Movies Like If I Were for Real
If you liked If I Were for Real (1981), a drama movie directed by Wang Tung, 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

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.
- 2

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.
- 3

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.
- 4

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.
- 5

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…
- 6

One Week Friends (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaA high school student suffers from a strange amnesia, causing her memories to only last a week. After she befriends a new student, his kindness and persistence make her gradually open up.
- 7

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.
- 8

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…
- 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

Buddha Mountain (2011)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaIn Chengdu, China, a retired female opera singer named Master Chang takes in a trio of young tenants into her boarding home. The tenants include a rock singer and a college student who has run away from home.
- 11

A Dry White Season (1989)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaDuring 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.
- 12

Eleanor the Great (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also drama94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
- 13

All Day and a Night (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also dramaWhile serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
- 14

The Nest (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaRory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban…
- 15

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…
- 16

Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaA 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…
- 17

A City of Sadness (1989)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaThe story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror," the Kuomintang government's anti-communist political repression that was wrought on the Taiwanese people from 1947-1987.
- 18

Home Run (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaA pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
- 19

Home (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaAn ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
- 20

Gigi & Nate (2022)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaA young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.