Movies Like Returning Home

If you liked Returning Home (2016), a movie directed by Yingsong Lei, 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
Painted Skin (2008)
★ 6/10
Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely…
2
Upstream (2024)
★ 6.8/10
A moment of impulsiveness turns Gao Zhilei into a "stay-at-home" individual, but he never expected his life to take a turn in the opposite direction. A series of changes compel him to take on his responsibilities as…
3
Elf (2003)
★ 6.7/10
When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging…
4
Silent Night (2023)
★ 6.1/10
A tormented father witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a…
5
Lovely, Still (2009)
★ 6.6/10
A holiday fable that tells the story of an elderly man discovering love for the first time.
6
The Addams Family (1991)
★ 7.1/10
When a man claiming to be long-lost Uncle Fester reappears after 25 years lost, the family plans a celebration to wake the dead. But the kids barely have time to warm up the electric chair before Morticia begins to…
7
Under the Hawthorn Tree (2010)
★ 7.8/10
The daughter of a right-winger, schoolgirl Jing Qiu is sent to the countryside for reeducation, and tasked to help write a textbook. There she meets Lao San, a young soldier with a bright future ahead. Despite the…
8
Five Dances (2013)
★ 6.3/10
A gifted young dancer arrives in New York City and joins the downtown contemporary dance world. With talent to burn, he soon must choose between his responsibility to his broken family in the Midwest, and forging a…
9
Fist of Legend (1994)
★ 7.5/10
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
10
I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
★ 6/10
Estranged from his father, college student Jake is lured home to New York for Christmas with the promise of receiving a classic Porsche as a gift. When the bullying football team dumps him in the desert in a Santa…
11
Step Up: Year of the Dance (2019)
★ 6.1/10
Two young people from different social classes put aside their differences and come together to form a dance group and win a championship in China.
12
Finding Father Christmas (2016)
★ 6.2/10
Orphaned at a young age at Christmas, Miranda finds a clue that could unveil the truth about her father - and maybe a little something else will rekindle her Christmas spirit.
13
Crazy/Beautiful (2001)
★ 6.6/10
At Pacific Palisades High, a poor Latino falls hard for a troubled girl from the affluent neighborhood.
14
Bob Trevino Likes It (2025)
★ 7.5/10
Lily Trevino unexpectedly befriends an online stranger who shares her self-centered father’s name. This new Bob Trevino’s support could transform her life.
15
Endless Journey of Love (2025)
★ 9/10
In 1930s China, village girl Qian Xiao gains the power to control time, making her a target of powerful forces. As she uncovers the metropolis's hidden secrets, she faces peril and the cost of her gift.
16
Tuff Turf (1985)
★ 5.9/10
The new guy in a Los Angeles high school, Morgan, does some singing and fights hotshot Nick over disco dancer Frankie.
17
White Snake: Afloat (2024)
★ 7.9/10
Xiaobai finally found Xu Xian, the reincarnation of Axuan, after 500 years, the two met on the Broken Bridge. Xiaobai and sister hid in the streets and alleys, started a lively life in human world with him and his…
18
New Fist of Fury (1976)
★ 6/10
A brother and sister escape from Japanese-occupied Shanghai to Japanese-occupied Taiwan, to stay with their grandfather who runs a Kung-Fu school there. However, the master of a Japanese Kung- Fu school in Taiwan has…
19
The Kindness of Strangers (2019)
★ 6.4/10
Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter…
20
Mr. Tree (2011)
★ 7.2/10
Teased by hallucinations, Shu, a slacker living in a rural village, struggles with an ever-loosening grip on reality. Yet when one of his visions manifests as real, his fellow villagers come to regard him as a…