Movies Like The Dream of Lu

If you liked The Dream of Lu (2012), a drama and family movie directed by Hari Sama, 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 Book of Life (2014)
★ 7.5/10Also family
The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans…
2
The Shack (2017)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and family
A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack'.
3
The Glass House (2001)
★ 6/10Also drama
When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the…
4
Amores Perros (2000)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A fatalistic car crash in Mexico city sets off a chain of events in the lives of three people: a supermodel, a young man wanting to run off with his sister-in-law, and a homeless man.
5
August Rush (2007)
★ 7.4/10Also family and drama
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater…
6
Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020)
★ 8.4/10Also drama and family
Second chances start when a hardened criminal crosses paths with a precocious little girl who is helped by an angel to change hearts during the holiday season.
7
Apocalypto (2006)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits…
8
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
9
Pain and Glory (2019)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Salvador Mallo, a filmmaker in the twilight of his career, remembers his life: his mother, his lovers, the actors he worked with. The sixties in a small village in Valencia, the eighties in Madrid, the present, when he…
10
21 Grams (2003)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together…
11
Magnolia (1999)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will…
12
Blue Miracle (2021)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and family
To save their cash-strapped orphanage, a guardian and his kids partner with a washed-up boat captain for a chance to win a lucrative fishing competition.
13
Battle in Heaven (2005)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
Set in Mexico City, Carlos Reygadas's sexually explicit drama centers on a man in turmoil over his past actions. Chauffer Marcos feels compelled to reveal a dark secret to his boss's daughter, Ana, a wealthy woman who…
14
The Fallout (2021)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
15
Upstream Color (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the lifecycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.
16
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
★ 7.5/10Also family and drama
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with…
17
The Beloved (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Acclaimed film director Esteban Martínez is a legend both for his films and for his past marked by violence and excess. For his latest project, he offers his daughter Emilia a role under the pretext of helping her with…
18
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where…
19
Goodbye June (2025)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
20
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
★ 8/10Also drama
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.