Movies like Haruhara-san's Recorder (2021)
The best movies like Haruhara-san's Recorder (2021) are Hounddog (2008), Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and Nothing Personal (2009). If Haruhara-san's Recorder hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Brighter Summer Day (1991)8.2/10 from 417 votes
- NewestBlue Night (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseOne Million Yen Girl (2008)Also in Japanese
Hounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNothing Personal (2009)
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Million Yen Girl (2008)
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHarmonium (2016)
Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelen (2009)
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFlashbacks of a Fool (2008)
An aging Hollywood star, Joe Scott, lives a life of narcissistic hedonism, observed by his laconic personal assistant, Ophelia. The death of his childhood best friend, Boots, takes our protagonist, and the movie, into an extended flashback to a sea-side town in 1970s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSky (2016)
A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrench Kiss (1995)
After her fiancee admits to infidelity while on a business trip in France, a woman attempts to get her lover back and marry him by traveling to Paris despite her crippling fear of flying. On the way she unwittingly smuggles something of value that has a charming crook chasing her across France as she chases after her future husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of Range (2016)
Jerin (Ajayaghosh), at crossroads with his stagnant love life; Subru Vishnu Unnikrishnan), fed up with his mom's argumentative nature; Sanjay (Sumith Samudra), all against his reckless job schedule; Aashiq (Askar Ali), annoyed with unending family obligations - are four friends with instability in their lives. On one decisive night, the four friends take an unusual oath, to quit using their mobile phones forever. From the next daybreak, the world around them turns upside down. Sacking, break-up, and resentment follows. After the initial chaos, they seem to enjoy the peace, ease, and all the joys. However, this is just the beginning of another story. A steely resolve for more adventure, more determination, more drama, and more blows. Will they live to tell the tale?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mary Goes Round (2018)
When a substance abuse counsellor gets arrested for a DUI and returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls, she learns that her estranged father is dying of cancer and wants her to form a bond with her teenage half-sister that she's never met.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
o jardineiro - ou os equinócios de uma memória latente (2025)
Oliver, an elderly gardener with Alzheimer's, discovers a Super 8 film reel he recorded decades ago, during the early days of his relationship with Julia, his late wife. As he watches the images from the past, his memories blur with the present, and he finds himself torn between reality and the recollections of a love that still blooms in his mind. While searching for answers that never come, Oliver confronts the fleeting nature of life and the beauty of memories that withstand the passage of time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
We Used To Share Headphones (TBA)
We Used to Share Headphones is a short film about two people sitting in the same space, carrying everything they haven’t said. It follows the quiet moments between them
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCheck One, Two (2024)
Following a breakup, David takes the stage and sings about his ex Cecilia. David’s world flips as he revisits the memory of their last conversation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Blue Night (2026)
On Christmas Eve, Alexandre, a lonely young man burdened by his own emotional defenses, invites Guilherme—a male escort who has just been kicked out of his home—to stay at his house. As the hours pass, the ordinary night transforms into a deep dive into the vulnerabilities, fears, and desires of both, showcasing the hesitant and contradictory construction of an inescapable connection that remains uncertain: whether it is love, friendship, or simply the recognition of two mirrored lonely souls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Soft Skin (1964)
Pierre Lachenay is a well-known publisher and lecturer, married to Franca and father of Sabine. He starts a love affair with air hostess Nicole, which Pierre is hiding, but he cannot stay away from her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake My Eyes (2003)
One winter night, Pilar runs away from home. With her, she takes only a few belongings and her son, Juan. Antonio soon sets out to look for her. He says Pilar is his sunshine, and what's more, "She gave him her eyes"...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Haruhara-san's Recorder?
The closest matches to Haruhara-san's Recorder are Hounddog (2008), Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and Nothing Personal (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Haruhara-san's Recorder?
Start with Hounddog (2008), the closest match to Haruhara-san's Recorder.
What is the highest-rated movie like Haruhara-san's Recorder?
A Brighter Summer Day (1991), rated 8.2/10 by 417 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Haruhara-san's Recorder?
Blue Night (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Haruhara-san's Recorder?
Yes: One Million Yen Girl (2008) and Harmonium (2016).
How are movies similar to Haruhara-san's Recorder chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Haruhara-san's Recorder, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.