Movies Like Crossing The sentiMENtal Desert

If you liked Crossing The sentiMENtal Desert (2010), a movie directed by Teng-Yuan Chang, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Take Out (2008)
★ 7/10
An illegal Chinese immigrant falls behind on payments on an enormous smuggling debt. Ming Ding has only until the end of the day to come up with the money.
2
Buddha Mountain (2011)
★ 6.7/10
In Chengdu, China, a retired female opera singer named Master Chang takes in a trio of young tenants into her boarding home. The tenants include a rock singer and a college student who has run away from home.
3
A Touch of Sin (2013)
★ 7.2/10
Four people in different provinces are driven to violent ends: An angry miner is enraged by corruption in his village. A migrant discovers the possibilities of owning a firearm. A receptionist is pushed beyond her…
4
Back to Back, Face to Face (1994)
★ 8.3/10
Wang Shuangli is Deputy Director of the local Cultural Centre, and hopes to be appointed Director. However Old Ma is brought in from the country and installed as Director. This starts a long train of events with Wang's…
5
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
★ 7.7/10
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.
6
The Kindness of Strangers (2019)
★ 6.4/10
Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter…
7
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10
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…
8
Starman (1984)
★ 6.9/10
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
9
Boudica (2023)
★ 5.8/10
Inspired by events in A.D. 60, Boudica follows the eponymous Celtic warrior who rules the Iceni people alongside her husband Prasutagus. When he dies at the hands of Roman soldiers, Boudica’s kingdom is left without a…
10
The Story of Qiu Ju (1992)
★ 7.6/10
When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.
11
Holy Lands (2019)
★ 6.1/10
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife…
12
Caught by the Tides (2024)
★ 6.7/10
Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
13
Return of Special Forces 5 (2021)
★ 6.7/10
After Long Wei and his men finished their operation in Fuji, they received a distress message from his ex-wife, Leng Yun. Long Wei immediately rushes to Southeast Asia alone to look for his ex-wife. With his excellent…
14
Till We Meet Again (2021)
★ 6.6/10
Ah Lun, who has a choice to make in the underworld, decides to be a god of love in Chinese mythology. As he advances with his tasks on Earth, his biggest challenge is to tie a red string with the woman he loves the most.
15
Black Box (2020)
★ 6.4/10
After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
16
Lan Yu (2001)
★ 7.2/10
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.
17
Falling Down (1993)
★ 7.4/10
An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
18
Joy Ride (2023)
★ 6.5/10
When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo, her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat, her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye…
19
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
★ 7/10
Dolly Levi is a strong-willed matchmaker who travels to Yonkers, New York in order to see the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. In doing so, she convinces his niece, his niece's…
20
Working Girl (1988)
★ 6.6/10
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she takes a risky chance to reclaim it by impersonating him and running the project from his position.