Movies like Tokyo Sonata

If you like "Tokyo Sonata" you are looking for lyrical, talky and stylized movies about / with family relations, unemployment, youth, rebellion, job seeking, housewife and layoff themes of Drama genre shot in Japan or Netherlands.
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.
Tokyo Sonata (2008)
 7.5
 11K
Tokyo Sonata (2008)
Original name: トウキョウソナタ
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Ryûhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) is keeping a secret from his wife, Megumi (Kyôko Koizumi), and his two teenage sons. Even though he leaves the house every day, he's not really going to work. He's going to an employment office. He recently lost his job due to outsourcing, but is determined to find another position, all while supporting an old friend who is also out of work. But when Megumi accidentally finds out Ryûhei's secret and doesn't tell him, her trust in him, and their marriage, suffers.
Style: lyrical, talky, stylized, touching, serious, psychological, realistic, disturbing, poignant, atmospheric ...
Plot: family relations, unemployment, youth, rebellion, job seeking, housewife, layoff, family secret, hopes, chinawoman, family life, life is a bitch, double life, social problems, family problems, human nature, dishonesty, piano, loneliness, vengeance, great ending, dysfunctional family, music, visceral, mother son relationship ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s, 21st century, contemporary
Place: tokyo, japan, east asia, asia, china, middle east
Keyword: american, salute

Movie in categories

tokyo movies
1317
japan movies
3136
youth movies
12375
rebellion movies
2453
lyrical movies
415

Most similar movies to Tokyo Sonata

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, touching and sincere films with plots about family relations, father son relationship, parents and children, family problems, food, youth and hopes mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Tokyo Sonata: Nobody Knows (2004), Time Out (2001), The Italian (2005), The Kid with a Bike (2011), Like Father, Like Son (2013). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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 8.0
 31K
Nobody Knows (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 141 min.
Story: In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Style: depressing, touching, serious, atmospheric, bleak ...
Audience: kids, teens
Plot: childhood, poverty, dysfunctional family, boy, young kid, innocence lost, children, child abandonment, brother brother relationship, tragedy, coming of age, family relations ...
Time: year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, east asia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 7.3
 5K
Time Out (2001)
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 134 min.
Story: An unemployed man finds his life sinking more and more into trouble as he hides his situation from his family and friends.
Style: psychological, enigmatic, depressing, compassionate, stylized ...
Plot: unemployment, self discovery, greed, character study, life is a bitch, couple relations, society, dishonesty, down on your luck, family problems, husband wife relationship, swindle ...
Time: year 2001, 21st century
Place: france, switzerland, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 7.5
 3K
The Italian (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 90 min.
Story: Set in 2002, an abandoned 5-year-old boy living in a rundown orphanage in a small Russian village is adopted by an Italian family.
Style: sentimental, touching, realistic, breathtaking, inspirational ...
Plot: orphan, children, orphanage, youth, boy, adoption, coming of age, friendship, adolescence, family relations, self discovery, hopes ...
Time: year 2005, 2000s, year 2002, 21st century
Place: russia, soviet union, europe, italy
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
The Kid with a Bike (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Italy
Duration: 87 min.
Story: Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in the hands of an unqualified childcare provider.
Style: sincere, realistic, meditative, emotional, surreal ...
Plot: childhood, kids in trouble, boy, adoption, realism, orphan, youth, adoptive mother, coming of age, social problems, petty criminal, life is a bitch ...
Time: year 2011, year 2012, 2010s, 21st century
Place: belgium, france
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Movie in collections
housewife movies
439
talky movies
6276
stylized movies
8695
layoff movies
356
Like Father, Like Son (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. He learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. He must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.
Style: touching, disturbing, psychological, sincere, intense ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: family drama, family reunited, boy, parents and children, architect, father son relationship, family relations, self discovery, moral dilemma, introspection, identity crisis, life turned upside down ...
Time: year 2013, 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
 7.9
 18K
Still Walking (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min.
Story: Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion. Younger son Ryota still feels that his parents resent that he isn't ...
Style: serious, contemplative, realistic, touching, sincere ...
Plot: family reunited, family gatherings, family life, generation gap, bereavement, dealing with death, reconciliation, parents and children, old age, generation, father daughter relationship, love ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s
Place: japan, east asia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
 7.3
 7K
Pellet (2000)
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 88 min.
Story: El Bola, a 12 year old boy a.k.a. "Pellet" is a 12 year old boy raised in a violent and sordid environment. Embarrassed by his family life, he avoids becoming close to classmates. The arrival of a new boy at school changes his attitude ...
Style: serious, realistic, emotional, disturbing, social ...
Audience: teens
Plot: child abuse, friendship, kids in trouble, abusive father, school, boy, youth, social worker, life is a bitch, self discovery, childhood, family problems ...
Time: 90s
Place: spain, europe, madrid
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
 8.0
 55K
Departures (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 130 min.
Story: Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a ...
Style: sad, philosophical, psychological, touching, thought provoking ...
Plot: self discovery, funeral, father son relationship, pregnant wife, workplace, small town, character study, new job, small town life, heartwarming, music, melancholy ...
Time: year 2008, 21st century
Place: japan, asia, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
Movie in collections
 8.0
 61K
Mommy (2014)
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 139 min.
Story: A peculiar neighbor offers hope to a recent widow who is struggling to raise a teenager who is unpredictable and, sometimes, violent.
Style: melancholic, touching, depressing, emotional, psychological ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, teen drama
Plot: dysfunctional family, oedipus complex, single mother, mentally unstable, juvenile delinquent, troubled teen, mother son relationship, mother love, teenage boy, violence, teenager, caught masturbating ...
Time: 2010s, year 2014, year 2015, near future, year 2010 ...
Place: canada, quebec, montreal
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
 6.6
 737
Our Father (2002)
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Chad, Netherlands
Duration: 84 min.
Story: Two boys (Tamir & Amine) awake one morning to find that their father has abandoned their family. Shocked, they begin to misbehave. While surreptitiously watching a movie, they think they see their father speaking to them and steal the film to ...
Style: serious, realistic, sincere, touching, captivating ...
Plot: against the odds, coming of age, family relations, kids in trouble, young heroes, obsessive quest, missing person, family problems, estrangement, life is a bitch, youth, parents and children ...
Time: 21st century
Place: africa, tangier morocco, morocco
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
 7.1
 20K
Wendy and Lucy (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story: Wendy, a near-penniless drifter, is traveling to Alaska in search of work, and her only companion is her dog, Lucy. Already perilously close to losing everything, Wendy hits a bigger bump in the road when her old car breaks down and she is arrested ...
Style: touching, sad, road movie, psychological, realistic ...
Audience: teens
Plot: dog, depression, owner dog relationship, small town, friendship, solitude, life philosophy, on the road, character study, dysfunctional family, travel, social problems ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s, 90s, 21st century
Place: oregon, alaska, portland oregon, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
 7.5
 2K
Boy (1969)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min.
Story: A family of four lives off of scams in which they pretend to be injured by automobiles. After suffering an injury during the war, the father believes he is an invalid. He and his wife have a 10-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl. The adults pretend ...
Style: experimental, serious, realistic, thought provoking, atmospheric ...
Audience: teens
Plot: youth, family relations, child abuse, dysfunctional family, train, boy, treasure hunt, traumatic childhood, bad father, abusive father, father son relationship, stepmother ...
Time: year 1969, 60s, 20th century
Place: japan, hokkaido
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
I've Loved You So Long (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 117 min.
Story: A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
Style: touching, realistic, psychological, sincere, emotional ...
Plot: family drama, prison, physician, character study, ex convict, job seeking, complex characters, honest, parenthood, loss of son, sibling relationship, estrangement ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s, 90s, 21st century
Place: france, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
12 and Holding (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Three pre-adolescents with virginal and eager-of-signals naivety, hit headlong against monstrous and inhospitable loneliness, in the incandescent fire among the ashes of their own inocence.
Style: touching, realistic, emotional, heartbreaking, sad ...
Plot: teenager, coming of age, friendship, childhood, children, vengeance, dysfunctional family, family relations, loss of son, family problems, family in crisis, parents and children ...
Time: year 2005
Place: new jersey
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
 7.5
 1K
Mirage (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country:
Duration: 107 min.
Story: As Macedonia faces its difficult transition, a boy escapes into a world of his own creation.
Style: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, art house ...
Plot: youth, coming of age, life is a bitch, friendship, teenage life, kids in trouble, society, betrayal, parents and children, dysfunctional family, family problems, poet ...
Place: macedonia, paris france, france, europe, former yugoslavia ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
The Keys to the House (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, Germany, France, USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Meeting his handicapped son for the first time, a young father attempts to forge a relationship with the teenager.
Style: serious, psychological, emotional, touching, realistic ...
Audience: teens
Plot: parents and children, single parent, estrangement, teenage life, human nature, disability, hospital, self discovery, coming of age, hopes, redemption, family relations ...
Time: year 2004
Place: germany, italy, europe, berlin germany, milan italy
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: When autistic teen Ricky is scolded for skipping class, he escapes into the subway for a days-long odyssey among the subway’s disparate denizens. Meanwhile, his mother wages an escalating search effort above ground. Based on a true story and set ...
Style: touching, sincere, disturbing, melancholic, independent film ...
Plot: autism, self discovery, parents and children, teenage life, family relations, social misfits, youth, imagination, boy, disability, illness, train ...
Time: year 1984, year 2012, 21st century
Place: new york, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
 7.1
 941
Hanging Garden (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min.
Story: On the surface, the Kyobashis appear to be a happy family. Despite a family agreement that they are all open with each other, the entire household knows the opposite is true.
Style: captivating, psychological, disturbing, poignant, sincere
Plot: family relations, dominatrix, family conflict, parents and children, family problems, dysfunctional family, marital argument, marital problem, relationship problems, relationships, brawl, boyfriend girlfriend relationship ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
Movie in collections
 8.3
 257K
A Separation (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran, France, Australia
Duration: 123 min.
Story: A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Style: emotional, realistic, heartbreaking, talky, tense ...
Audience: teens
Plot: poverty, divorce, muslim, alzheimer's disease, justice, religion, islam, marriage, parenthood, court, family drama, dysfunctional family ...
Time: year 2011, 2010s, 21st century
Place: iran, persia, middle east, maghreb, nebraska ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: China, Japan, Hong Kong
Duration: 107 min.
Story: Takada, a Japanese fisherman has been estranged from his son for many years, but when the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. Through a series of obstacles and relationships, he is brought ...
Style: emotional, touching, stylized, serious, realistic ...
Plot: friendship, tour guide, father son relationship, village, redemption, family relations, parents and children, aging, estranged father, unfulfillment, estrangement, understanding ...
Time: year 2005
Place: china, east asia, tokyo, japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
 6.3
 1K
Safe Passage (1994)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story: A mother with seven sons feels like she's losing control of her life and her family. But personal...
Style: touching, realistic, melancholic, serious, sentimental ...
Plot: dysfunctional family, mother son relationship, character study, pain, family relations, family problems, life is a bitch, family life, parents and children, couples, estrangement, hopes ...
Time: 90s, year 1994
Place: new jersey, middle east, utah, beirut lebanon
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
 6.1
 143
Life Back Then (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 131 min.
Story: Kyohei Nagashima (Masaki Okada) has shut away the world. During his high school days he was the target of bullying and experienced horrifying moments. Now as a young adult Kyohei takes a new job. He works for a company that specializes in cleaning ...
Style: sincere, captivating, crying, road movie, learning
Plot: bullying, coworker relationship, coworker, colleague, girlfriend, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, employee employee relationship, workplace situations, social problems, relationship problems, life is a bitch, relationships ...
Place: east asia, tokyo, japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Bright Future (2002)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min.
Story: Two friends who work in the same oshibori laundry are lost in the drudgery of everyday life. They hang out together, barely functioning and barely communicating. Their middle-aged boss makes a desparate attempt to connect with them with disasterous ...
Style: serious, psychological, touching, atmospheric, contemplative ...
Plot: gang, friendship, rebelliousness, resentment, estrangement, father son relationship, post apocalypse, asian, ghost, hopes, pets, boss and employee ...
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Movie in collections
 7.4
 8K
I Wish (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min.
Story: Two young brothers at opposite ends of Kyushu devise a magical plan to reunite their separated parents in Hirokazu Koreeda's benign and superbly acted picture of family life.
Style: serious, touching, stylized, realistic, teen ...
Audience: teens
Plot: youth, parents and children, brother brother relationship, train, broken family, father son relationship, family problems, hopes, desire, child, separated parents, discovery ...
Time: year 2011, 21st century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
 7.8
 13K
Poetry (2010)
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea, France
Duration: 139 min.
Story: Grandmother Mi Ja works part-time as a caretaker, and struggles to raise a teen grandson by herself. Despite her tough situation, she speaks softly, dresses fashionably, and approaches the world with child-like curiosity. Enrolling in a poetry ...
Style: touching, sincere, emotional, realistic, lyrical ...
Plot: loneliness, bullying, self discovery, teenage rape, suicide, existentialism, teenager, introspection, society, life is a bitch, juvenile delinquency, grandparent and grandchild ...
Time: 2010s, year 2010, 21st century
Place: korea, japan, south korea, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Hidden in America (1996)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story: Story of a man Bill Januson whose pride in being the head of his family won't let him accept help from his sick daughters doctor. He has to prove to his kids that even with the death of his wife and the loss of his job that they can and will ...
Style: crying, serious, realistic, sincere, gloomy ...
Plot: starving child, starvation, youth, doctor, single parent, unemployment, family problems, family relations, human nature, society, life is a bitch, friendship ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
 6.3
 306
Angel at Sea (2009)
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium, Canada
Duration: 86 min.
Story: Louis is a twelve year old boy who lives with his parents and older brother in southern Morocco. Louis is very happy until the day his father shares a secret with him.
Style: sincere, psychological, disturbing, emotional, serious ...
Plot: mental illness, family problems, life is a bitch, parents and children, father son relationship, secret, youth, suicide, depression, hopes, danger, boy ...
Time: 21st century
Place: morocco, africa, atlantic ocean
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Fathers and Sons (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Intertwined tales of three families who grow up on the same street, focusing on the relationship of fathers and sons. The first section features Anthony and Jenny and traces the father-son bond that develops between Anthony and his newborn son over ...
Style: realistic, touching, serious, emotional, captivating ...
Plot: single parent, infidelity, family relations, dysfunctional family, couples, life is a bitch, estrangement, family problems, love and romance, elderly, gender, parents and children ...
Time: 21st century
Place: san diego california, miami, los angeles
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 110 min.
Story: Abandoned by his father after his mother dies, young PS lives in suburban Sydney with his aunt Lila and her husband George. While they lead a modest existence, PS is happy with them. However, his contentment is derailed when Lila's wealthy ...
Style: anamorphic, emotional, touching, gloomy, serious ...
Plot: coming of age, youth, unrequited love, orphan, dysfunctional family, custody, life is a bitch, parents and children, bad father, adoption, redheaded woman, single parent ...
Time: year 1983, 1930s, 1920s
Place: australia, new south wales, sydney australia
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
 7.1
 2K
Daybreak (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 110 min.
Story: Sweden, shortly before Christmas. Surgeon Rickard is told the job he expected goes to a Dane, because of his substance abuse. It's too late to cancel dinner with his in-laws. The guest couple announces their in-vitro is a success. Then ...
Style: realistic, psychological, touching, bleak, sincere ...
Plot: infidelity, family problems, vengeance, crumbling marriage, love affair, parents and children, family relations, couples, dishonesty, couple relations, redemption, introspection ...
Place: europe, eastern europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
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