Movies Like China Girl

If you liked China Girl (1987), a romance and crime movie directed by Abel Ferrara, 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
The Corruptor (1999)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and drama
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets…
2
Blue Story (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and drama
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from opposing postcodes. Timmy, a shy, smart, naive and timid young boy from Deptford, goes to school in Peckham where he strikes up a…
3
Fire with Fire (1986)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and romance
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison…
4
Newness (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and drama
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
5
Love Me Love Me (2026)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and drama
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in…
6
The Edge of Love (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and romance
When the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his flirtatious wife Caitlin sweep into war-torn London, the last thing they expect is to bump into Dylan's childhood sweetheart Vera. Despite her joy at seeing Dylan after so many…
7
Time Is Up (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also romance and drama
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
8
Unfaithful (2002)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and romance
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
9
Killer Heat (2024)
★ 5.8/10Also crime and drama
An expat PI is hired to investigate a suspicious death in Crete, Greece, where jealousies run deep amongst the victim's powerful family.
10
In Secret (2014)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and crime
In 1860s Paris, a young woman, Therese, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the sickly Camille by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. She spends her days behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching…
11
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also romance and drama
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see…
12
Skin (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
A destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists, turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.
13
Doing Life (2026)
★ 7.8/10Also romance and drama
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
14
The Fugitive Kind (1960)
★ 6.9/10Also romance and drama
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local…
15
Sylvie's Love (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also romance and drama
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
16
Lady Chatterley's Lover (2015)
★ 6.3/10Also romance and drama
An early-20th-century tale of love across class boundaries which tells the legendary and romantic story of Lady Chatterley’s affair with her gamekeeper. Jed Mercurio’s adaptation of DH Lawrence’s classic.
17
Two Lovers (2008)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and romance
A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.
18
Inferno (1999)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and romance
Eddie Lomax is a drifter who has been in a suicidal funk since the death of his close friend Johnny. Riding his motorcycle into a small desert town where Johnny once lived, Lomax is confronted by a gang of toughs, who…
19
A Patch of Blue (1965)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and romance
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life.
20
Bound by Honor (1993)
★ 8.2/10Also crime and drama
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known…