Movies Like Dawning

If you liked Dawning (2018), a movie, 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
The Children of Huang Shi (2008)
★ 6.7/10
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.
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
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.
5
In the Heat of the Sun (1994)
★ 7.8/10
Beijing, 1970s. The Cultural Revolution has driven most adults to the provinces leaving 14-year-old Monkey and his pals with free rein over the city. They hang around, get up to no good, and discover that unsolvable…
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
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
★ 6.8/10
All her life, Englishwoman Gladys Aylward knew that China was where she belonged. Unqualified to be sent as a missionary, Gladys works as a domestic to earn to send herself to a poor, remote village. There, she…
8
Lion (2016)
★ 8/10
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his…
9
The Secret Garden (2020)
★ 6.3/10
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a…
10
The Flowers of War (2011)
★ 7.4/10
A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
11
Red Sorghum (1988)
★ 7.3/10
An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal…
12
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a…
13
She Rides Shotgun (2025)
★ 7/10
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a…
14
Devils on the Doorstep (2001)
★ 8.2/10
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The…
15
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.
16
The Chinese Widow (2017)
★ 7.2/10
It’s 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has destroyed America’s morale. The US President Franklin D. Roosevelt then decides to risk it all by bombing Tokyo and raise more hope for his citizens. After…
17
Summerland (2020)
★ 7.5/10
A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.
18
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…
19
Black Dog (2024)
★ 7.1/10
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new…
20
The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)
★ 6.6/10
Yang Zirong disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate and destroy a bandit group. He joins hands with a hostage, and together, they fight against the warlord, Hawk.