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Movies Like Necessary and Unnecessary

If you liked Necessary and Unnecessary (2021), a drama movie directed by Tomoichiro Setsuda, here are 19 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

  1. 1Adopt a Highway

    Adopt a Highway (2019)

    ★ 6.9/10Also drama

    Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn…

  2. 2Brotherly Love

    Brotherly Love (2015)

    ★ 7/10Also drama

    West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.

  3. 3The Young One

    The Young One (1960)

    ★ 7/10Also drama

    A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

  4. 4Home

    Home (2021)

    ★ 6.7/10Also drama

    An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.

  5. 5The Ballad of Narayama

    The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

    ★ 7.5/10Also drama

    In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it…

  6. 6What Maisie Knew

    What Maisie Knew (2013)

    ★ 7.1/10Also drama

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new…

  7. 7Eleanor the Great

    Eleanor the Great (2025)

    ★ 6.8/10Also drama

    94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

  8. 8Kisses

    Kisses (2008)

    ★ 7.1/10Also drama

    Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.

  9. 9SAS: Red Notice

    SAS: Red Notice (2021)

    ★ 5.8/10Also drama

    An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the…

  10. 10The Kindness of Strangers

    The Kindness of Strangers (2019)

    ★ 6.4/10Also drama

    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…

  11. 11Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song

    Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama

    Nami is once again on the run from the law but is saved by an old classmate who works at a strip club. Through a subsequent conversation they discover they both have a score to settle with a particular crooked cop…

  12. 12Skater Girl

    Skater Girl (2021)

    ★ 7.2/10Also drama

    Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.

  13. 13Goodbye June

    Goodbye June (2025)

    ★ 6.5/10Also drama

    Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.

  14. 14The Wasp

    The Wasp (2024)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama

    Heather bumps into Carla, having not spoken to her in years, and presents her with a very unexpected proposition that could change both of their lives forever.

  15. 15Hello

    Hello (2022)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama

    An emotionally unavailable flight attendant meets a potential love interest and later finds out that her "perfect guy" has ulterior motives. As the clock ticks down on New Year's Eve, she must fight to keep her…

  16. 16Fast Girls

    Fast Girls (2012)

    ★ 6/10Also drama

    A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

  17. 17Stormageddon

    Stormageddon (2015)

    ★ 6/10Also drama

    What happens when you ask the most powerful computer program, run by the most powerful computers, to follow, listen and predict human behavior? The program learns, becomes sentient and begins to behave like a human…

  18. 18Like Someone in Love

    Like Someone in Love (2012)

    ★ 6.9/10Also drama

    An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him, he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her body. But the web that is woven between them in the space of twenty…

  19. 19Chatroom

    Chatroom (2010)

    ★ 5.8/10Also drama

    When strangers Jim, Eva, Emily and Mo meet William online in his new 'Chelsea Teens!' chatroom, they're completely seduced by his fast-talking, charismatic character. But beneath the surface lies a much darker truth…

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