Movies like Devils on the Doorstep

If you like "Devils on the Doorstep" you are looking for semi serious, atmospheric and humorous movies about / with world war two, japanese occupation, military, resistance, anti war, wartime life and village themes of Comedy, Drama and War genre shot in China.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
Devils on the Doorstep (2000)
 8.2
 9K
Devils on the Doorstep (2000)
Original name: 鬼子来了
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 139 min.
Story: During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?
Style: semi serious, atmospheric, humorous, realistic, dark comedy, depressing, cerebral, philosophical, absurd, independent film ...
Plot: world war two, japanese occupation, military, resistance, anti war, wartime life, village, captivity, confined, rebelliousness, life is a bitch, society, oppression, nothing goes right, social relations, culture clash, fish out of water, comedy of errors, prisoner, battles, secret, japanese occupation of china, prisoners of war, world war, execution ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century
Place: china, japan, asia
Keyword: chinese, dutch, marketplace, candy

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Most similar movies to Devils on the Doorstep

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, semi serious and humorous films with plots about war, world war two, soldier, military, wartime life, death and society mostly in War, Drama and Comedy genres. Some movies like Devils on the Doorstep: City of Life and Death (2009), The Elusive Corporal (1962), Catch-22 (1970), Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), Empire of the Sun (1987). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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City of Life and Death (2009)
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 132 min.
Story: City of Life and Death takes place in 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army has just captured the then-capital of the Republic of China, Nanjing. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the ...
Style: disturbing, rough, bleak, black and white, tense ...
Plot: world war two, japanese army, sino japanese war, sexual abuse, war crime, japanese occupation of china, war atrocity, atrocity, japanese occupation, life is a bitch, mass murder, wartime ...
Time: 1930s, year 2009, 2010s, year 1938, 20th century ...
Place: china, asia, shanghai
⇓ similarity ⇓
95%
The Elusive Corporal (1962)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 90 min.
Story: The story serves as a companion piece to Renoir's 1937 film, Grand Illusion, once more bringing together men from across the broad social spectrum of French society to depict one man's Sisyphean efforts to escape captivity in a German POW ...
Style: contemplative, realistic, semi serious, humorous
Plot: world war two, explosions, prisoner, partner, escape, prison, military life, danger, nothing goes right, buddies, soldier, military ...
Time: 20th century, 1940s
Place: paris france, france, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
82%
 7.1
 26K
Catch-22 (1970)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation. Catch-22 is a parody of a "military mentality" and of a bureaucratic society ...
Style: dark comedy, surreal, black comedy, absurd, cult classic ...
Plot: world war two, anti war, satire, military, aviation, bomber, social commentary, literary, wartime, world war, rebellion, war ...
Time: 1940s, year 1970, year 1944, 20th century
Place: new york, rome italy, italy, mediterranean sea, alexandria egypt ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
80%
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: UK, New Zealand, Japan
Duration: 123 min.
Story: In 1942, British soldier Jack Celliers comes to a japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline, honour and glory. In his view, the allied prisoners are cowards when they chose to surrender instead of commiting ...
Style: disturbing, psychological, realistic, bleak, experimental ...
Plot: world war two, prison, pow, war crime, christmas, anti war, war, samurai, japanese occupation, imperial japan, prison escape, prisoner of war camp ...
Time: 1940s, year 1983, year 1936, 20th century, year 1946 ...
Place: asia, southeast asia, britain, japan, australia ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
75%
Movie in collections
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 153 min.
Story: Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor named Basie, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even ...
Style: sad, emotional, heartbreaking, period piece, realistic ...
Audience: family friendly, family outing, teens, teen drama
Plot: world war two, child protagonist, coming of age, childhood, pow, captivity, japanese army, peasant, survival, child, young heroes, world war ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 1987, year 1945
Place: china, japan, asia, indochina, hong kong ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
72%
Seven Beauties (1975)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 116 min.
Story: Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director, Seven Beauties stars Giancarlo Giannini (Swept Away) as Pasqualino Frafuso, known in Naples as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties." A petty thief who lives off of the profits of his seven ...
Style: black comedy, humorous, disturbing, cynical, biting ...
Plot: world war two, prison, concentration camp, survival, dark humor, prisoners of war, prostitution, nazi, male nudity, nazi concentration camp, cigar, prison escape ...
Time: 1940s, year 1975
Place: italy, naples italy, europe, southern italy, russia
⇓ similarity ⇓
70%
 8.3
 20K
To Live (1994)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 133 min.
Story: Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.
Style: epic, family saga, sad, touching, emotional ...
Plot: communism, cultural revolution, chinese history, politics, gambling, storytelling, family relations, poverty, destiny, asian history, social justice, civil war ...
Time: 1940s, 60s, year 1994, 1950s, 50s ...
Place: china, asia, taiwan
⇓ similarity ⇓
69%
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min.
Story: During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
Style: humorous, light, captivating, exciting, culinary ...
Plot: wine, world war two, rise to the top, holocaust, mayor, small town, military, fighting the system, escapades, war, anti semitism, italian fascism ...
Time: 1940s, year 1969
Place: italy, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
68%
Movie in collections
The Flowers of War (2011)
Genre: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: China
Duration: 146 min.
Story: A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Style: touching, emotional, realistic, harsh, visually stunning ...
Plot: world war two, atrocity, war, japanese occupation of china, prostitution, holocaust, sino japanese war, prostitute, wartime, genocide, oppression, rape ...
Time: 20th century, year 1937, ancient times, 1930s
Place: china, asia, east asia, seattle
⇓ similarity ⇓
67%
 8.1
 61K
Underground (1995)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, War
Country: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, UK, USA
Duration: 170 min.
Story: Black marketeers Marko and Blacky manufacture and sell weapons to the Communist resistance in WWII Belgrade, living the good life along the way. Marko's surreal duplicity propels him up the ranks of the Communist Party, and he eventually ...
Style: absurd, black comedy, art house, political, satirical ...
Plot: world war two, communism, surrealism, genocide, war, satire, greed, freedom, lie, culture clash, brutality, imagination ...
Time: 1940s, 90s, year 1995, post world war two, 60s ...
Place: former yugoslavia, serbia, balkan, eastern europe, europe ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
65%
 7.7
 8K
The Cuckoo (2002)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 99 min.
Story: September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police ...
Style: touching, atmospheric, political, offbeat, melancholic ...
Plot: culture clash, world war two, wartime, understanding, wartime life, wilderness, lapland, anti war, brutality, life is a bitch, hostility, military ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century
Place: russia, finland, ussr, siberia
⇓ similarity ⇓
63%
 7.0
 747
Red Cherry (1995)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Based on a true story, this horrifying tale follows two orphaned friends as they struggle to survive during World War II.
Style: serious, touching, bleak, mesmerizing, saga ...
Plot: world war two, monastery, tattoo, orphan, military, innocence lost, life is a bitch, youth, war, society, anti war, boarding school life ...
Time: 1940s, year 1941
Place: russia, china, moscow russia, soviet union
⇓ similarity ⇓
58%
Closely Watched Trains (1966)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 92 min.
Story: In a small town still occupied by the Germans as World War II's tide is turning toward the Allies, apprentice train-watcher Milos is oblivious to the war. Instead, he is obsessed with having his first sexual experience. Despite the favors of ...
Style: atmospheric, talky, touching, realistic, sincere ...
Plot: world war two, coming of age, satire, resistance, storytelling, politics, occupation, communism, village life, wartime life, partisan, sexuality ...
Time: 20th century, 1940s, year 1966, 1930s
Place: czech republic, eastern europe, europe, czechoslovakia, prague ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
58%
Two Men Went to War (2002)
Genre: Comedy, War, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min.
Story: Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go AWOL and invade occupied France on their own.
Style: humorous, semi serious, entertaining, captivating, offbeat ...
Plot: world war two, soldier, dentist, military life, heroic mission, adventurer, goofy hero, military, officers and cadets, battles, danger, escapades ...
Time: 1940s
Place: france, england, europe, english channel
⇓ similarity ⇓
56%
A Farewell to Fools (2013)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Romania, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 85 min.
Story: Set during World War II, somewhere in Eastern Europe. A German soldier is found dead near the village. The local authorities must find the culprit, or they will be all shot by the Nazis the morning after. There's no way to find the guilty one, ...
Style: semi serious, humorous, witty, tragicomedy, captivating ...
Plot: world war two, moral dilemma, wartime life, farce, comedy of errors, hopes, human nature, mentally challenged, misfit, dark humor, disorder, war ...
Time: 20th century, 1940s
Place: romania, germany, transylvania
⇓ similarity ⇓
54%
Funny Dirty Little War (1983)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Argentina
Duration: 80 min.
Story: A small revolution breaks out in a small Argentine town, as one group of Peronists calls they newly elected peronist a communist. The newly elected official enlists the aid of allies ranging from the town drunk to young peronists to help hold his ...
Style: manga, semi serious, realistic, humorous, suspenseful ...
Plot: politics, coup, violent, farce, village, hostage, political protest, dark humor, war, state affairs, dishonesty, confined ...
Time: year 1983, 80s, 70s
Place: latin america, argentina
⇓ similarity ⇓
53%
 7.3
 10K
Red Sorghum (1988)
Genre: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: China
Duration: 91 min.
Story: An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed ...
Style: tense, mind blowing, independent film, depressing, costume drama ...
Plot: wine, world war two, sino japanese war, minimal dialogue, literary, partisan, struggle, arranged marriage, japanese occupation of china, war crime, rural area, couples ...
Time: 1930s, 20th century, year 1987, 1940s, 1920s
Place: china, indiana, tibet, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
50%
 7.9
 49K
No Man's Land (2001)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Belgium, UK, Slovenia
Duration: 98 min.
Story: Two soldiers from opposite sites get stuck between the front lines in the same trench. The UN is asked to free them and both sides agree on a ceasefire, but will they stick to it?
Style: bleak, harsh, political, talky, thought provoking ...
Plot: anti war, politics, soldier, military, civil war, survival, war, intrigue, bosnian war, un, wartime, bomb ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 2001, year 1993, 2000s
Place: bosnia, serbia, balkan, bosnia herzegovina, eastern europe ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
48%
Movie in collections
 7.5
 4K
Zelary (2003)
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria
Duration: 150 min.
Story: A nurse and her surgeon-lover are part of a resistance movement in 1940s Czechoslovakia. When they are discovered, her lover flees and she must find a place to hide. A patient whose life she saved, a man from a remote mountain village where time ...
Style: realistic, touching, sincere, contemplative, epic ...
Plot: world war two, small town, resistance, marriage, betrayal, self discovery, older man younger woman relationship, life is a bitch, couple relations, society, hopes, fugitives ...
Time: 1940s, year 2003, 20th century
Place: czechoslovakia, central europe, prague
⇓ similarity ⇓
48%
 6.4
 662
Amigo (2010)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: USA, Philippines
Duration: 124 min.
Story: Rafael, a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War. When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla ...
Style: captivating, serious, cult classic, realistic, emotional ...
Plot: soldier, moral dilemma, friendship, rebel, rebelliousness, culture clash, military, society, social relations, leadership, life is a bitch, communication problem ...
Time: 20th century, 1900s, year 1900
Place: the philippines, asia, iraq
⇓ similarity ⇓
47%
The Americanization of Emily (1964)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: During the build-up to D-Day in 1944, the British found their island hosting many thousands of American soldiers who were "oversexed, overpaid, and over here". That's Charlie Madison exactly; he knows all the angles to make life as ...
Style: dark comedy, realistic, witty, black and white, cute ...
Plot: world war two, military, wartime, love, satire, world war, war, u.s. navy, naval officer, love affair, mental illness, swing ...
Place: london, england, france, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
45%
Coup de grâce (1976)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: France, West Germany
Duration: 97 min.
Story: A countess loves her brother's Prussian-officer friend in the 1919 Baltic area.
Style: serious, stylized, realistic, bleak, black and white ...
Plot: love triangle, soldier, betrayal, evacuation, tragic love, tragic hero, world war one, wartime life, political unrest, love and romance, destructive relationship, couple relations ...
Time: year 1976, 1910s, 1920s, post world war one
Place: latvia, europe, baltics, lithuania, prussia ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
45%
Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 133 min.
Story: Based on the long running play by Jang Jin, the story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from both the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded and naively idealistic village, its residents ...
Style: uplifting, realistic, touching, emotional, serious ...
Plot: anti war, soldier, korean war, human spirit, friendship, military, isolation, wartime life, fish out of water, hopes, behind enemy lines, village life ...
Time: 20th century, 50s, 1950s
Place: korea, north korea, south korea, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
44%
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How I Won the War (1967)
Genre: Comedy, War
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min.
Story: An inept British WWII commander leads his troops to a series of misadventures in North Africa and Europe.
Style: humorous, witty, clever, black comedy, parody ...
Plot: world war two, the beatles, working class, politics, war, world war, satire, british, death, ss, singer, machine gun ...
Time: 1940s, year 1967
Place: africa, europe, middle east, egypt
⇓ similarity ⇓
43%
 7.2
 7K
John Rabe (2009)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France, China, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium
Duration: 134 min.
Story: A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.
Style: tense, disturbing, realistic, bleak, serious ...
Plot: war, world war two, rescue, nazi, heroes, atrocity, confined, wartime life, lifesaver, life is a bitch, against humanity, danger ...
Time: 20th century, 1930s, year 1938, year 1937
Place: china, japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
Divided We Fall (2000)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 120 min.
Story: In Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a childless couple agree to hide a Jewish friend at great personal risk of discovery and execution.
Style: surreal, compassionate, lyrical, uplifting, touching ...
Plot: holocaust, world war two, nazi, survival, idealism, couples, human spirit, self discovery, against humanity, wartime life, nazi occupation, society ...
Time: 1940s, 2000s, 1930s, 20th century, year 1945
Place: eastern europe, poland, germany, czech republic, balkan ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
In Love and War (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 135 min.
Story: In June 1950, soon after the start of the Korean War, a troop of North Korean soldiers enter a small South Korean village. Captain Jeong-woong proclaims that they came to liberate the villagers but their true agenda is to ferret out the ...
Style: emotional, touching, serious, sentimental, realistic
Plot: military, impossible love, moral dilemma, wartime life, soldier, young lovers, love and romance, eccentric family, life is a bitch, family relations, village life, bittersweet ...
Time: 50s, 20th century
Place: korea, north korea, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
 7.6
 10K
Train of Life (1998)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Israel, Belgium
Duration: 103 min.
Story: In 1941, the inhabitants of a small Jewish village in Central Europe organize a fake deportation train so that they can escape the Nazis and flee to Palestine.
Style: humorous, sad, surprise ending, art house, twisted ...
Plot: holocaust, train, world war two, nazi, judaism, deportation, great ending, railway, shoah, wartime life, village, bittersweet ...
Time: 1940s, year 1998, year 1941
Place: eastern europe, germany, palestine, europe, central europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
40%
To End All Wars (2001)
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Based on a real-life story, this drama focuses on a small group of Allied soldiers in Burma who are held captive by the Japanese. Capt. Ernest Gordon (Ciaran McMenamin), Lt. Jim Reardon (Kiefer Sutherland) and Maj. Ian Campbell (Robert Carlyle) are ...
Style: harsh, suspenseful, tense, serious, rough ...
Plot: world war two, war, pow, military, prisoners of war, prisoner of war camp, jungle, christian, soldier, war crime, hopes, leadership ...
Time: 1940s, year 1943, 20th century, year 1942
Place: japan, asia, hawaii, scotland, burma ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
 6.7
 4K
Ambush (1999)
Genre: War, Drama
Country: Finland
Duration: 123 min.
Story: It is the summer of 1941 and the Finnish army has been mobilized along the border with Russia. A platoon led by Lt. Eero Perkola is waiting for orders to go on the offensive. The platoon receives orders for a recon mission through the wilderness ...
Style: realistic, suspense, intense, sincere, disturbing ...
Plot: world war two, military, ethnic conflict, courage, culture clash, justice, visceral, behind enemy lines, lone hero, battles, danger, military life ...
Time: 20th century, 1940s, 90s
Place: russia, finland, eastern europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
38%
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