Movies and TV shows like Smile 2009
If you like "Smile" you are looking for dorama, psychological and captivating movies or TV shows about / with mute character, friendship, discrimination, resilience, life is a bitch, teamwork and social problems themes of Drama genre shot in Japan.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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Smile (2009)
174
Original name: スマイル
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Smile is a Japanese television drama series, shown on TBS started last April 17, 2009. Jun Matsumoto plays the lead role of Vito, a half-Filipino, half-Japanese man who always smiles despite all of the problems and difficulties he faces. The series focus on foreigners and mixed-race children who suffered from racism
Style:
dorama, psychological, captivating, thrilling, compassionate
Plot:
mute character, friendship, discrimination, resilience, life is a bitch, teamwork, social problems, mute, false accusation, lifestyle, social issues, framed for a crime, falsely accused, perseverance, multiculturalism, empathy, social justice, identity crisis, language barrier, slice of life, coming of age, racism, small town, prejudice, romance
Time:
contemporary
Place:
japan, tokyo
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Smile
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out captivating, psychological, thrilling and emotional films and TV series with plots about slice of life, coming of age, friendship, social problems, social issues, resilience and identity mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Smile: Marisol (2023), Good Doctor (2018), Umechan Sensei (2012), Summer Rescue (2012), Tanglin (2015). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
123
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
For Marisol Rivera, a first generation Mexican-American, college is everything she's worked toward. She spent mornings cleaning horse stalls and evenings studying. Now, with a scholarship in hand, she's ready to leave Southwest Texas and ...
Style:
thrilling, psychological, captivating, heartbreaking, emotional ...
Plot:
coming of age, on the run, immigration, social problems, grownups, social issues, life is a bitch, racism, illegal alien, adolescence vs adulthood, racial injustice, identity crisis ...
Place:
texas
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Minato Shindo has savant syndrome. His memory is amazing, but he has difficulty communicating with other people. When Minato was little, he dreamed of becoming a doctor. He met Doctor Akira Shiga and he wanted to become a pediatric surgeon. Akira ...
Style:
captivating, thrilling, psychological, inspirational, heartfelt ...
Plot:
hospital, autism, surgeon, doctor, medicine, physician, workplace, workplace situations, medical, coworker, acceptance, empathy ...
Place:
japan
Similarity:
88%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 15 min.
TV show
Story:
Umechan Sensei is a Japanese television drama series. It debuted on April 2, 2012. It is about a girl named Umeko Shimomura who, despite being overshadowed by her talented older brother and sister, and despite being thought of as a clumsy child, ...
Style:
asadora, disturbing, captivating, inspirational, historical drama ...
Plot:
determination, medical, resilience, post war japan, post war, life is a bitch, female doctor, doctor, female protagonist, family problems, courage, coming of age ...
Place:
japan, tokyo
Similarity:
80%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Style:
medical drama, thrilling, psychological, captivating, emotional ...
Plot:
doctor, summer, life & death, male female relationship, physician, saving a life, doctors and patients, relationship vs career, problem, male doctor, medical, medicine ...
Place:
japan
Similarity:
76%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Singapore
Duration: 23 min.
TV show
Story:
Daily drama centring on a number of multiracial and multi-generational families in modern Singapore.
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, realistic, heartfelt ...
Plot:
relationships, social issues, family relations, multiculturalism, family drama, family life, social problems, lifestyle, family conflict, slice of life, ethnic diversity, community ...
Place:
singapore
Similarity:
73%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story:
Yasu's mother passed away when he was very young and his father abandoned him. Yasu's wife, Misako, also lost both her parents when she was young. The two spend their days in happiness, watching their young son, Akira, grow up. ...
Style:
emotional, captivating, thrilling, psychological, melancholic ...
Plot:
father son relationship, loss of spouse, single father, slice of life, parent child relationship, single parent, family bonds, family drama, grief, family life, parents and children, bereavement ...
Similarity:
71%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Tokunaga, a comedian who is down on his luck, has a shock encounter with Kamiya, an older comedian when he visits a fireworks event in Atami on a job. Tokunaga is deeply touched by Kamiya and asks if he can become his apprentice. Kamiya is a genius ...
Style:
captivating, disturbing, psychological, emotional, melancholic
Plot:
friendship, comedian, entertainment industry, introspection, life philosophy, social problems, lifestyle, self discovery, character study, showbiz, slice of life, personal growth ...
Place:
tokyo, indiana, japan
Similarity:
68%
Genre: Drama
Country: Cyprus
TV show
Story:
Four young children have grown up together in an orphanage in Nicosia. Two boys and two girls. These children were not adopted, they stayed alone, and when they matured and left the Foundation, they decided to give each other what they needed most ...
Style:
emotional, thought provoking, psychological, captivating, thrilling ...
Plot:
orphanage, family drama, family secret, abandonment, social issues, social problems, slice of life, relationships, orphan, friends, best friend, family problems ...
Place:
cyprus
Similarity:
66%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Iwakura Mai lives with her parents Kota and Megumi and older brother Haruto. Her father Kota runs a small factory in Higashi Osaka, a district that is known for its craftsmen. Mai is shy and withdrawn. But when she visits her grandmother Shoko who ...
Style:
asadora, captivating, psychological, uplifting, realistic ...
Plot:
family drama, female protagonist, relationships, lifestyle, aviation, coming of age, heartwarming, personal growth, inspiration, perseverance, kite, small town life ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
63%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
One day, Nobuo Harada starts work as a Japanese language teacher at a high school. He is gay and dresses like a woman. He sympathizes with the lives and worries of his students.
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, comedy drama, dramatic ...
Plot:
cross dressing, high school life, lgbt, high school, lgbtq, school, gay lead character, gay, closeted gay, teacher, school teacher, teachers and students ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
62%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 58 min.
TV show
Story:
Students who have previous troubles in the city's schools are sent to a small school on an island.
Warm-hearted people on this remote island change them and they can grow. Chihiro Natsumura, who is a teacher on the remote island, struggles to ...
Style:
captivating, thrilling, psychological, suspenseful, educational ...
Plot:
island, teacher, school, student, japanese school, troubled youth, teacher student relationship, schoolgirl, schoolboy, teenager, high school life, teenage girl ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
61%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
This story is about four men who work in a confectionary. Tachibana Keiichiro (Shiina Kippei) is the owner; Ono Yusuke (Fujiki Naohito) is the superb baker that has a mysterious and mesmerizing aura; Kobayakawa Chikage (Abe Hiroshi) is the waiter ...
Style:
dorama, captivating, thrilling, psychological
Plot:
bakery, workplace, friendship, life, lifestyle, love affair, love and romance, workplace situations, relationship problems, candy store, in love, cookery ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
japan
Similarity:
60%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Otomen is a Japanese romantic comedy manga by manga artist Aya Kanno, which began in Bessatsu Hana to Yume in late 2006 and concluded on November 26, 2012. The series has been adapted into a live action TV drama. The series has been one of the ...
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, dorama
Plot:
high school, friendship, love, gender issues, friends in love, couples, classmate, gender roles, in love, adolescence, schoolboy, gender ...
Place:
japan
Similarity:
57%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Nakajima looks up to his father, who was a war photographer, but can only get a job as an assistant for gravure magazines. Mizuno is a provisional high school teacher, currently on probation. Nishimura is Mizuno's best friend, whose boyfriend ...
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, realistic, emotional ...
Plot:
friendship, social media, pregnancy, blackmail, twitter, personal growth, honesty, life is a bitch, unplanned pregnancy, social issues, life, social network ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
tokyo
Similarity:
57%
77
Genre: Drama
Country: New Zealand, Nigeria
TV show
Story:
Tarela, a young lady who works at a local bar where she is constantly owed salary, struggles to make ends meet as the survival of her mother, Ebiere and her younger sister, Kome, rests squarely on her shoulders.
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, realistic, melancholic
Plot:
female protagonist, stripper, family problems, poverty, female bartender, financial problem, life is a bitch, money problems, dysfunctional family, mother daughter relationship, family relations, social problems ...
Place:
new zealand
Similarity:
57%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story:
Rika Inaba is a beautiful and strong-headed director at the Teito Television Broadcasting Company. Ever since she was young, she had dreamed of becoming the best news reporter in the business, but on into her fifth year with the TV station, she ...
Style:
captivating, psychological, disturbing, heartfelt, emotional ...
Plot:
female protagonist, aviation, second chance, female reporter, career, dream, career change, ambition, social issues, problem, life is a bitch, social problems ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
56%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
The story follows the 20-year-old Tsubasa who dedicates her life to her family and their shop. Her life is turned upside down when her mother who was missing came back home. To pay of her mother's debt she starts to work at a small radio ...
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, emotional, asadora
Plot:
mother and daughter, female protagonist, hopes, family drama, family problems, radio dj, relationship problems, mother daughter relationship, absent mother, money problems, life is a bitch, family relations ...
Time:
2000s
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 25 min.
TV show
Story:
Something in the Air was an Australian television soap opera transmitted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2000 and 2002. It was one of the first programs in Australia that was filmed in widescreen. It won the AACTA Award for Best ...
Style:
captivating, sincere, heartfelt
Plot:
small town, radio station, small town life, multiple storylines, lifestyle, countryside, society, city life, social differences, village life, social issues, social relations ...
Place:
australia
Similarity:
54%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story:
At the five star Forumonto Hotel, Toko Amano works as a rookie concierge. Her senior concierge is Kazuma Honjo and the general manager is Ryusuke Washio. They are friendly and restrained with the customers at the Forumonto Hotel. Whenever problems ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, feel good, realistic ...
Plot:
hotel, hotel manager, concierge, hospitality, coworker, hotel desk clerk, problem, workplace situations, luxury hotel, workplace, room service, job ...
Place:
japan
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Three Japanese men in their thirties and forties are professionals working in law, dentistry and banking. The friends are trusting of one another and enjoy each others' fellowship. Aside from that they are currently single. Something inside ...
Style:
entertaining, captivating, thrilling, psychological, romantic comedy ...
Plot:
slice of life, friendship, bachelor, japanese man, lifestyle change, social problems, changing lives, singleness, male friendship, male bonding, japanese culture, relationships ...
Place:
tokyo
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama
Country: Thailand
TV show
Story:
How many of us remember what our dreams were when we were children? What our hopes and aspirations were?
How many of us grew up and realised that all the wonderous, innocent dreams that we had were probably not going to come true.
That it was ...
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, emotional, reflective ...
Plot:
second chance, friendship, self discovery, life, social problems, dream, dreaming, lifestyle, follow your dream, adolescence vs adulthood, grownups, relationship problems ...
Similarity:
52%
193
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 28 min.
TV show
Story:
What is exclusion really like? A look, a comment, the lack of likes, a birthday party to which you weren't invited, a clique that didn't include you: bullying is often invisible. Far too many kids and teens experience it every day. When ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, realistic, educational
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
high school, bullying, social media, teen social issues, problem, relationships, social problems, adolescence, girlfriend girlfriend relationship, girlfriend, social issues, multiple storylines ...
Similarity:
51%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
A man who appears to have no particular passion for anything ironically proves effective with troubled high school students. Known as a legendary savior of problem schools, he shows up one day to salvage what's left of a class that had fallen ...
Style:
captivating, psychological, disturbing, inspirational, emotional ...
Plot:
teacher, high school teacher, school teacher, high school life, high school, relationship problems, dedicated educator, social problems, school, teachers and students, schoolboy, lifestyle ...
Time:
2000s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
50%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
A dad who is popular with the ladies and a mom that continues to love the dad without any doubt like a young girl. The four sisters that the unbelievably ironclad husband and wife raised includes, an unmarried and divorced, a marriage hunter, a ...
Style:
captivating, thrilling, psychological, comedy drama, romantic comedy ...
Plot:
father daughter relationship, kids and family, family drama, sisterhood, relationship problems, family problems, sister sister relationship, love affair, lifestyle, large family, husband wife relationship, family life ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway
TV show
Story:
A story about 4 twelve years old friends - Arne, Bønna, Petter and Eivind.
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, realistic, heartfelt ...
Plot:
coming of age, friendship, grownups, adolescence, teenager, teenage boy, boyhood, friends, social issues, lifestyle, teenage life, teenage protagonist ...
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
Mishima Kiko was exploited by her own family. When she was little, her mother neglected her. After her mother remarried, Kiko was abused mentally and physically by her mother, stepfather, and younger stepbrother. She didn't belong to this ...
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, melancholic, heartbreaking ...
Plot:
domestic abuse, abuse, trauma, domestic violence, neglect, bullying, dysfunctional family, social problems, life is a bitch, traumatic past, violence, family problems ...
Place:
japan
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 15 min.
TV show
Story:
Teppan is a Japanese television drama that aired on NHK in 2010–2011. It was the 83rd Asadora. It starred a new actress, Miori Takimoto, in the role of a young woman raised by an adopted family in Onomichi who learns of her real grandmother and ...
Style:
asadora, thrilling, captivating, psychological, inspirational ...
Plot:
female protagonist, cooking, family drama, restaurant owner, family business, businesswoman, mother daughter relationship, family problems, chinese restaurant, changing lives, family relations, relationships ...
Place:
japan
Similarity:
45%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Gakko ja Oshierarenai! is a Japanese television drama series concerning the life of ten high school students. It stars Kyoko Fukada as their teacher. It started to air on July 15, 2008. Aida Mai is a woman in her third year as an english teacher at ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling
Plot:
high school, school, high school life, relationships, student, teacher, adolescence, youth, coming of age, love and romance, love affair, lifestyle ...
Time:
2000s
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
17-year-old Aoi came to Yui Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic as a part-time nurse apprentice in Summer 1997. Right after her entry, she is shocked after witnessing an abortion surgery. However, she also met staff members like Yui, the head of the ...
Style:
medical drama, realistic, thrilling, suspenseful, captivating ...
Plot:
abortion, medicine, coming of age, childbirth, compassion, pregnancy, humanity, nurse, female protagonist, doctor, workplace, female doctor ...
Time:
90s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
TV show
Story:
Several families in the farmland of Northern California navigate universal themes of class, immigration, culture and family.
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, realistic, reflective ...
Plot:
immigration, village life, family drama, class conflict, social problems, family relations, eccentric family, family problems, lifestyle, life, social issues, countryside ...
Place:
northern california
Similarity:
44%
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