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Movies like A Brighter Tomorrow (2021)

The best movies like A Brighter Tomorrow (2021) are Alex of Venice (2015), All to Play For (2023) and All Day and a Night (2020). If A Brighter Tomorrow hooked you with its drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Alex of Venice (2015)

    After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  2. All to Play For (2023)

    Sylvie lives with her two children whom she’s raising on her own. One evening, there’s an accident, and her youngest son is removed from her care. Sylvie must subsequently fight to get her son back and to keep herself afloat.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. All Day and a Night (2020)

    While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Imperial Dreams (2014)

    A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Young Mothers (2025)

    Housed in a shelter for young mothers, Jessica, Perla, Julia, Ariane, and Naïma, all of whom have grown up in difficult circumstances, struggle to obtain a better life for themselves and their children.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Brother (2019)

    Because he wanted to protect his little brother, Teddy, a young man without a history, is accused of the murder of his father and sent to a closed educational center, waiting for his trial for parricide. He then plunges into a brutal universe of which he does not know the rules.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Chaos (2001)

    A bourgeois couple, modern yet conventional. One night by accident, a young prostitute barges into their lives. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well off lady, first for her survival-her resurrection-then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters for everyone involved.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Lorelei (2020)

    A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. Ad Vitam (2025)

    When he and his pregnant wife are attacked in their home, a former elite agent becomes trapped in a deadly manhunt tied to his own painful past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. The Cage (1975)

    The story of a woman who is suddenly visited by her estranged ex-husband. The ex-hubby wants to buy her country house, which she received in the divorce settlement. Instead he finds himself locked in a cage in the cellar.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Home (2021)

    An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. The Last Woman (1976)

    Psychological drama of the compelling relationship between a young French engineer and the girl he takes into his home after his wife has left him with their baby son.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. Embattled (2020)

    The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Cardboard Boxer (2016)

    Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Pimp (2018)

    An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Adopt a Highway (2019)

    Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Head Against the Wall (1959)

    An aimless young man is committed to a psychiatric hospital by his father in an attempt to cure him of his delinquent tendencies.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Sergio (2020)

    A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Brazilian Sérgio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. The Good Neighbor (2022)

    A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. The Long Absence (1961)

    Therese, a café owner, mourns the mysterious disappearance of her husband sixteen years earlier. A tramp arrives in the town and she believes him to be her husband. But he is suffering from amnesia and she tries to bring back his memory of earlier times.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like A Brighter Tomorrow and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like A Brighter Tomorrow?

The closest matches to A Brighter Tomorrow are Alex of Venice (2015), All to Play For (2023) and All Day and a Night (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after A Brighter Tomorrow?

Start with Alex of Venice (2015), the closest match to A Brighter Tomorrow.

What is the highest-rated movie like A Brighter Tomorrow?

The Good Neighbor (2022), rated 6.7/10 by 215 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like A Brighter Tomorrow?

Young Mothers (2025) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there French movies like A Brighter Tomorrow?

Yes: All to Play For (2023), Young Mothers (2025) and Brother (2019).

How are movies similar to A Brighter Tomorrow chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Brighter Tomorrow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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