Movies Like Absence

If you liked Absence (2025), a drama movie directed by Wu Lang, 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
Caught by the Tides (2024)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
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.
2
Tigertail (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
3
Home (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
4
The Return (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A former alcoholic returns home after ten years in prison for the murder of her husband. As her recollection of the murder returns, things take a different turn.
5
Lighting Up the Stars (2022)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Having been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life.
6
Eleanor the Great (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
7
What Maisie Knew (2013)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.
8
Upstream (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A moment of impulsiveness turns Gao Zhilei into a "stay-at-home" individual, but he never expected his life to take a turn in the opposite direction. A series of changes compel him to take on his responsibilities as…
9
One Second (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
10
The Girl in the Book (2015)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
11
Come Sunday (2018)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
12
Skin (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
13
Super Me (2021)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Sang Yu is so exhausted from trying to stay awake. Every time he closes his eyes, a demon chases and kills him in his dreams. One night Sang realizes he has a special power: he can bring treasures from his dreams into…
14
The Sound of Silence (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
15
Nothing Personal (2009)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
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…
16
Taipei Story (1985)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
A young woman urgently seeks to navigate the maze of contemporary Taipei and find a future. She hopes that her boyfriend Lung is the key to the future, but Lung is stuck in a past that combines baseball and traditional…
17
The Rescue (2020)
★ 7/10Also drama
A rescue unit within the Chinese Coast Guard are forced to overcome their personal differences to resolve a crisis.
18
F.I.S.T. (1978)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts…
19
Gigi & Nate (2022)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
20
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
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…