Movies like Moonlight Shadow (2021)
The best movies like Moonlight Shadow (2021) are The Greatest (2009), Premonition (2007) and Maborosi (1995). If Moonlight Shadow hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuzume (2022)7.9/10 from 1,901 votes
- NewestTransfusion (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseMaborosi (1995)Also in Japanese
The Greatest (2009)
Teenagers Rose and Bennett were in love, and then a car crash claimed Bennett's life. He left behind a grieving mother, father and younger brother, and Rose was left all alone. She has no family to turn to for support, so when she finds out she's pregnant, she winds up at the Brewer's door. She needs their help, and although they can't quite admit it, they each need her so they can begin to heal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPremonition (2007)
A depressed housewife who learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the day after to a world in which he is still dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaborosi (1995)
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDrive My Car (2021)
Yusuke Kafuku, a stage actor and director, still unable, after two years, to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, accepts to direct Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There he meets Misaki, an introverted young woman, appointed to drive his car. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions will be unveiled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBirth (2004)
It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThings We Lost in the Fire (2007)
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRabbit Hole (2010)
Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sea of Trees (2016)
In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKeeper of the Flame (1943)
Famed reporter Stephen O'Malley travels to a small town to investigate the death of a national hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Life (2022)
Taeko and her husband, Jirō, are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park, back into her life. To cope with the pain and guilt, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFull Out (2015)
Based on the true life story of California gymnast Ariana Berlin. As she zoned in on her Olympic goals, 14 year old Ariana Berlin's life took a sharp turn when she was involved in a debilitating car accident. Gaining her confidence and movement back through learning hip hop dance, she unexpectedly found herself called back to the gymnastics world thanks to world renowned UCLA Coach Valorie Kondos Field. With Val's help, Ariana was eventually able to secure a spot on the UCLA gymnastics team and win an NCAA championship, a lifelong goal that she had always dreamed of. This is a wonderfully inspiring story of persistence, confidence, and the heart and courage to make a somewhat impossible comeback in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisanohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie (2013)
A year has passed since Menma's ghostly return to the Super Peace Busters. Although the time they spent together during that summer was short, the five members reminisce about what happened as they each write a letter to their lost friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuzume (2022)
Suzume, 17, lost her mother as a little girl. On her way to school, she meets a mysterious young man. But her curiosity unleashes a calamity that endangers the entire population of Japan, and so Suzume embarks on a journey to set things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAugust Rush (2007)
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNomadland (2021)
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf I Stay (2014)
Mia Hall, a talented young cellist, thought the most difficult decision she would ever have to make would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at prestigious Juilliard or follow her heart to be with the love of her life, Adam, a rock singer/guitarist. However, a car wreck changes everything in an instant, and now Mia's life hangs in the balance. Suspended between life and death, Mia faces a choice that will decide her future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManon of the Spring (1986)
In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She plots vengeance on the men who greedily conspired to acquire her father's land years earlier.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Two sisters return home after a stay in a mental institution, only to face disturbing events and a strained relationship with their stepmother. As eerie occurrences unfold, dark family secrets begin to surface, blurring the line between reality and nightmare.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCity of Men (2007)
Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this10 Sekunden (2008)
Air traffic controller Markus Hofer is partly to blame for a collision between two airplanes in which 83 people lost their lives. Although the incident happened a year ago, he still blames himself, which his wife Franziska can only bear by having affairs. Erik Loth, on the other hand, is full of revenge, having lost his wife and daughter in the disaster and is now determined to kill the pilot responsible. Police officer Harald was on duty on the night of the accident and has been unable to get the images out of his head ever since. One evening, the television reports on the murder of Markus Hofer. Harald knows Erik, the man who killed him, and now thinks he sees him everywhere...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mercury Rising (1998)
Renegade FBI agent Art Jeffries protects a nine-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government's new "unbreakable" code.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Frankie (2004)
Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHamlet (1990)
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sweet Hereafter (1997)
A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014)
Told from the woman's perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTransfusion (2023)
Ryan Logan, a former Special Forces operative, is battling to cope with life after the loss of his wife. He is thrusted into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him.
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 Moonlight Shadow?
The closest matches to Moonlight Shadow are The Greatest (2009), Premonition (2007) and Maborosi (1995). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Moonlight Shadow?
Start with The Greatest (2009), the closest match to Moonlight Shadow.
What is the highest-rated movie like Moonlight Shadow?
Suzume (2022), rated 7.9/10 by 1,901 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Moonlight Shadow?
Transfusion (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Moonlight Shadow?
Yes: Maborosi (1995), Drive My Car (2021) and Love Life (2022).
How are movies similar to Moonlight Shadow chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Moonlight Shadow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.