Movies Like A Light in the Distance

If you liked A Light in the Distance (2015), a movie directed by Keiko Tsuruoka, 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
Pulse (2001)
★ 6.7/10
In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world.
2
Weathering with You (2019)
★ 8/10
The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every…
3
Suzume (2022)
★ 7.9/10
Suzume, 17, lost her mother as a little girl. On her way to school, she meets a mysterious young man. But her curiosity unleashes a calamity that endangers the entire population of Japan, and so Suzume embarks on a…
4
Lone Samurai (2025)
★ 6.4/10
A violent and reckless samurai is shipwrecked on a remote island left without an avenue for his rage. After undertaking a spiritual journey to appease his aggressive thoughts, he finds himself abducted by external…
5
Hereafter (2010)
★ 6.2/10
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
6
The Garden of Words (2013)
★ 7.6/10
Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two…
7
Fireworks (2017)
★ 6.6/10
Moshimo, Japan. The annual fireworks festival is about to take place and a group of schoolboys, arguing over whether they are round or flat when viewed from different angles, set out to find it out.
8
Typhoon Club (1985)
★ 6.5/10
Offering a caustic immersion into the lives of disaffected junior high students on the cusp of adulthood, the film takes place over the 5-day period before, during, and after a ferocious, seemingly liberating typhoon…
9
13 Minutes (2021)
★ 5.8/10
As a new day begins in the small American town of Minninnewah, the residents start their day as ordinary as the next. Mother Nature, however, has other plans for them. Inhabitants have just 13 minutes to seek shelter…
10
Kikujiro (1999)
★ 7.5/10
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical…
11
Maborosi (1995)
★ 7.5/10
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
12
Ocean Waves (1993)
★ 6.4/10
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking…
13
Typhoon Noruda (2015)
★ 6.6/10
As an unexpected typhoon bears down on a small tropical island, a group of students trapped at school find themselves forced to put aside their personal issues and work together. Not only to save themselves, but…
14
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
★ 8.2/10
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
15
The Last House (2026)
★ 6.8/10
A family suddenly sealed inside their home must work together to survive against dwindling resources and the ominous threat keeping them trapped.
16
Gantz (2010)
★ 6.5/10
After trying to rescue a man on the subway tracks, two teens wake up in a room dominated by a mysterious black sphere that sends them to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth.
17
Millennium Actress (2002)
★ 7.9/10
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone…
18
One Piece: Clockwork Island Adventure (2001)
★ 6.8/10
Relaxing on a cozy beach, the Straw Hat Pirates are taking a rest from their quest. Right until Luffy noticed the Going Merry has been hijacked and sailed off from the beach. This leads them to search the ship and find…
19
Evil Does Not Exist (2023)
★ 6.8/10
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house offering city residents a comfortable "escape"…
20
Journey to the Shore (2015)
★ 6.5/10
Mizuki's husband Yusuke has been missing for three years. He suddenly comes back home as a ghost and asks Mizuki to go on a trip with him. Their trip consists of visiting the people that helped Yusuke on his previous…