Movies Like Bright Shadow

If you liked Bright Shadow (1997), a drama movie directed by Hossein Shahabi, 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
A Separation (2011)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision – to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
2
Tehran Taboo (2017)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The lives of three strong-willed women and a young musician cross paths in Tehran’s schizophrenic society where sex, adultery, corruption, prostitution and drugs coexist with strict religious law. In this bustling…
3
Close-Up (1990)
★ 8/10Also drama
This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning…
4
Women Without Men (2009)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Against the tumultuous backdrop of Iran's 1953 CIA-backed coup d'état, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship.
5
Not Without My Daughter (1991)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well.
6
Tatami (2024)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the…
7
Argo (2012)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
8
The Salesman (2016)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Forced out of their apartment due to dangerous works on a neighboring building, Emad and Rana move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young…
9
The Operative (2019)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
10
Crimson Gold (2003)
★ 7/10Also drama
Pizza man Hussein is a daily witnesses to the unjust distribution of wealth in his native Iran. One day, he finds a purse filled with shockingly expensive receipts from an upscale jewelry store. He attempts to bring…
11
The Color of Paradise (1999)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Mohammad joyfully returns to his tiny village on summer vacation from the Institute for the Blind, unaware of his widowed father's intentions to disown him in order to win the hand—and dowry—of a local woman. With the…
12
The Nest (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Rory 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…
13
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural Kurdish village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own…
14
The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
In 1986 Iran, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village, enters into a conversation with Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant ended in…
15
Johnny Tsunami (1999)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A Hawaiian teenage surfer shows off his skills when he takes to the snow slopes in Vermont.
16
Good Day, Ramon (2013)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
After five failed attempts to go to the United States, 18-year-old Ramón decides to look for a friend’s aunt in Germany, but never finds her. With no papers or money, and without knowing the language, he barely…
17
Gook (2017)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Eli and Daniel, two Korean American brothers who own a struggling women's shoe store, have an unlikely friendship with 11-year-old Kamilla. On the first day of the 1992 L.A. riots, the trio must defend their store—and…
18
Septembers of Shiraz (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
In this adaptation of the critically acclaimed debut novel by Iranian American author Dalia Sofer, a secular Jewish family is caught up in the maelstrom of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
19
No One Knows About Persian Cats (2009)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Iranian musicians Negar and Ashkan look for band members to play at a London concert ... and the visa that allows them to leave Tehran to do so.
20
6 Days (2017)
★ 6/10Also drama
London, England, April 1980. Six terrorists assault the Embassy of Iran and take hostages. For six days, tense negotiations are held while the authorities decide whether a military squad should intervene.