Movies Like The Lightning Tree
If you liked The Lightning Tree (2010), a history and drama movie directed by Ryuichi Hiroki, 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
Double Suicide (1969)
★ 7/10Also drama and romanceSuccessful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man…
- 2
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and romanceBefore he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, a beautiful young woman who carries a huge burden in her heart, his life will change forever.
- 3
The Twilight Samurai (2002)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and romanceSeibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects…
- 4
Love and Honor (2006)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romanceA look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
- 5
Taboo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historySet during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a…
- 6
Tenchu! (1969)
★ 7/10Also history and dramaA ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.
- 7
My Happy Marriage (2023)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romanceAn unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.
- 8
Gate of Hell (1953)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and historyJapan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
- 9
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and historyA fugitive lord and his six retainers disguise themselves as monks to bluff their way through a hostile checkpoint.
- 10
Chûshingura (1962)
★ 7.1/10Also history and dramaAfter their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
- 11
My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday (2016)
★ 7.5/10Also romance and dramaTakatoshi Minamiyama majors in art at an university in Kyoto. On the train to the school, he sees Emi Fukuju and falls in love with her at first sight. Gathering up all his courage, he speaks to her. They begin to date…
- 12
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and romanceA humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful…
- 13
Floating Clouds (1955)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and romanceA married Japanese forester during WWII is sent to Indochina to manage forests. He meets a young Japanese typist and promises to leave his wife. He doesn't and after the war, she turns up and the affair resumes.
- 14
Samurai Assassin (1965)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and historyJapan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and…
- 15
11 Rebels (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and historyWhen the brutal Boshin War breaks out in Japan, a group of inmates on death row unite to defend a fortress against the Imperial army.
- 16
It Feels So Good (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and romanceWhen it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko…
- 17
Endless Love (2014)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and romanceA privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
- 18
Bushido (2024)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and historyKakunoshin, renowned for his skills with a sword and in the game of go, embodies the samurai code. Falsely accused of a theft, he is forced to become a lowly ronin. Years later, when a case of missing gold pulls him…
- 19
Mayerling (1968)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and romanceCrown Prince Rudolf of Austria clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, over implementing progressive policies for their country. Rudolf soon feels he is a man born at the wrong time in a country…
- 20
Winter's Tale (2014)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and romanceA burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.