Movies Like On This Earth
If you liked On This Earth (1957), a drama movie directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura, 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

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaYokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off…
- 2

Tokyo Story (1953)
★ 8.1/10Also dramaThe 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…
- 3

Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)
★ 7.7/10Also dramaFrom 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.
- 4

A Geisha (1953)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaFleeing a distressing family situation, Eiko, a very young girl, becomes an apprentice to Miyoharu, a veteran geisha. Both, determined to preserve their professional integrity, must face the selfishness and ambition of…
- 5

No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
★ 6.9/10Also dramaAfter her anti-fascist professor father is dismissed, Yukie navigates love, political repression, and wartime upheaval—ultimately forging her own path in pre- and post-WWII Japan.
- 6

The End of Summer (1961)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaThe family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.
- 7

Look Back (2024)
★ 8.2/10Also dramaPopular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a…
- 8

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.
- 9

Sakuran (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaKiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
- 10

One Million Yen Girl (2008)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaA 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
- 11

Aristocrats (2021)
★ 7/10Also dramaHanako is looking for stability with her man. She gets dumped instead. She begins dating. Miki studied and worked hard to get to where she is and is holding down a job. They are introduced through an intermediary man.
- 12

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…
- 13

Taboo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaSet during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a…
- 14

Kids Return (1996)
★ 6.9/10Also dramaShinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world…
- 15

Tokyo Sonata (2008)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaThe winds of change blow as a family grapples with unemployment, alienation, mistrust and a lack of communication. When a Japanese salaryman loses his job to outsourcing to China, it's simply the beginning of a series…
- 16

Here (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaAn odyssey through time and memory, centered on a place in New Jersey where—from wilderness, and then, later, from a home—love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations.
- 17

Harmonium (2016)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaToshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.
- 18

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaCharts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract…
- 19

Late Spring (1949)
★ 8/10Also dramaNoriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she…
- 20

Shoplifters (2018)
★ 7.8/10Also dramaIn the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence…