Movies like Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)
The best movies like Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937) are Bushido (2024), Radium Girls (2020) and Munich - The Edge of War (2021). If Humanity and Paper Balloons hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYojimbo (1961)8.1/10 from 1,789 votes
- NewestGiant (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseBushido (2024)Also in Japanese
Bushido (2024)
Kakunoshin, renowned for his skills with a sword and in the game of go, embodies the samurai code. Falsely accused of a theft, he is forced to become a lowly ronin. Years later, when a case of missing gold pulls him into a new web of intrigue, Kakunoshin uncovers the truth behind his downfall. With the real culprit exposed, the go board flips, and a hellstorm of righteous vengeance follows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai Assassin (1965)
Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRan (1985)
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEight Men Out (1988)
Buck Weaver and Hap Felsch are young idealistic players on the Chicago White Sox, a pennant-winning team owned by Charles Comiskey - a penny-pinching, hands-on manager who underpays his players and treats them with disdain. And when gamblers and hustlers discover that Comiskey's demoralized players are ripe for a money-making scheme, one by one the team members agree to throw the World Series. But when the White Sox are defeated, a couple of sports writers smell a fix and a national scandal explodes, ripping the cover off America's favorite pastime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSakuran (2006)
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSnow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures of a Mathematician (2021)
The warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and the first computer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanther (1995)
In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInu-Oh (2022)
A cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEdo Porn (1981)
The world-famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisYojimbo (1961)
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKilling (2018)
In mid-19th century Edo period, a masterless rōnin named Mokunoshin Tsuzuki resides in a peaceful village among those he helps. However, as the prevalent peace and tranquility are sure to be replaced by war and conflict across the land, the swordsman feels restlessness creeping upon him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlade of the Immortal (2017)
Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Snowblood (1973)
A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFortress of War (2010)
The film covers the heroic defence of the Brest Fortress, which was attacked during the first strike of German invaders on June 22 1941. The story describes the events of the first days of the defence, including the three main resistance zones, headed by the regiment commander, Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov, the commissar Efim Moiseevich Fomin and the head of the 9th frontier outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov. Many years later veteran Alexander Akimov again recalls the memories of the time, when he, then a 15 year old Sasha Akimov was deeply in love with the beautiful Anya and suddenly found himself in the middle of the bloody events of war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 47 Ronin (1941)
In the early 18th-century, Lord Takumi-no-kami Asano, feuding with Lord Kira, tries to kill his opponent in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Asano to seppuku and deprives the palace and lands from his clan, but does not punish Kira. Asano's vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and want to seek revenge against the Lord's dishonour. But their leader Kuranosuke Oishi seeks to restore the Asano clan with his brother Daigaku Asano. One year later, the Shogun refuses, and Oishi and 46 rōnin are out for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSakurada Gate Incident (2010)
Mito Domain Samurai Seki Tetsunosuke must pay the consequences for his role in the assassination of Great Elder Ii Naosuke. Based on true events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
During the Crimean War between Britain and Russia in the 1850s, a British cavalry division, led by the overbearing Lord Cardigan, engages in an infamously reckless strategic debacle against a Russian artillery battery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGenghis Khan (1998)
During the 12th Century a boy is born to a tribal chief. He is named Temujin, which means "blacksmith." Nine years later, his father is murdered by the Tartars After a long struggle, just when Temujin reclaims tribal chief status, the Merkit tribe kidnaps his wife. In order to fight against the Merkits, Temujin has to use his mother as a pawn in exchange for troops from ally tribes. Temujin manages to rescue his wife only to realise that she is pregnant with the enemy's child. Enduring tremendous anguish, Temujin throws himself into battle against the Tartars and slaughters the leader of the intruders. He eventually takes his wife back and accepts her child. Later on, he begins a campaign to unify all Mongolian tribes. By the age of 40, he is bestowed the title "Genghis Khan", which means "oceanic ruler".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Eagle (2011)
In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca, Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Woman of Affairs (1928)
Childhood friends Diana, Neville and David are caught in a love triangle as adults. Diana and Neville have long been smitten with each other, but her father disapproves of the relationship, resulting in her eventual marriage to David. It's not long after their wedding, however, that tragedy strikes, sending Diana on a downward spiral. When Neville reappears in her life, will he be able to save her from her own misery?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
13 Assassins (2010)
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)
The blind masseuse is targeted by the leader of a powerful yakuza group while also fending off a jealous husband bent on revenge. Zatoichi tours Edo's underground via a rousing onsen fight scene, gambling houses and the gender-bending character of Umeji, before a final, flame-filled conflagration.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Humanity and Paper Balloons?
The closest matches to Humanity and Paper Balloons are Bushido (2024), Radium Girls (2020) and Munich - The Edge of War (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Humanity and Paper Balloons?
Start with Bushido (2024), the closest match to Humanity and Paper Balloons.
What is the highest-rated movie like Humanity and Paper Balloons?
Yojimbo (1961), rated 8.1/10 by 1,789 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Humanity and Paper Balloons?
Giant (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Humanity and Paper Balloons?
Yes: Bushido (2024), Samurai Assassin (1965) and Ran (1985).
How are movies similar to Humanity and Paper Balloons chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Humanity and Paper Balloons, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.