Movies Like Ephemera
If you liked Ephemera (2026), a drama and romance movie directed by Shan Jiang, 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

Life in a Year (2020)
★ 8.2/10Also drama and romanceA 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
- 2

Summer Palace (2007)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romanceYu Hong leaves her home village and starts university in Beijing, where she develops a consuming and compulsive relationship with another student. The student riots from 1989 then ensue and take a toll on their lives.
- 3

Not Easily Broken (2009)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and romanceA car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
- 4

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and dramaClare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
- 5

Her Story (2024)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and romanceWang Tiemei, a single mother, loses her job and moves, befriending neighbor Xiaoye who appears cheerful but is depressed. Their bond grows as Tiemei navigates relationships with her ex-husband causing trouble.
- 6

Newness (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and dramaIn contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
- 7

Time Is Up (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also romance and dramaVivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
- 8

Blind (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and romanceA novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
- 9

Gabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)
★ 8.3/10Also romance and dramaThe final part of the film adaption of the erotic romance novel Gabriel's Inferno written by an anonymous Canadian author under the pen name Sylvain Reynard.
- 10

Return to Dust (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and romanceHumble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. They have to combine their strength and build a home to survive. In the face of much adversity, an…
- 11

Nine Lives (2005)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and romanceCaptives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
- 12

Under the Hawthorn Tree (2010)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and romanceThe daughter of a right-winger, schoolgirl Jing Qiu is sent to the countryside for reeducation, and tasked to help write a textbook. There she meets Lao San, a young soldier with a bright future ahead. Despite the…
- 13

Five Dances (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and romanceA gifted young dancer arrives in New York City and joins the downtown contemporary dance world. With talent to burn, he soon must choose between his responsibility to his broken family in the Midwest, and forging a…
- 14

The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romanceA widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
- 15

Doing Life (2026)
★ 7.8/10Also romance and dramaA single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
- 16

Ashes in the Snow (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and romanceThe coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her…
- 17

Viva La Vida (2024)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and romanceA young woman who needs a kidney transplant wants to marry someone who will be able to donate a kidney, and meets a young man who has a brain disease.
- 18

Wander Darkly (2020)
★ 6/10Also romance and dramaNew parents Adrienne and Matteo are forced to reckon with trauma amidst their troubled relationship. They must revisit the memories of their past and unravel haunting truths in order to face their uncertain future.
- 19

Spring Fever (2010)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and romanceHired to spy on a philandering husband, Luo Haitao soon becomes entangled in a clandestine affair with the other man. Along with Luo's girlfriend, they succumb to the delirium of drunken nights, but how long can their…
- 20

Gabriel's Inferno (2020)
★ 8.4/10Also romance and dramaAn intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the…