Movies Like The Equation of Love and Death

If you liked The Equation of Love and Death (2008), a crime and drama movie directed by Cao Baoping, 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
Killer Heat (2024)
★ 5.8/10Also crime and drama
An expat PI is hired to investigate a suspicious death in Crete, Greece, where jealousies run deep amongst the victim's powerful family.
2
Blue Story (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and drama
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from opposing postcodes. Timmy, a shy, smart, naive and timid young boy from Deptford, goes to school in Peckham where he strikes up a…
3
Fallen Angel (1945)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and drama
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman…
4
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and crime
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
5
Under the Light (2023)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and crime
Officers Su Jianming and Li Huilin investigate a crime involving wealthy businessman Li Zhitian. As clues emerge, the investigation becomes more and more like a game of chess.
6
The Bodyguard (2016)
★ 5.8/10Also crime and drama
A retired bodyguard who has settled into a corner of the world where China, Russia and North Korea meet as he suffers from early dementia finds a new friend in a young girl. When her life is threatened by her father's…
7
S.W.A.T. (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and drama
The story centers on the Chinese Special Police Unit, from their hard training to their first mission.
8
Police Story: Lockdown (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
A man looking for the release of a long-time prisoner takes a police officer, his daughter, and a group of strangers hostage.
9
Empire (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top…
10
They Live by Night (1949)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and romance
An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
11
One Night in Bangkok (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and drama
A hit man named Kai flies into Bangkok, gets a gun, and orders a cab. He offers a professional female driver big money to be his all-night driver. But when she realizes Kai is committing brutal murders at each stop…
12
In Secret (2014)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and crime
In 1860s Paris, a young woman, Therese, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the sickly Camille by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. She spends her days behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching…
13
Fox Hunt (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also crime and drama
Based on true events. Dai Yichen, the Shanghai-based mastermind of a massive financial fraud who has been on the run for seven years, resurfaces in Paris. Chinese economic crime detective Ye Jun leads the "Fox Hunt…
14
The Rookie (1990)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and drama
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help…
15
Only the River Flows (2023)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and crime
Dedicated police detective Ma Zhe is tasked with solving a series of brutal murders in a rural Chinese town. As pressure mounts from his superiors, a hasty arrest is made, but while his colleagues celebrate, several…
16
Inside Man (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
17
The Wild One (1953)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and crime
The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another…
18
Limbo (2023)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and drama
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the…
19
Time Is Up (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also romance and drama
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
20
True Believer (1989)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet…