Movies like Stranger in the Mountains (2016)
The best movies like Stranger in the Mountains (2016) are The Blue Kite (1994), Lan Yu (2001) and Assembly (2007). If Stranger in the Mountains hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTo Live (1994)8.3/10 from 440 votes
- NewestAnniversary (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseThe Blue Kite (1994)Also in Chinese
The Blue Kite (1994)
A young man recalls his childhood growing up in a poor alley in Beijing during the 1950s and 1960s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLan Yu (2001)
A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAssembly (2007)
Follows a soldier trying to gain recognition for comrades who died in 1948, at a turning point in the civil war between the communists and the nationalist forces of the Kuomintang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Emperor (1987)
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Live (1994)
Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStill Life (2006)
A town in Fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)
Yang Zirong disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate and destroy a bandit group. He joins hands with a hostage, and together, they fight against the warlord, Hawk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985)
An autobiographical film based on Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's memories of his youth growing up in Taiwan after emigrating from mainland China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Second (2020)
A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood Brothers (1973)
Set in the waning years of the Ching Dyansty, this dramatic, tragic, romantic, blood-soaked martial arts tale of betrayal and revenge explores one of the most sensational scandals in Chinese history and marked the true ascension of its director and actors to superstar status. In fact, Ti Lung won Taiwan's Golden Horse Award for Outstanding Performance as the challenging role of a jealous provincial governor who kills his friend in order to steal the man's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnniversary (2025)
A close-knit family is caught in the turmoil of a controversial rising movement known as "The Change.” Ellen and Paul witness their lives fall apart when Ellen's former student Liz reappears and starts dating their son. As Liz becomes a part of the Taylor family, tensions rise and loyalties are tested.
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 thisSmart People (2008)
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAn Unmarried Woman (1978)
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead to Rights (2025)
During the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, a postman poses as a photo developer, helping Japanese forces while secretly sheltering Chinese refugees. He later risks his life evacuating them and revealing evidence of the atrocities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCitizen X (1995)
Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl, Interrupted (1999)
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna and the King (1999)
The story of the romance between the King of Siam (now Thailand) and the widowed British school teacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860s. Anna teaches the children and becomes romanced by the King. She convinces him that a man can be loved by just one woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoad to Paloma (2014)
While Native American Wolf is being pursued by the FBI for having taken the law into his own hands, when his mother was raped and killed on their reservation he crosses paths with Cash, a down and out musician who is coping with the end of his marriage. An unlikely friendship develops, as they ride together towards the Teton mountain range, where Wolf will spread his mothers ashes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Stranger in the Mountains?
The closest matches to Stranger in the Mountains are The Blue Kite (1994), Lan Yu (2001) and Assembly (2007). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Stranger in the Mountains?
Start with The Blue Kite (1994), the closest match to Stranger in the Mountains.
What is the highest-rated movie like Stranger in the Mountains?
To Live (1994), rated 8.3/10 by 440 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Stranger in the Mountains?
Anniversary (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Stranger in the Mountains?
Yes: The Blue Kite (1994), Lan Yu (2001) and Assembly (2007).
How are movies similar to Stranger in the Mountains chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Stranger in the Mountains, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.