Movies Like May & August

If you liked May & August (2002), a movie directed by Raymond To Kwok-Wai, 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
Empire of the Sun (1987)
★ 7.5/10
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the…
2
Nanking (2007)
★ 7.1/10
The story of the rape of Nanking, one of the most tragic events in history. In 1937, the invading Japanese army murdered over 200,000 and raped tens of thousands of Chinese. In the midst of this horror, a small group…
3
Kensuke's Kingdom (2024)
★ 7.1/10
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and…
4
The Book Thief (2013)
★ 7.5/10
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
5
Wish You Were Here (1987)
★ 6.4/10
In a staid English seaside town after the Second World War, young Lynda grows up with her widowed father and younger sister. Rebellious Lynda has been swearing constantly from an early age. At sixteen, she becomes more…
6
The Last Emperor (1987)
★ 7.6/10
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and…
7
LOLA (2023)
★ 6.4/10
Sussex, England, 1938. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Thomasina and Martha Hanbury, two ingenious sisters, create LOLA, a miraculous machine.
8
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.
9
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
★ 7.8/10
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware…
10
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
★ 6.8/10
Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.
11
Goodnight, Mister Tom (1998)
★ 7/10
A shy and quiet World War II evacuee is housed by a disgruntled old man, and they soon develop a close bond.
12
American Pastoral (2016)
★ 6.2/10
Set in postwar America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter's new political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.
13
Hope and Glory (1987)
★ 6.9/10
A middle-aged man recalls his childhood growing up in and around London during World War II.
14
Since You Went Away (1944)
★ 6.6/10
In 1943, several people enter, re-enter, and exit the difficult life of a Midwestern family whose patriarch has been called up to war, leaving behind his wife and two teen daughters.
15
Ginger & Rosa (2012)
★ 6/10
A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event the comes to redefine their relationship.
16
Fatima (2020)
★ 7.2/10
In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World…
17
Freedom Writers (2007)
★ 7.9/10
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
18
Little Women (2019)
★ 7.8/10
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
19
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
★ 7.2/10
Through a series of flashbacks, four Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China explore their pasts.
20
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…