Movies Like The King of Indie Films

If you liked The King of Indie Films (2025), a movie directed by Shingo Kanemoto, 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
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
★ 7.5/10
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off…
2
Rental Family (2025)
★ 7.7/10
An American actor in Tokyo struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese 'rental family' agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients' worlds, he…
3
47 Ronin (2013)
★ 6.2/10
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the…
4
Val (2021)
★ 7.2/10
For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood's most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors, has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm…
5
The Sea of Trees (2016)
★ 6.2/10
In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.
6
Love Letter (1953)
★ 7.2/10
Five years after the end of the Second World War, Reikichi, a repatriated veteran, translates love letters for Japanese women to American GIs, while searching for his lost love, Michiko.
7
Lost in Translation (2003)
★ 7.4/10
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from…
8
Drunken Angel (1948)
★ 7.6/10
In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward…
9
Hands of Stone (2016)
★ 6.6/10
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
10
James Dean (2001)
★ 6.8/10
The man behind the legend and a knowing look at 1950s Hollywood are revealed in this dynamic biopic of the meteoric star whose troubled life echoed his gut-grabbing performances in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause…
11
Tokyo Decadence (1992)
★ 6/10
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that…
12
Haru (1996)
★ 7.9/10
A young Tokyo businessman joins an online movie forum and develops a special bond with one of its members through back and forth e-mails.
13
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
★ 6.9/10
This film is a glimpse into the life, love and the unconquerable spirit of the legendary Bruce Lee. From a childhood of rigorous martial arts training, Lee realizes his dream of opening his own kung-fu school in…
14
Millennium Actress (2002)
★ 7.9/10
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone…
15
One Million Yen Girl (2008)
★ 7.2/10
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
16
Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
★ 7.3/10
Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and…
17
Strange Weather (2016)
★ 5.9/10
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
18
Causeway (2022)
★ 6.5/10
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
19
Hachiko (1987)
★ 7.8/10
The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.
20
Still the Water (2014)
★ 6.7/10
On the Japanese island of Amami, despite lacking parental guidance, Kaito and his girlfriend Kyoko try to find their place in the world. While Kaito suffers from the absence of his father, who moved to Tokyo after his…