Movies Like The Merciful Buddha

If you liked The Merciful Buddha (1979), a fantasy and drama movie directed by Tyrone Hsu, 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 Sun Also Rises (2007)
★ 7.5/10Also fantasy and drama
A polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones, shifting between a Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert.
2
A Writer's Odyssey (2021)
★ 7.1/10Also fantasy and drama
Lu Kongwen is the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, also named Kongwen, on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor. But through a strange…
3
Northfork (2003)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the…
4
Mythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also fantasy
Stuck in a life of indentured servitude, Marek dreams of becoming a wizard. When she meets the beautiful priestess Teela in need of help, she offers her assistance and provides a motley troupe. Together they go in…
5
Tuesday (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also fantasy and drama
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
6
Princess (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy
A reclusive princess and a directionless young man embark on a quest to save the world's mythical creatures from becoming extinct.
7
Super Me (2021)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and fantasy
Sang Yu is so exhausted from trying to stay awake. Every time he closes his eyes, a demon chases and kills him in his dreams. One night Sang realizes he has a special power: he can bring treasures from his dreams into…
8
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021)
★ 7.4/10Also fantasy
Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.
9
Dragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also fantasy
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary…
10
Nine Days (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and fantasy
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
11
Painted Skin (2008)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
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…
12
The Shepherd (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama and fantasy
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
13
The Dark Crystal (1982)
★ 7.2/10Also fantasy
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.
14
Four Kids and It (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
15
A Legend (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also fantasy
An archeologist noticed that the texture of the relics discovered during the excavation of a glacier closely resembled a jade pendant seen in one of his dreams. He and his team then embark on an expedition into the…
16
Bright (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy
In an alternate present-day where magical creatures live among us, two L.A. cops become embroiled in a prophesied turf battle.
17
The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and fantasy
When schoolboy Wang Bao discovers a magical gourd that can instantly grant his every wish, the awkward child suddenly becomes a hero amongst his curious classmates. When the gourd proves more of a burden than a…
18
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in the clutches of the…
19
The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy
The world is on the brink of catastrophe in a chaotic age where evil demons roam. In order to keep evil at bay, a mysterious organisation from the pugilist world emerges. A new constable and a young girl with a…
20
The Secret Kingdom (2023)
★ 6.4/10Also fantasy
Verity and Peter’s trip to the old family mansion takes a turn when the floor of their room suddenly gives way and they fall into an underground chamber where they are met by a civilization of creatures. The leader…