Movies Like While Mother Is Away

If you liked While Mother Is Away (1980), a movie directed by Nguyễn Khánh Dư, 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
Jacknife (1989)
★ 6.4/10
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
2
The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
★ 7.1/10
Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.
3
Ballistic (2026)
★ 5.8/10
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
4
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991)
★ 6.2/10
Sue Ellen Crandell is a teenager eagerly awaiting her mother's summer-long absence. While the babysitter looks after her rambunctious younger siblings, Sue Ellen can party and have fun. But then the babysitter abruptly…
5
Worldbreaker (2025)
★ 6/10
Five years ago, a tear in the fabric of reality brought creatures to our world from an alternate dimension bent on our destruction. A father hides his daughter on an island to keep her safe while he prepares her for…
6
Interceptor (2022)
★ 6/10
A U.S. Army Captain uses her years of tactical training to save humanity from sixteen nuclear missiles launched at the U.S. as a violent attack threatens her remote missile interceptor station.
7
Outside the Wire (2021)
★ 6.4/10
In the near future, a drone pilot is sent into a deadly militarized zone and must work with an android officer to locate a doomsday device.
8
Casualties of War (1989)
★ 7.2/10
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
9
Angel Town (1990)
★ 6.6/10
A graduate student and martial-arts expert rents a room in a house owned by a single mother who lives there with her son. A local street gang is trying to recruit the son, but the new tenant tries to help the boy's…
10
Underworld: Awakening (2012)
★ 6.3/10
Having escaped years of imprisonment, vampire warrioress Selene finds herself in a changed world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate…
11
First They Killed My Father (2017)
★ 7.4/10
A 5-year-old girl embarks on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
12
The Mother (2023)
★ 6.6/10
A deadly female assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men.
13
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
★ 6.2/10
When the ruthless forces of the Motherworld threaten a quiet farming village on a distant moon, a mysterious outsider becomes its best hope for survival.
14
Spectral (2016)
★ 6.6/10
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
15
Bunker (2023)
★ 6.7/10
Trapped in a bunker during World War I, a group of soldiers are faced with an ungodly presence that slowly turns them against each other.
16
My Zoe (2019)
★ 6.5/10
Isabelle, a geneticist recovering from a toxic marriage, is raising her only daughter, Zoe, with her contentious ex-husband. Zoe means everything to her mother and so when tragedy strikes the fractured family, Isabelle…
17
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…
18
Men in War (1957)
★ 6.6/10
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic…
19
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
★ 6.8/10
After surviving the Quarter Quell, Katniss finds herself in the hidden stronghold of District 13, where the rebellion against the Capitol is gaining momentum. Struggling with the weight of becoming the symbol of…
20
Light of My Life (2019)
★ 6.5/10
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.