Movies Like River Returns

If you liked River Returns (2025), a drama and fantasy movie directed by Masakazu Kaneko, 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 Shepherd (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama and fantasy
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
2
The Caveman's Valentine (2001)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim…
3
Hereafter (2010)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and fantasy
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
4
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
5
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a…
6
6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he…
7
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
8
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
9
Skater Girl (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
10
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
★ 5.9/10Also fantasy
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
11
Mythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also fantasy
Stuck in a life of indentured servitude, Marek dreams of becoming a wizard. When she meets the beautiful priestess Teela in need of help, she offers her assistance and provides a motley troupe. Together they go in…
12
FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
★ 6.4/10Also fantasy and drama
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on the true story of the Cottingley Fairies.
13
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces…
14
My Dinner with Hervé (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
15
Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy…
16
Hideaways (2011)
★ 6.1/10Also fantasy
The elder one of each generation in the Furlong family is equipped with an extraordinary capacity. James discovers the nature of his at the time of an accident which causes the death of his father and his grandmother…
17
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
★ 6/10Also drama
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house…
18
Cheaters (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
19
Abigail (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy
A young girl Abigail lives in a city whose borders were closed many years ago because of an epidemic of a mysterious disease. Abby's father was one of the sick - and he was taken when she was six years old. Going…
20
Picnic (1996)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey. Walking upon the tops of the walls of the city, they seek to find a picnic spot with the best…