Movies Like Early Morning in the Big City

If you liked Early Morning in the Big City (1933), a movie directed by Chusheng Cai, 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
A Touch of Sin (2013)
★ 7.2/10
Four people in different provinces are driven to violent ends: An angry miner is enraged by corruption in his village. A migrant discovers the possibilities of owning a firearm. A receptionist is pushed beyond her…
2
The Union (2024)
★ 6/10
A New Jersey construction worker goes from regular guy to aspiring spy when his long-lost high school sweetheart recruits him for an espionage mission.
3
Strange Weather (2016)
★ 5.9/10
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
4
My Fault: London (2025)
★ 7.4/10
18-year-old Noah moves from America to London, with her mother who's recently fallen in love with William, a wealthy British businessman. Noah meets William’s son, bad-boy Nick, and soon discovers there is an…
5
Universal Soldier (1992)
★ 6.3/10
An American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiative to erase all…
6
A Dry White Season (1989)
★ 6.7/10
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
7
My Spy (2020)
★ 6.9/10
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
8
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…
9
Clan of the White Lotus (1980)
★ 6.6/10
The Qing emperor releases all detained Shaolin disciples, but the vindictive White Lotus clan decides to exterminate all the disciples. One martial artist survives the onslaught, and constantly trains while in hiding…
10
Magnolia (1999)
★ 7.7/10
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will…
11
Still Life (2006)
★ 7.2/10
A town in Fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes.
12
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.
13
Shadow Force (2025)
★ 6.3/10
Kyrah and Isaac were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called Shadow Force. They broke the rules by falling in love, and in order to protect their son, they go underground. With a large bounty on…
14
PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
★ 7.1/10
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
15
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
16
Hardball (2001)
★ 6.5/10
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
17
Off the Grid (2025)
★ 6.5/10
After a morally-bankrupt company tries to weaponize a brilliant scientist's revolutionary technology, he goes off the grid to safeguard humanity. When the company sends a strike force to find him, they make their…
18
The Karate Kid (2010)
★ 6.6/10
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such…
19
The Phoenician Scheme (2025)
★ 6.5/10
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined…
20
Jade Dynasty (2019)
★ 7.4/10
After the massacre of his village, Zhang Xiaofan is taken in by the Qing Yun Sect where he begins his journey of cultivation. When he finds out the truth behind the deaths of his parents, he succumbs to his rage and…