Movies Like An Unstable Island

If you liked An Unstable Island (1978), a drama movie directed by Zhang Xinshi and Yandong Xue, 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
The Young One (1960)
★ 7/10Also drama
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
2
Buddha Mountain (2011)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
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
Kisses (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.
4
The Nest (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban…
5
Hardball (2001)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
6
Charm City Kings (2020)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds…
7
Home (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
8
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
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…
9
A City of Sadness (1989)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
The story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror," the Kuomintang government's anti-communist political repression that was wrought on the Taiwanese people from 1947-1987.
10
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
11
Black Dog (2024)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new…
12
Edie (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
To try and overcome a lifetime of bitterness and resentment, 83-year-old Edie decides that it is never too late. After packing an old camping bag, she leaves her life behind and embarks on an adventure she never got to…
13
Strange Weather (2016)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
14
A Sun (2019)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.
15
7 Women (1965)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
In a mission in China in 1935, a group of women are preyed on by Mongolian bandits, led by Warlord chief Tunga Khan.
16
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
17
Brotherly Love (2015)
★ 7/10Also drama
West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.
18
Salomé (2013)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé…
19
Aftershock (2010)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Tangshan, 1976. Two seven-year-old twins are buried under the rubble of the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century. The rescue team explains to their mother that freeing either child will almost certainly result in…
20
Fast Girls (2012)
★ 6/10Also drama
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.