Movies Like Happiness in August

If you liked Happiness in August (2003), a drama and fantasy movie directed by Iwao Takahashi, 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
Battle of the Year (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also music and drama
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
2
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Frozen Bond (2019)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and fantasy
A prequel story set seven years before the beginning of the Re:ZERO series. Emilia lives in a secluded forest covered in snow with the spirit Puck. The forest holds a secret: the elves who once lived there have been…
3
Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also music and drama
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
4
Coda (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also music and drama
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
5
Too Late Blues (1961)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his…
6
Clika (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also music and drama
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of…
7
A (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and music
A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.
8
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026)
★ 8.1/10Also fantasy and music
Iroha's life gets knocked off its orbit when Kaguya, a carefree runaway from the Moon, moves in and convinces her to perform in a virtual world together.
9
Teen Spirit (2019)
★ 6/10Also music and drama
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
10
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend…
11
Cadillac Records (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and music
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta…
12
Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)
★ 7.5/10Also fantasy and drama
A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
13
The Colors Within (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and music
Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the…
14
Good Vibrations (2012)
★ 6.7/10Also music and drama
The story of music legend Terri Hooley, a key figure in Belfast's punk rock scene. Hooley founded the Good Vibrations store from which a record label sprung, representing bands such as The Undertones, Rudi and The…
15
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie Part 2 (2021)
★ 8.2/10Also fantasy and drama
While under the care of the Outer Sailor Guardians, Hotaru begins to age rapidly. Then, the time comes for all the Sailor Guardians to reunite!
16
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
★ 8.1/10Also drama and fantasy
Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she…
17
Grace Unplugged (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama and music
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film…
18
Child of Kamiari Month (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and fantasy
A year after losing her mother, a young girl learns that she must journey across Japan to the annual gathering of gods in the sacred land of Izumo.
19
Northfork (2003)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the…
20
The Mambo Kings (1992)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.