Movies Like Ballad of the Yellow River
If you liked Ballad of the Yellow River (1989), a drama movie directed by Teng Wenji, 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

One Second (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaA movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
- 2

Skin (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also dramaBased on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
- 3

Black Dog (2024)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaReleased from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new…
- 4

Lighting Up the Stars (2022)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaHaving been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life.
- 5

The Young One (1960)
★ 7/10Also dramaA jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
- 6

Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaIn the Chinese town of Fuyang, four brothers go about their day-to-day lives, their destinies shaped by love and challenges.
- 7

What Maisie Knew (2013)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaIn New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new…
- 8

Hardball (2001)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaAn aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
- 9

Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaThe true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
- 10

Upstream (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also dramaA moment of impulsiveness turns Gao Zhilei into a "stay-at-home" individual, but he never expected his life to take a turn in the opposite direction. A series of changes compel him to take on his responsibilities as…
- 11

Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaA drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
- 12

Imperial Dreams (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaA 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
- 13

Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaYoung teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…
- 14

The Short History of the Long Road (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaNola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new…
- 15

Caught by the Tides (2024)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaYears after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
- 16

A Question of Faith (2017)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaWhen Tragedy Strikes three Families, their Destiny forces them on a coverging path and mercy as the challenges of their fate could also resurrect their beliefs
- 17

Kaili Blues (2016)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaChen Sheng goes off in search of his nephew who has been abandoned by his father. Along the way, he encounters numerous people from his past and also those from his future.
- 18

A Sun (2019)
★ 7.7/10Also dramaA family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.
- 19

Police Story: Lockdown (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaA man looking for the release of a long-time prisoner takes a police officer, his daughter, and a group of strangers hostage.
- 20

The Kindness of Strangers (2019)
★ 6.4/10Also dramaClara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter…