Movies Like Whistling Drifter

If you liked Whistling Drifter (1961), a movie directed by Daisuke Yamazaki, 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 Yellow Handkerchief (1977)
★ 7/10
A convict, newly released from prison for murder, joins two strangers on a road trip through Hokkaido to visit his ex-wife, whom he hasn't seen in four years, knowing that if she puts a yellow handkerchief on the…
2
It Feels So Good (2019)
★ 6.6/10
When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko…
3
Mansfield Park (2007)
★ 6.1/10
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
4
Golden Kamuy (2024)
★ 7/10
On the Hokkaido frontier, a war veteran and Ainu girl race against misfits and military renegades to find treasure mapped out on tattooed outlaws.
5
The End of Summer (1961)
★ 7.5/10
The 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.
6
Not Easily Broken (2009)
★ 6.3/10
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
7
Persuasion (2022)
★ 6.1/10
Living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy, Anne Elliot is an unconforming woman with modern sensibilities. When Frederick Wentworth - the dashing one she once sent away - crashes back into her life, Anne…
8
Coyote Ugly (2000)
★ 6.3/10
Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job…
9
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10
The 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
When Marnie Was There (2014)
★ 7.9/10
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may…
11
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
★ 7.6/10
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
12
Love Letter (1953)
★ 7.2/10
Five years after the end of the Second World War, Reikichi, a repatriated veteran, translates love letters for Japanese women to American GIs, while searching for his lost love, Michiko.
13
Mr. Church (2016)
★ 7.4/10
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
14
Northanger Abbey (2007)
★ 6.8/10
A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
15
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
16
The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
★ 7.4/10
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
17
Never Let Me Go (2010)
★ 6.8/10
As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy spend their childhood at an idyllic and secluded English boarding school. As they grow into adults, they must come to terms with the complexity and strength of their love for one…
18
Moxie (2021)
★ 7.2/10
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
19
The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
★ 7.5/10
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
20
The Twilight Samurai (2002)
★ 7.8/10
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects…