Movies Like Mother Tongue

If you liked Mother Tongue (2020), a movie directed by Eris Qian, 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
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
★ 7.5/10
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with…
2
Code 46 (2003)
★ 6.2/10
In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria…
3
Still Alice (2014)
★ 7.5/10
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested.
4
Arrival (2016)
★ 7.6/10
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
5
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.
6
The Fallout (2021)
★ 7.5/10
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
7
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
★ 8.1/10
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and…
8
13 Going on 30 (2004)
★ 6.8/10
After total humiliation at her thirteenth birthday party, Jenna Rink wants to just hide until she's thirty. Thanks to some magic wishing dust, Jenna's prayer has been answered. With a knockout body, a fabulous…
9
Caddo Lake (2024)
★ 7.2/10
When an 8-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes on Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to link together, forever altering a broken family’s history.
10
Tuesday (2024)
★ 6.8/10
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
11
The Map That Leads to You (2025)
★ 6.7/10
Heather is a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life…
12
Aftersun (2022)
★ 7.7/10
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with…
13
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
★ 7.7/10
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.
14
Miss Potter (2006)
★ 6.7/10
Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved children's book "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", struggles for love, happiness and success.
15
Nim's Island (2008)
★ 5.9/10
A young girl inhabits an isolated island with her scientist father and communicates with a reclusive author of the novel she's reading.
16
Redux Redux (2025)
★ 6.6/10
In an attempt to avenge her daughter’s death, Irene Kelly travels through parallel universes, killing her daughter’s murderer again and again. As she becomes consumed by vengeance, her humanity begins to slip…
17
The Shadow (1994)
★ 6.1/10
Based on the 1930s comic strip, The Shadow is put up against his archenemy Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom using an atom bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "the power…
18
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
★ 6.1/10
At her 25th high school reunion, Peggy Sue faints and awakens in 1960—back in her senior year, before her marriage and all her regrets. Given a second chance to relive her youth, she must decide whether to change the…
19
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
★ 7.6/10
Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control when her secret letters to every boy she's ever fallen for are mysteriously mailed out.
20
Paris, Texas (1984)
★ 8.1/10
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.