Movies and TV shows like Sparrow
If you like "Sparrow" you are looking for sentimental, captivating and factual movies or TV shows about / with spy, world war two, patriot, chinese history, japanese occupation of china, secret agent and survival themes of Drama, Romance 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.
Sparrow (2016)
69
Original name: 麻雀
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
This drama is set during the revolutionary time in Shanghai, based on a novel of the same name of Hai Fei. During the republican revolution, Chen Shen is a secret agent under Special Operations Executive Director Bi Zhongliang, among the agents called “sparrow” (similar to the program “zero” in Japan)
Style:
sentimental, captivating, factual
Plot:
spy, world war two, patriot, chinese history, japanese occupation of china, secret agent, survival, wartime, historical event, patriotism, japanese occupation, culture clash, military life, tragic event, social realism, republican era china, revolution, espionage, sino japanese war, republican, secret agents
Time:
1940s, 20th century
Place:
china, shanghai, shanghai china
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Sparrow
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out captivating, suspense, tense and period drama films and TV series with plots about world war two, sacrifice, espionage, spy, wartime, patriotism and resistance mostly in Drama, War and History genres. Some movies like Sparrow: Mr. Sunshine (2018), The Disguiser (2015), Autumn Cicada (2020), Spies of Warsaw (2013), The Flowers of War (2011). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 80 min.
TV show
Story:
Based in Shinmiyangyo, or the U.S. expedition to Korea in the late 19th century, Mr. Sunshine tells the story of a Korean boy born into a family of a house servant running away to board an American warship, later to return to his homeland as a U.S. ...
Style:
dorama, sad, factual, epic, romantic ...
Plot:
japanese occupation of korea, destiny, patriotism, love triangle, wartime, korean history, social realism, tragic event, historical event, aristocracy, friendship, survival ...
Time:
19th century, edwardian era, 20th century, 1900s
Place:
korea, east asia, thailand
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: China
Duration: 40 min.
TV show
Story:
Set in the Japanese occupation era, the rich yet naive young master Ming Tai is trained to become an agent, and is later sent to become an underground spy for the Communists. Together with his brother and double agent Ming Lou, they try and bring ...
Style:
captivating, exciting, psychological, suspense, tense
Plot:
japanese occupation, espionage, resistance, assassination, double agent, secret organization, brother brother relationship, mind game, false identity, trust, disguise, danger ...
Time:
1930s, year 1940, year 1939
Place:
china, shanghai
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, War
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
The story of the show sets in the war period of modern China and mainly focuses on a spy of CPC called Ye Chong who was using the spy code Cicada of Autumn.
Style:
tense, historical drama, disturbing, captivating, suspense ...
Plot:
spy, spy thriller, japanese occupation, world war two, secret agent, prospector, chinese army, spy mission, espionage, undercover agent, war, secret mission ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
china
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, France, Poland, USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
A military attaché at the French embassy is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw.
Style:
tense, romantic, captivating, suspense, political ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
spy, world war two, nazi, nazi germany, soviet spy, nazi spy, interwar period, embassy, nazi soldier, nazism, military, world war ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century
Place:
czechoslovakia, warsaw poland
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
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, visually stunning, sentimental, harsh, realistic ...
Plot:
world war two, sino japanese war, atrocity, war, japanese occupation of china, holocaust, prostitute, suffering, wartime, japanese occupation, genocide, medieval ...
Time:
20th century, ancient times, year 1937, 1930s
Place:
china, asia, east asia, seattle, japan ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Action, History
Country: China
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story:
Can a young woman prove her loyalty to her country and her family? Lan Yan Zhi is a privileged banker’s daughter in Shanghai and a student activist who mistakenly comes into possession of a letter from the Japanese Army in 1937. She gets ...
Style:
tense, suspense, costume drama, exciting, contemplative ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
espionage, sino japanese war, resistance, military, spy, female spy, secret agent, japanese occupation of china, chinese history, communist, world war two, female protagonist ...
Time:
year 1937, 1930s
Place:
china, shanghai
Similarity:
100%
16K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 85 min.
TV show
Story:
In 1987, when tear gas exploded like firecrackers, a bloody man jumped into a female college dormitory and a female student treats him thinking he's an activist student fighting for the generation. Based on the handwritten notes of a man who ...
Style:
romantic, touching, emotional, psychological, talky
Plot:
true love, student, activist, dormitory, spy, love and romance, lovers, love, young lovers, university, love at first sight, presidential election ...
Time:
80s, year 1987
Place:
seoul
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, History, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
Set during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in 1941, the drama follows Chen Shan who was forced to be a Japanese spy to save his younger sister who was held in captive; and his journey to become a patriotic fighter.
Style:
suspense, captivating, disturbing, psychological, tense ...
Plot:
patriotism, conflict, spy, world war two, wartime, japanese occupation, espionage, society, civil unrest, patriot, battles, fight for supremacy ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
shanghai, china
Similarity:
30%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 40 min.
TV show
Story:
The story of Zhou Wen, a graduate of Whampoa Military Academy for rich kids. After being sentenced to death for murder, he was able to escape. Changing his name to Zhou Wei Guo and joining the military, he went on to create the special operations ...
Style:
thrilling, captivating, tense, suspenseful, intense ...
Plot:
world war two, military, battles, patriotism, resistance, soldier, military life, wartime life, female soldier, fight, wartime, swat team ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
china
Similarity:
27%
Genre: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: China, USA, Hong Kong
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
During the Chinese Revolution in 1949, three couples flee from China to an island of Taiwan.
Style:
realistic, captivating, tense, factual, intense ...
Plot:
refugee, historical event, danger, military, survival, camp, chinese civil war, post war, karate, world war, chinese history, world war two ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
taiwan, china, ancient china
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK
Duration: 52 min.
TV show
Story:
It's 1943 and the American Air Force has come to Market Weatherby, a small East Anglian town. The war weary British and the brash American GIs sometimes clash, but friendships are also forged.
Style:
sentimental, melancholic
Audience:
adult
Plot:
world war two, small town, friendship, hopes, patriotism, nostalgia, class differences, social change, wartime, rationing, rural setting, british history ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century
Place:
england
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story:
Fighter Pilot Gao Zhi Hang heroically defends his country against the Japanese invaders.
Style:
tense, suspenseful, serious, historical drama, captivating ...
Plot:
fighter pilot, country, heroism, aviation, bravery, sino japanese war, wartime, military, japanese occupation of china, air force, military service, aviator ...
Time:
1940s
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
Zheng Yao-Xian is a CCP spy code-named Kite and lurks in the Nationalist secret service.
Style:
disturbing, captivating, suspenseful, political thriller, suspense ...
Plot:
spy, espionage, secret agent, undercover, chinese civil war, undercover agent, secret, spy mission, special agent, political intrigue, danger, double agent ...
Time:
1940s, 1950s
Place:
china, east asia
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: China
TV show
Story:
The series follows the lives of three brothers as they struggle through the turbulent political period before the war. They become part of the first-generation immigrant entrepreneurial path in Qingdao. The story began in 1904 when the Jinan Railway ...
Style:
family saga, historical drama, period piece, suspense, captivating ...
Plot:
brothers, chinese history, republican era china, sino japanese war, brother brother relationship, immigrant, political unrest, life is a bitch, political intrigue, family relations, wartime life, entrepreneurship ...
Place:
china
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: China
Duration: 46 min.
TV show
Story:
On New Year’s Day in 1949, female accountant Huang Li Wen returns to her hometown Shanghai in order to commemorate her husband and comrade’s death. As a Communist agent, she is ordered to obtain valuable information for the Communist Party and ...
Style:
suspense, disturbing, psychological, captivating, tension ...
Plot:
spy, mission, revolution, espionage, covert operation, undercover, chinese civil war, spy mission, secret mission, communism, communist, family relations ...
Place:
shanghai
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Romance, War
Country: China
Duration: 46 min.
TV show
Story:
A story about a socialite in Shanghai whose family falls to ruin and starts on a journey to become a spy.
Lu Han Zhi's fate is intertwined between two men from opposing sides of a war. Gao Chen who appears to be a traitor to his country is ...
Style:
exciting, serious, captivating, suspenseful, tension ...
Plot:
betrayal, hidden identity, older man younger woman relationship, spy, republican era china, death, political intrigue, espionage, political conflict, spy thriller, couple relations, love ...
Time:
1930s
Place:
china, shanghai
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: China
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
In 1942, Henan Province was devastated by the most tragic famine in modern Chinese history, resulting in the deaths of at least three million men, women and children. Although the primary cause of the famine was a severe drought, it was exacerbated ...
Style:
serious, rough, captivating, realistic, bleak ...
Plot:
sino japanese war, world war two, japanese occupation of china, japanese occupation, life is a bitch, survival, danger, chaos, on the run, against humanity, escapades, on the road ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, year 1942
Place:
china, taiwan, asia
Similarity:
21%
246
Genre: Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, War
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
After ten years of knowledge and choice, after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Lin Nansheng has grown into a true Communist Party member. And at the critical moment of the War of Liberation, he made outstanding contributions to ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, detective, tense ...
Plot:
spy, revolution, chinese civil war, arrest, communist, strong female lead, blood, prospector, nationalist, betrayal, rebel, republican era china ...
Time:
20th century, year 1936, 1940s, 1930s
Place:
china, shanghai
Similarity:
21%
Movie in collections
Genre: War
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
In 1937, the Japanese imperialists launched a brutal war of aggression against China. Xu Tian was a color-blind accountant in Shanghai with military training who decided to stay close to his mother after the death of his father. After an accident ...
Style:
suspenseful, historical drama, captivating, psychological, period piece ...
Plot:
patriotism, resistance, occupation, wartime life, historical event, patriot, japanese soldier, life is a bitch, soldier, military officer, military, relationships ...
Place:
shanghai
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
Days of honor is a Polish World War II television drama series, broadcast on TVP2 since September 7, 2008.
Style:
suspense, captivating, exciting
Plot:
world war two, resistance, resistance movement, wartime, battles, soldier, military life, power struggle, wartime life, class struggle, military, life is a bitch ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s
Place:
poland
Similarity:
21%
664
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: China
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story:
Lurk is a 2009 Chinese television series based on a spy novel. The series is directed by Jiang Wei.
Style:
tension, captivating, tense, disturbing, intense ...
Plot:
spy, espionage, reconnaissance, secret service agent, special agent, undercover, secret agent, husband wife relationship, family relations, federal agent, family secret, prospector ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
china
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
During the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, orphan Lu Feng returns to Shanghai as a Communist undercover agent, tasked with infiltrating No. 76 Headquarters. There, he crosses paths with the mysterious Hua Xiang Yu and his childhood friend Huo Fei, both ...
Style:
suspenseful, psychological, historical drama, thrilling, captivating ...
Plot:
espionage, spy thriller, war, spy, double agent, loyalty, moral ambiguity, japanese occupation, undercover, deception, world war two, agent ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
shanghai, china
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA, Croatia
Duration: 126 min.
TV show
Story:
In the late 1930s, world politics begin to head in a dangerous direction. In Europe, Germany expands and rearms and proceeds to annex several border countries into the Reich. Meanwhile, Italy attempts to establish a Facist Colonial Empire under ...
Style:
sentimental, contemplative, serious, realistic, captivating ...
Plot:
world war two, holocaust, luftwaffe, u.s. navy, military, world war, jewish girl, anti semitism, cheating wife, holocaust survivor, wartime, navy ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 20th century
Place:
germany, italy, berlin germany, japan, china ...
Similarity:
20%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Ukraine, Russia
Duration: 55 min.
TV show
Story:
Autumn 1941. Miraculously escaping from the Kiev boiler, investigators from the military prosecutor's office Rokotov, Mirsky and Elagina arrive in Kharkov, where evacuation is already in full swing. They have in their hands important ...
Style:
suspense, captivating, harsh, atmospheric, dark ...
Plot:
world war two, betrayal, danger, investigation, wartime, espionage, sabotage, partner, society, diversion, police investigation, friendship ...
Place:
soviet union
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: India
Duration: 39 min.
TV show
Story:
Lieutenant Sodhi and his army fight for Indian Independence during World War II as part of the Indian National Army; the journey and sacrifice of the Indian National Army from its soldiers' point of view.
Style:
disturbing, captivating, tense, suspense, patriotic ...
Plot:
wartime, world war two, military life, soldier, war, battles, struggle for survival, army, officer, military, nationalism, patriot ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century
Place:
india
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: China
TV show
Story:
Gu Yizhong, a scion of the Gu family in Suzhou, returns to China after completing his studies in the Architecture Department at the University of Pennsylvania. When the war breaks out, a failed rescue mission to assist his underground party ...
Style:
historical drama, psychological, suspenseful, thrilling, captivating ...
Plot:
world war two, espionage, betrayal, infiltration, spy, undercover agent, resistance, japanese occupation, wartime, secret mission, secret agent, agent ...
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
On 8th October 1941, Stalin issued a secret order forming a female aviation unit.
Style:
captivating, exciting, tense, historical drama, sincere ...
Plot:
world war two, fighter pilot, love and romance, danger, destiny, hopes, air force, heroism, courage, sacrifice, military history, military aviation ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
soviet union
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 301 min.
TV show
Story:
Set against the brutal chaos of World War II, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living nightmare of captivity, across three continents and two decades. From the steamy jungles of Malaya to the dusty and desolate outback of ...
Style:
historical drama, melancholic, tense, period drama, vintage
Audience:
adult
Plot:
world war two, australian outback, resilience, survival, prisoners of war, male protagonist, romantic reunion, determination, trauma, female protagonist, sacrifice, japanese occupation ...
Time:
post world war two, 1940s
Place:
australia, malaysia, new zealand
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
War drama set at the end of the Continuation War in 1944 on the Karelian Isthmus. It is the story of the men who prepared food on the front - the cookhouse crew. The series also follows the fate of Tauno's family amid the turmoil of war. ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, period piece, bleak, realistic ...
Plot:
world war two, horse, wartime, military, soldier, frontline, trauma, survival, military life, brotherhood, fatherhood, duty ...
Time:
year 1944
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: China
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
1942, Nanjing (Nanking). Following a series of assassination attempts on officials of the Japanese-controlled puppet government, the Japanese spy chief gathers a group of suspects in a mansion house for questioning. A tense game of "cat and ...
Style:
suspense, captivating, realistic, tense, psychological ...
Plot:
japanese occupation, espionage, world war two, medieval, code breaking, resistance, assassination, undercover, wartime life, rivalry, danger, chinese history ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, year 1942
Place:
china, asia
Similarity:
20%
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