Best Japanese Biography Movies

This page is updated regularly. Subscribe, so you don't miss new recommendations. The list of "Best Japanese Biography Movies" contains films with the following parameters. Style: realistic, serious, captivating, touching, inspirational and cult classic. Plot: biopic, husband wife relationship, society, death, art, friendship, ambition, illness, doctor and hospital. Genre: Biography, Drama and History. Country: Japan, USA and UK.
Best Japanese Biography Movies
Best Japanese Biography Movies
TOP Movies: The Theory of Everything (2014), Straight Outta Compton (2015), Steve Jobs (2015), Kiss and Cry (2017), Malcolm X (1992), Unbroken (2014), The Wind Rises (2013), The World's Fastest Indian (2005), Public Enemies (2009), Asakusa Kid (2021), Marie Antoinette (2006), The Danish Girl (2015), Blue (1993), Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), The Asadas (2020), Bruce Lee in G.O.D. (2000), Reversal of Fortune (1990), Zen (2009), Hachi-ko (1987), Control (2007).

List of Best Movies

Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
The Theory of Everything (2014)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Japan
Duration: 123 min.
Story: The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde.
Style: touching, uplifting, inspirational, compassionate, heartbreaking ...
Audience: chick flick, kids, teens
Plot: disability, genius, love, physicist, cambridge university, mathematics, prodigy, husband wife relationship, supportive spouse, scientist, against the odds, biopic ...
Time: year 2014, 2010s, 20th century, 60s, 90s ...
Place: oxford university, england, united kingdom
Is relevant ?
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Music
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 147 min.
Story: In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, ...
Style: realistic, intense, hood, lyrical, suspense ...
Audience: manly
Plot: hip hop, racism, music, gangster, rags to riches, ghetto, profanity, rap, rapper, african american, biopic, fighting the system ...
Time: 90s, 2010s, year 2015, 80s, year 2016 ...
Place: los angeles, california, milwaukee wisconsin, usa, texas ...
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 178K
Steve Jobs (2015)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA, Japan
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.
Style: realistic, cerebral, factual, talky, melancholic ...
Audience: date night, teens
Plot: entrepreneur, business, biopic, computer, prodigy, entrepreneurship, internet, computers and web, father daughter relationship, technology, friendship, adaptation ...
Time: 20th century, year 2015, 2010s, 90s, year 1988 ...
Place: usa, san francisco
Is relevant ?
 6.7
 3K
Kiss and Cry (2017)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music, Romance, Sport
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min.
Story: A romantic drama based on the story of Carley Allison, a promising 18 year old figure skater and singer who made medical history in her fight against a rare 1 in 3.5 billion type of sarcoma.
Style: sincere, light, captivating, exciting, depressing ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: cancer, figure skating, terminal illness, ice skater, teenage girl, skating, doctor, hospital, nurse, contests and competitions, hopes, supportive parent ...
Is relevant ?
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 7.7
 101K
Malcolm X (1992)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 202 min.
Story: A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left ...
Style: inspirational, political, factual, intense, stylized ...
Plot: civil rights, racism, politics, african american, black history, civil rights movement, assassination, biopic, islam, childhood, society, prison ...
Time: 20th century, year 1992, 90s, 60s, 50s ...
Place: usa, africa, new york, nebraska, indiana ...
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 182K
Unbroken (2014)
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Sport, War
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 137 min.
Story: A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
Style: motivational, uplifting, inspirational, epic, dramatic ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: world war two, war, survival, torture, biopic, soldier, human spirit, prison, olympics, prisoners of war, lone hero, hopes ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 2014, 2010s, 1930s ...
Place: japan, asia, pacific ocean, germany, berlin germany
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 97K
The Wind Rises (2013)
Genre: Animation, Biography, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 126 min.
Story: A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.
Style: anime, touching, stylized, atmospheric, sentimental ...
Audience: kids, family friendly, teens
Plot: world war two, tuberculosis, dream, airplane, earthquake, aviation, biopic, inventions and discoveries, flying, hopes, love and romance, wartime ...
Time: 1930s, 2010s, year 2013, 1920s, 20th century ...
Place: japan, germany, asia
Is relevant ?
The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: New Zealand, Japan, USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story: The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
Style: inspirational, realistic, road movie, touching, uplifting ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: motorcycle, human spirit, against the odds, follow your dream, motorcycle race, racing, race, car race, elderly, auto mechanic, goodhearted, ambition ...
Time: year 2005, 2000s, 20th century, 60s, year 1914 ...
Place: new zealand, california, utah, nevada, usa ...
Is relevant ?
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touching movies
11218
art movies
art
2870
 7.0
 317K
Public Enemies (2009)
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 140 min.
Story: Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, ...
Style: suspense, stylized, factual, exciting, intense ...
Audience: manly, boys' night
Plot: bank robbery, bank robber, gunfight, mobster, group of criminals, heist, manhunt, criminal heroes, organized crime, gangster, fbi, mafia ...
Time: 1930s, year 2009, 20th century, 2000s, year 1933
Place: chicago, indiana, usa, tucson arizona, illinois ...
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 2K
Asakusa Kid (2021)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min.
Story: In 1965, Takeshi Kitano drops out of a university and enters the Asakusa France Za, which is a performance theater. He becomes an apprentice to Senzaburo Fukami, who is a legendary entertainer. Senzaburo Fukami demands that Takeshi Kitano keep the ...
Style: thought provoking, disturbing, psychological, captivating
Audience: kids
Plot: teacher student relationship, popularity, theater, life, rising to stardom, theatre play, desire for fame, entertainment industry, stage actor, training, comedian, legend ...
Time: 80s, 70s, 60s, year 1965
Place: tokyo, japan
Is relevant ?
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, France, Japan
Duration: 123 min.
Story: The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Style: costume drama, period piece, visual, melancholic, visually stunning ...
Audience: girls' night, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: queen, french revolution, historical character, princess, french history, royal family, royal court, aristocracy, decadence, biopic, fashion, royalty ...
Time: 18th century, year 2006, victorian era, ancient times, georgian era ...
Place: france, versailles, europe, austria, vienna ...
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 198K
The Danish Girl (2015)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Japan
Duration: 119 min.
Story: When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks ...
Style: touching, emotional, romantic, captivating, serious ...
Audience: girls' night, chick flick
Plot: transsexual, lgbt, art, transgender, lgbtq, couple relations, gender, painting, gay, artist, gays and lesbians, painter ...
Time: 1920s, 1930s, year 2015, 2010s, 20th century
Place: denmark, paris france, idaho, copenhagen, europe ...
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 3K
Blue (1993)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Japan
Duration: 79 min.
Story: Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of ...
Style: realistic, serious, atmospheric, underground film, experimental ...
Plot: aids, storytelling, death, autobiography, terminal illness, gender, church, infidelity, hiv, lgbt, private detective, underground ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: england, asia
Is relevant ?
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, Japan, USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story: The story of journalist, Edward R Murrow's stand against Senator McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.
Style: black and white, political, melancholic, factual, tense ...
Plot: media, politics, television, journalist, mccarthyism, reporter, fighting the system, cold war, journalism, communism, propaganda, politician ...
Time: 1950s, 20th century, 50s, 90s, year 2005 ...
Place: new york, california, washington d.c., usa, soviet union ...
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 1K
The Asadas (2020)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 127 min.
Story: Masashi is a photographer. He has his parents and an older brother Yukihiro. Through the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Masashi begins to take staged photos of his family.
Style: captivating, psychological, disturbing, surprise ending
Audience: family outing
Plot: photographer, tsunami, disaster, family relations, brother brother relationship, nuclear holocaust, catastrophe, father son relationship, problem, blood, funeral, school ...
Time: year 2011, 2000s, 2010s
Place: japan, tokyo
Is relevant ?
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 120 min.
Story: A fictional account of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima told in four parts. The first three parts relate events in three of his novels: The temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kyoko's House, and Runaway Horses. The last part depicts the ...
Style: surreal, serious, atmospheric, cerebral, anthology ...
Plot: suicide, art, rebellion, friendship, nationalism, writers, emperor, radical, political unrest, state affairs, tragic hero, writer's life ...
Time: 20th century, year 1985, 60s, post world war two
Place: japan, mount fuji, kyoto japan, tokyo
Is relevant ?
Bruce Lee in G.O.D. (2000)
Genre: Biography
Country: Japan, Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min.
Story: Bruce Lee in G.O.D. is a "docudrama" about the filming of Game of Death. The first 40 minutes of the film is a dramitisation of events before Lee dropped filming for GOD to do Enter the Dragon, interspersed with interviews with people ...
Style: serious, exciting, captivating, realistic
Plot: martial arts, actor, martial artist, tough guy, warrior, asian, wing chun, master warrior, kung fu classic, kung fu master, atheist, taekwondo ...
Is relevant ?
Reversal of Fortune (1990)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA, Japan, UK
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.
Style: realistic, talky, suspense, tense, suspenseful ...
Plot: courtroom drama, lawyer, courtroom, legal, murder, court, biopic, trial, coma, uncover truth, protagonist as suspect, dedicated lawyer ...
Time: 20th century, year 1990, 80s, 90s
Place: rhode island
Is relevant ?
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 7.3
 1K
Zen (2009)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 127 min.
Story: In the early 1200s, Dogen brought Chinese Zen philosophy to Japan, and established the Japanese Zen sect of Buddhism. He taught that a person was capable of realizing Buddhahood within himself, by way of Zazen. Zazen is extended hours of sitting and ...
Style: spiritual, atmospheric, psychological, captivating, contemplative ...
Plot: buddhism, zen, enlightenment, buddhist monk, meditation, religion, spirit, buddhist, poverty, abstinence, spirituality, society ...
Time: 13th century
Place: japan, tibet, china
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 6K
Hachi-ko (1987)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: Japan
Duration: 107 min.
Story: In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took in Hachikō, a golden brown Akita, as a pet. During his owner's life, Hachikō walk with him in the morning and greeted him at the end of each ...
Style: depressing, educational, touching, independent film, realistic ...
Audience: date night
Plot: friends, friendship, dog, animal, sadness, time travel, best friend, bittersweet, loyalty, dog actor, waiting, owner dog relationship ...
Time: 1920s, 1930s, 20th century
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 68K
Control (2007)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: UK, USA, Australia, Japan, France
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Control is the biography of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, taking his story from schoolboy days of 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.
Style: depressing, atmospheric, black and white, stylized, sad ...
Audience: teens
Plot: music, punk, singer, depression, suicide, musician's life, punk rock, musician, rock and roll, biopic, epilepsy, music band ...
Time: 70s, y2k, year 2007, year 1980, year 1973 ...
Place: england, manchester, london, northern england, europe
Is relevant ?
 6.7
 3K
Miss Hokusai (2015)
Genre: Animation, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 93 min.
Story: The time: 1814. The place: Edo, now known as Tokyo. A much accomplished artist of his time and now in his mid-fifties, Tetsuzo can boast clients from all over Japan, and tirelessly works in the garbage-loaded chaos of his house-atelier. He spends ...
Style: anime, touching, captivating, sentimental, psychological ...
Plot: art history, artist, father daughter relationship, drawing, painting, sister sister relationship, illness, painter, rivalry, society, family relations, edo period ...
Time: 19th century, 2010s
Place: japan, tokyo
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 137K
Man on the Moon (1999)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Japan, USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A film about the life and career of the eccentric avant-garde comedian, Andy Kaufman.
Style: offbeat, depressing, inspirational, touching, humorous ...
Plot: comedian, biopic, showbiz, wrestler, character study, prank, life philosophy, human spirit, actor's life, rising to stardom, performer's life, rise and fall ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, 80s, year 1999, 70s ...
Place: new york, usa, manhattan new york city, memphis, the philippines ...
Is relevant ?
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 7.1
 206K
American Made (2017)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Japan, Colombia, Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story: The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.
Style: exciting, black comedy, factual, emotional, captivating ...
Plot: drug cartel, pilot, cia, money laundering, aviation, smuggler, money, cocaine, fbi, trial, drug, sex scene ...
Time: 80s, year 1978, year 2017, 2010s, 70s ...
Place: colombia, latin america, usa, panama, nicaragua ...
Is relevant ?
 6.2
 323
Hokusai (2020)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min.
Story: The unknown life of Ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai in the Edo period, who is said to have painted more than 30,000 works throughout his life, such as "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji"
Style: captivating, suspenseful, exciting, serious, dramatic
Plot: painter, art, painting, artist, picture, creative process, famous painting, drawing, fight, profession
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 33K
Dersu Uzala (1975)
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama
Country: Soviet Union, Japan
Duration: 142 min.
Story: A military explorer meets and befriends a Goldi man in Russia’s unmapped forests. A deep and abiding bond evolves between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the glacial Siberian woods.
Style: atmospheric, cerebral, dramatic, visually appealing, visual ...
Audience: date night
Plot: wilderness, friendship, wilderness survival, human spirit, cold weather, explorer, forest, hunter, survival, nature, environment, tiger ...
Time: 20th century, 1900s, year 1975, 1910s
Place: siberia, soviet union, russia, ussr, mongolia ...
Is relevant ?
 6.9
 18K
Wilde (1997)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Japan, Germany
Duration: 118 min.
Story: The story of Oscar Wilde, genius, poet, playwright and the First Modern Man. The self-realisation of his homosexuality caused Wilde enormous torment as he juggled marriage, fatherhood and responsibility with his obsessive love for Lord Alfred ...
Style: homoerotic, costume drama, touching, period piece, witty ...
Plot: homosexuality, gay, writers, homosexual, hypocrisy, biopic, lgbt, male homosexuality, scandal, gay lead character, glbt, poetry ...
Time: 19th century, victorian era, 1800s, year 1997, edwardian era
Place: ireland, britain, england, europe
Is relevant ?
 6.8
 392
Sada (1998)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 132 min.
Story: Nobuhiko Obayashi, director of the cult horror/comedy "House," gives his unique spin on the true story of Sada Abe, who strangled her lover and cut off his genitals as a keepsake.
Style: psychedelic, surreal, mind bending, sexy, realistic ...
Plot: murder, sex, rape, biopic, vengeance, love and romance, prostitute, life is a bitch, society, couples, teenage life, sexual abuse ...
Time: year 1936, 90s, year 1919
Is relevant ?
 6.9
 3K
Wittgenstein (1993)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Japan
Duration: 72 min.
Story: A dramatization, in modern theatrical style, of the life and thought of the Viennese-born, Cambridge-educated philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), whose principal interest was the nature and limits of language. A series of sketches depict ...
Style: philosophical, thought provoking, captivating, serious, realistic ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: philosophy, prodigy, biopic, gay, cambridge university, lgbt, ambition, writer's life, society, school, philosopher, lgbtqi ...
Time: 20th century, year 1919
Place: england, ireland, soviet union, dublin ireland, russia ...
Is relevant ?
Eros + Massacre (1969)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 216 min.
Story: Two interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories.
Style: erotic, erotic drama, avant garde, weird
Plot: anarchist, anarchy, anarchism, society, erotic scene, revolt, memory, asian, erotica, chaos, japanese culture, trauma ...
Time: year 1969, 1920s
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
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