 1941 leads a team of freedom fighters against the Japanese in order to get food for the poor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse, and undertakes a misguided journey back to her old life, only to discover that her family is her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Good Earth (1937)
China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNobody (2025)
The Little Pig Yao decides to leave Langlang Mountain to join the pilgrimage. On the journey west, what trials will the little monsters face? In the end, will they achieve their dreams and live as they truly desire?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Karate Kid Part II (1986)
Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival. Sato is bent on a fight to the death, even if it means the destruction of their village. Daniel finds his own love in Yukia's niece, Kumiko, and his own enemy in Sato's nephew, the vicious Chozen. Now, far away from the tournaments, cheering crowds and safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the cost of honor is life itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEpic (2013)
A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group of characters in order to save their world—and ours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarnyard (2006)
Otis is a mischievous, carefree Holstein cow who lives on a farm where, unbeknownst to humans, the animals are anthropomorphic. He prefers having fun with his best friends: Pip the mouse, Freddy the ferret, Peck the rooster, and Pig the pig - rather than following strict rules and accepting responsibility. But when his adoptive father is killed in a coyote attack, he has a heavy responsibility thrust upon him to become leader of his farm home's community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this47 Ronin (2013)
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Bird (1940)
Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMio in the Land of Faraway (1987)
Under the watch of his unkind realtives, lonely Bosse's luck is changed when he is sent to the land where his real father is the King. In that country, he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlavors of Youth (2018)
The rigorous city life of China, while bustling and unforgiving, contains the everlasting memories of days past. Three stories told in three different cities, follow the loss of youth and the daunting realization of adulthood. Though reality may seem ever changing, unchangeable are the short-lived moments of one's childhood days. A plentiful bowl of noodles, the beauty of family and the trials of first love endure the inevitable flow of time, as three different characters explore the strength of bonds and the warmth of cherished memories. Within the disorder of the present world, witness these quaint stories recognize the comfort of the past, and attempt to revive the neglected flavors of youth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJade Dynasty (2019)
After the massacre of his village, Zhang Xiaofan is taken in by the Qing Yun Sect where he begins his journey of cultivation. When he finds out the truth behind the deaths of his parents, he succumbs to his rage and demonic tendencies and becomes the enemy of Qing Yun Sect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoller (2021)
In a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up, a determined young woman finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the once thriving factories by night. With her goal in sight, Ruth finds that the ultimate cost of an education for a girl like her may be more than she bargained for, and she soon finds herself torn between a promising future and the family she would leave behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East?
The closest matches to Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East are The Chinese Widow (2017), The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) and Life in a Day (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East?
Start with The Chinese Widow (2017), the closest match to Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East.
What is the highest-rated movie like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East?
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), rated 7.8/10 by 6,451 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East?
Nobody (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East?
Yes: The Chinese Widow (2017), The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) and Railroad Tigers (2016).
How are movies similar to Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Qinyuan Story of the Great River Flowing East, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.