Movies Like Poetry Written on the Banana Leaf

If you liked Poetry Written on the Banana Leaf (1932), a movie directed by Li Ping-Qian, 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
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
★ 8.1/10
In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.
2
Nobody (2025)
★ 7.9/10
The Little Pig Yao decides to leave Langlang Mountain to join the pilgrimage. On the journey west, what trials will the little monsters face? In the end, will they achieve their dreams and live as they truly desire?
3
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
★ 6.4/10
When a sprite named Crysta shrinks a human boy, Zak, down to her size, he vows to help the magical fairy folk stop a greedy logging company from destroying their home: the pristine rainforest known as FernGully. Zak…
4
White Snake: Afloat (2024)
★ 7.9/10
Xiaobai finally found Xu Xian, the reincarnation of Axuan, after 500 years, the two met on the Broken Bridge. Xiaobai and sister hid in the streets and alleys, started a lively life in human world with him and his…
5
Mulan (1998)
★ 7.9/10
When Imperial China calls one man from every family to defend the empire from invading Huns, a young woman disguises herself as a soldier to take her ailing father’s place. Facing ruthless invaders, brutal training…
6
The Man Who Cried (2000)
★ 6.1/10
A young refugee travels from Russia to America in search of her lost father and falls in love with a gypsy horseman.
7
White Snake (2019)
★ 7.7/10
One day a young woman named Blanca is saved by Xuan, a snake catcher from a nearby village. As they set off an a journey to discover her real identity, the pair develop feelings for each other.
8
Footloose (1984)
★ 6.7/10
When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.
9
The Cameraman (1928)
★ 7.8/10
A photographer takes up newsreel shooting to impress a secretary.
10
Sight (2023)
★ 6.4/10
Ming Wang is an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye surgeon in America. When tasked with restoring the sight of an orphan in India, who was blinded by her stepmother, Wang…
11
M. Butterfly (1993)
★ 6.6/10
In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with opera singer Song Liling – but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.
12
The Monkey King 2 (2016)
★ 5.9/10
Taking place 500 years after the Havoc in Heaven, the Tang Priest is appointed by Buddha to go to the West to fetch the sacred scriptures, only to accidentally free the Monkey King. With Lady White aiming to break up…
13
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
★ 7/10
An American-born Chinese economics professor accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, only to get thrust into the lives of Asia's rich and famous.
14
Sketch (2025)
★ 7/10
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to…
15
New Gods: Nezha Reborn (2021)
★ 8/10
While living as an ordinary deliveryman and motor racing fan, Nezha encounters old nemeses and must rediscover his powers to protect his loved ones.
16
The Sleeping Dictionary (2003)
★ 6.6/10
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition…
17
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
★ 6.8/10
During the Cultural Revolution, two young men are sent to a remote mining village where they fall in love with the local tailor's beautiful granddaughter and discover a suitcase full of forbidden Western novels.
18
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
★ 7.2/10
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to…
19
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
★ 6.3/10
Jiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: Bongo about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and Mickey and the Beanstalk, a take on the famous fairy tale.
20
Aladdin (2019)
★ 7.1/10
A kindhearted street urchin named Aladdin embarks on a magical adventure after finding a lamp that releases a wisecracking genie while a power-hungry Grand Vizier vies for the same lamp that has the power to make their…