Movies Like Forward, Young People!

If you liked Forward, Young People! (1969), a drama and fantasy movie directed by Tokihisa Morikawa, 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
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.
2
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.
3
Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)
★ 7.5/10Also fantasy and drama
A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
4
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.
5
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
6
Mexicali (2026)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
7
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.
8
Tokyo Fist (1995)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru…
9
40 Acres (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and fantasy
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they…
10
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.
11
The Good Doctor (2011)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Dr. Martin Blake, who has spent his life looking for respect, meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane, suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a much-needed boost of self-esteem. However, when her health starts…
12
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…
13
All That Money Can Buy (1941)
★ 7/10Also drama and fantasy
Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr. Scratch, who gives Jabez seven years to enjoy the fruits of his sale before he collects. Over that time, Jabez pays off his…
14
Inuyasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (2002)
★ 7.7/10Also fantasy
With their most formidable foe vanquished, Inuyasha and his comrades begin returning to their everyday lives. But their peace is fleeting as another adversary emerges: Kaguya, the self-proclaimed princess from the Moon…
15
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
16
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.
17
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Frozen Bond (2019)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and fantasy
A prequel story set seven years before the beginning of the Re:ZERO series. Emilia lives in a secluded forest covered in snow with the spirit Puck. The forest holds a secret: the elves who once lived there have been…
18
Summer Ghost (2021)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and fantasy
An urban legend says that lighting fireworks at an abandoned airfield will beckon the "summer ghost," a spirit that can answer any question. Three teenagers, Tomoya, Aoi, and Ryo, each have their own reason to show up…
19
The Red House (1947)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
An old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
20
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.