Movies Like There Was a Father

If you liked There Was a Father (1942), a drama movie directed by Yasujirō Ozu, 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 Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
2
Daddy Longlegs (2010)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment…
3
Death of a Salesman (1985)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Willy Loman, an aging, failing salesman, struggles to accept reality and his failure to achieve the American Dream.
4
A Dry White Season (1989)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
5
The Lost Bus (2025)
★ 7/10Also drama
A determined father risks everything to rescue a dedicated teacher and her students from a raging wildfire.
6
The Beautiful Country (2004)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
7
This Boy's Life (1993)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to…
8
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…
9
The Thing with Feathers (2025)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Following the death of his wife, a young father's hold on reality crumbles, and a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
10
Like Father, Like Son (2013)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. He learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. He must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he…
11
Last Ride (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A young boy travels across Australia with his father, who's wanted by the law.
12
Evil Does Not Exist (2023)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house offering city residents a comfortable "escape"…
13
Alex of Venice (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
14
Light of My Life (2019)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
15
Tokyo Story (1953)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't…
16
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
17
Monster (2023)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
After an outburst at school involving her son, a concerned single mother demands answers, triggering a sequence of deepening suspicion and turmoil.
18
Fences (2016)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
19
The Judge (2014)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.
20
Embattled (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.