Best movies like Sakuran
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A young girl is sold into the red-light district Yoshiwara and is put under the care of the oiran (lead prostitute) of the Tamakiku house. The girl is rebellious, but the more experienced people in the household begin to think that she will be one day a great oiran, since an oiran needs not only beauty and talent, but she should also have the tenacity to maintain the position.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: epic, captivating, emotional, stylized, sweet, manga, artsy, costume drama, realistic, semi serious
Best tv shows and movies like Sakuran (2006):
Similar in 80%
Paradise Kiss (2011)
Plot Summary:
Hyasaka Yukari only wants one thing: to enter the college that her mom wants. One day, she meets an extravagant group that loves fashion. They were searching for a model and Yukari fits their ideal model. From now Yukari will know the world of fashion and modeling, and what she really wants.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, romantic, shoujo, captivating, anime, realistic, crying, hot
Similar in 90%
The Kirishima Thing (2012)
Plot Summary:
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, touching, semi serious, psychological, captivating, clever, humorous, stylized
Similar in 81%
Kingdom of War: Part 1 (2007)
Plot Summary:
The film concerns the life of King Naresuan, who liberated the Siamese from the control of Burma. Born in 1555, he was taken to Burma as a child hostage; there he became acquainted with sword fighting and became a threat to the Burmese empire.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 689
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Thailand
Duration: 163 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, period drama
Similar in 85%
Double Suicide (1969)
Plot Summary:
Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, even foregoing other customers while Jihei schemes to somehow buy her freedom. His efforts yield ruinous consequences for his business and his family life, and Koharu is meanwhile purchased by another client.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: surreal, romantic, mind bending, psychedelic, spiritual, serious, emotional, realistic, stylized, jidai geki
Similar in 77%
Tokyo Noir (2004)
Plot Summary:
In this excursion into Tokyo's dark side, a sexually repressed woman finds liberation by turning tricks at night a sex worker is taken by surprise when her ex drops by and a sex blogger finds strange kinship with a loner.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 32
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Hanezu (2011)
Plot Summary:
Based on a Japanese novel written by Masako Bando, the story revolves around Kayoko who lives with one man (Tetsuya) but is in love with another (Takumi).
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 998
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, slow cinema, aesthetic
Similar in 77%
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale I (2011)
Plot Summary:
Mouna Rudo was born and raised among the Seediq people, an indigenous tribe in Taiwan, and as he grew to be a man he became a member of the Seediq Bale, a courageous band of native warriors. However, Rudo's way of life is threatened under the yoke of occupying forces from Japan, who took over the nation in 1895. As Rudo sees the traditions and honor of his people stripped away, he realizes the time has come to fight back, and in 1930 he brings together a group of former Seediq Bale soldiers, many of whom have been reduced to infighting, and molds them into a revolutionary army. Rudo and his comrades make their stand when they confront Japanese occupation troops at a youth athletic event, leading to a violent confrontation between the Seediq forces and their oppressors. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 1: The Sun Flag is Part one of the two-part, four-hour Taiwanese edition of the film Warriors of the Rainbow.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, stylized, aesthetic, anthropological, profound, epic, contemplative
Similar in 83%
When the Last Sword is Drawn (2002)
Plot Summary:
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, captivating, realistic, serious, spiritual, jidai geki, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 87%
A Tale of Samurai Cooking (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set within the Kaga Domain in the Edo Period. Oharu is an excellent cook and recognized for her skills. Due to her cooking talents, she marries Yasunobu, who is an heir in the Funaki family. The Funaki family serves as the cook for the Kaga Domain. Nevertheless, Yasunobu himself is a terrible cook. With the help of Oharu's mother-in-law Mitsuru, she begins to teach Yasunobu how to cook.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 568
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, sentimental, culinary, realistic, semi serious, romantic drama, period drama
Similar in 76%
The Hidden Blade (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, stylized, romantic, epic, jidai geki, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 85%
Honey & Clover (2006)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from the popular manga of the same name, director Masahiro Takada's coming of age drama follows five Hama Art College students as they prepare to venture out into the real world on a great voyage of self-discovery.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 900
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, sweet, captivating, manga, shoujo, humorous, sexual, sexy, weird
Similar in 85%
Goemon (2009)
Plot Summary:
Follow the infamous ninja bandit named Ishikawa Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) in an epic story. One night while looting treasure from Nanban (Southern Barbarians), Goemon finds a mysterious box hidden inside a secret grave. A forgotten relic from the past containing untold powers.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: exciting, epic, captivating, anime, tense, suspense, action thriller, visually stunning, serious, stylized
Similar in 75%
Silence (1971)
Plot Summary:
Two Jesuit priests encounter persecution when they travel to Japan in the 17th century to spread Christianity and search for their mentor.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: spiritual, existential, atmospheric, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, stylized
Similar in 90%
Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the events that led to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, factual, banned
Similar in 85%
The Soong Sisters (1997)
Plot Summary:
The Soong family was a political dynasty in China that reached the highest levels of power. This film follows the lives of the three Soong daughters, who were educated in America and returned to China. Ai-ling (the oldest) married a wealthy and powerful businessman. Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary founder of modern China. Mei-ling (the youngest) married Chiang Kai-shek, China's l.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, Japan, China
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized
Similar in 75%
The Holy Land of Tyrol (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1800s when Napoleon’s French ruled Europe, the film follows young Austrian carpenter Franz and his Bavarian wife, Katharina as an unforeseen event forces them to flee from Augsburg, Bavaria for Franz’s family home in Tyrol, Austria. Tyrolian sentiment is rising strongly against Napoleon and trouble is stirring. In no time it sweeps up Franz and his brothers along with the whole town.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, Italy
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, exciting
Similar in 79%
The Overture (2004)
Plot Summary:
Based on the life of Luang Pradit Pairoh (Sorn Silapabanleng) the most revered traditional Thai music master who lived during the reigns of Kings Rama V to VIII, the movie traces the life of Sorn, who picked up the ra-nad ek (Thai xylophone) mallets as a small child and played all his life. The backdrop to Sorn's life tale is the story of Thailand's classical music from its golden age during the reign of King Rama V to near extinction after the end of the absolute monarchy when the government banned it as uncivilised in the 1930s -- a time when Field Marshall Plaek Pibulsongkram tried to push the Kingdom into the modern era.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Music
Country: Thailand
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, emotional, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 81%
The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008)
Plot Summary:
Religious and cultural reawakening inspires rebellion in a 19th century Norwegian village.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, captivating, realistic, esoteric, bleak
Similar in 87%
Iron & Blood: The Legend of Taras Bulba (2009)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 16th century, this is a story about Ukraine's Cossack warriors and their campaign to defend their lands from the advancing Polish armies.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, serious, epic, captivating, stylized, dramatic, brutal, uplifting
Similar in 77%
Samurai Banners (1969)
Plot Summary:
Feudal Japan, 1543 to 1562. Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big? Written by [email protected].
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 798
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, jidai geki
Similar in 87%
Forever Enthralled (2008)
Plot Summary:
A biographical account of Mei Lanfang, China's greatest opera star.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, epic
Similar in 76%
Kids on the Slope (2018)
Plot Summary:
Two different students—a successful but aloof academic and a rebellious but kindhearted delinquent—form a friendship through their love of jazz music.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 797
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: emotional, light, captivating, realistic, anime
Similar in 89%
Blue Spring (2001)
Plot Summary:
Soon after being named the new leader of his high school's gang system, Kujo grows bored with the violence and hatred that surround him. He wants desperately to abandon his post… but his once-enviable position of power has a strange way of making him feel powerless.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: bleak, realistic, disturbing, serious, manga
Similar in 84%
Dawn of the Felines (2017)
Plot Summary:
A glimpse into the lives of three prostitutes in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo and the clients who solicit them.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 387
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Stretch (2011)
Plot Summary:
Christophe, a young horse racing jockey from Paris, is filled with hope and ambition. Yet after a race, he tests positive for illegal substances and is subsequently suspended from racing. He decides to move to Macau, in Asia. There his circumstances change very quickly: he wins one race after another, earning himself large amounts of money and success with women. But, his new life also brings him an ever-increasing sense of solitude. Macau has its own unspoken rules that Christophe thinks he can ignore. But events start to gain momentum as the net tightens around him. Motivated by love for an intriguing young Chinese woman, Christophe ends up gambling with his own destiny, but this time on the card tables.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 80
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Thailand, Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, exciting, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 77%
I Don't Have Many Friends (2014)
Plot Summary:
Second year high school student Kodaka Hasegawa has transferred to his new school about a month ago, but he still hasn't made any friends. Kodaka Hasegawa was born from a Japanese father and a British mother. Because of his appearance, people think Kodaka Hasegawa is a troubled kid. One day, Kodaka Hasegawa sees classmate Yozora Mikazuki pleasantly talking to herself. Kodaka Hasegawa talks with her about how to make friends. To make friends, Yozora Mikazuki decides to form the Neighbor's Club and forces Kodaka to enroll in the club.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, captivating, entertaining, touching, offbeat, realistic, stylized, manga
Similar in 81%
The Sea Is Watching (2002)
Plot Summary:
Based on Akira Kurosawa's final unproduced script, this Edo-period drama takes place almost entirely inside an ocean-village brothel. O-Shin is a young brothel worker who one night helps a young samurai escape from his pursuers. Against the warnings of her fellow workers, particularly Kikuno and the brothel's owner, O-Shin falls in love with the samurai.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Romance, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, touching, captivating, contemplative, gloomy, jidai geki
Similar in 85%
Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (2009)
Plot Summary:
The story of the relationship between a college student whose relationship with her boyfriend is going nowhere and a bisexual medical artist who makes prosthetic body parts. Haru is a college student ignored by her boyfriend yet believes she is still in love with him. One day at a café, Haru meets Riko, a medical artist (prosthetist) who creates body parts in order to disguise clients’ missing pieces, lost due to accident or disease. Both were alone, but struck up an immediate friendship and closeness. Riko doesn't care about gender when it comes to relationships, and believes that love itself is the most important thing a human can achieve. Haru struggles in her life between friendship and a deeper relationship with Riko.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 381
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, semi serious, captivating, manga, clever
Similar in 85%
Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (2009)
Plot Summary:
Itou Kaiji is a bum who steals car emblems and slashes tires on what seems to be a regular basis. This routine changes one day when he is paid a visit by a man in a trench-coat. Once the two get talking, it seems that the visitor (Calling himself Endou) is a debt collector. The reason for his visit is an unpaid loan which kaiji had previously co-signed for a work-mate (Furuhata Takeshi). The original loan was 30000 yen and once Takeshi had disappeared, the loan then fell on Kaiji. Kaiji is then told of a way to clear the interest compounded debt (which stood at 3,850,000 yen), which involved getting on a boat with others in his position. Once on the boat the debtors would then have to gamble with loaned money, which would end with a few winning, and others getting into deeper debt and having to work to pay of their debts. After some coercing kaiji accepts a position on the boat, in order to clear himself and make a bit of money as well.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, captivating, anime, atmospheric, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Plot Summary:
A sweeping romantic epic set in Japan in the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 158000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Japan, France
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: romantic, sentimental, captivating, dramatic, stylized, serious, touching, emotional, atmospheric, costume drama