Movies Like River Returns (2025)

River Returns is a 2025 drama, fantasy film from Masakazu Kaneko with a MovieMagicScore of 8.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Odyssey and Moana.

Drama Fantasy

The Odyssey

2026

Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.

8.0

MagicScore

Moana

2026

Teenage Moana answers the Ocean's call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.

7.0

MagicScore

Mourning Wife

2001

Director Daisuke Goto, the master of the cinematic Pink Eiga, is back with this retelling of the classic film noir, The Postman Always Rings Twice. A married woman, tasked with running her handicapped husband’s failing printing business, meets a drifter and they fall in love. Soon a plan to murder the husband is put into motion and the forces of fate begin to show their hand. Featuring bravura filmmaking, fantastic performances and steamy sex, the Mourning Wife is a worthy follow up for any fan of Daisuke Goto’s masterpiece A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn.

4.5

MagicScore

The Last Sunrise

2026

Ry, a college student with a chronic illness, escapes to Mallorca for the summer with her mother, where she unexpectedly falls for a local and begins to embrace living in the moment. But as her condition worsens and long-hidden family secrets come to light, everything she has found before summer's end is threatened.

6.6

MagicScore

Minions & Monsters

2026

This is the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created.

7.6

MagicScore

Pinocchio: Unstrung

2026

Influenced by a sinister Cricket and created by Geppetto, Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.

6.6

MagicScore

Kaulayaw

2024

Two college schoolmates venture into the world of cybersex to support their needs. They fulfill their fans' sexual fantasy only to realized that they too, are falling for each other.

5.8

MagicScore

Rosebush Pruning

2026

In a Spanish villa, American siblings Jack, Ed, Anna and Robert wallow in isolation and their inherited fortune. When Jack wants to move in with his girlfriend and Ed uncovers the truth about their mother’s death, the fabric of the family begins to unravel.

6.1

MagicScore

The Whisper Man

2026

When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.

6.8

MagicScore

#10

Salitan

2024

A suspicious wife follows her husband in Bali. She meets a dashing man who captures her heart. She soon wants her husband to really have an affair to alleviate the guilt she is feeling.

4.7

MagicScore

#11

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

2026

Avatar Aang, the world's last Airbender, learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.

9.2

MagicScore

#12

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

8.7

MagicScore

#13

Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups

2026

A powerful drug cartel pulls the strings behind a facade of sun-soaked beaches as a gritty, violent underworld power struggle emerges during the crumbling of Portuguese colonial rule.

8.0

MagicScore

#14

Vishwanath & Sons

2026

Sanjay Vishwanath is an acclaimed professional handgunner in his 40s with a major stake in fame and wealth. When he comes across a woman named Maddy in her 20s, their dynamic poses many issues that they must come to terms with.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

Woman in the Moon

1988

An Italian-American woman traveling to Sicily picks up a teenager who claims to be in trouble with some drug dealers.

5.6

MagicScore

#16

The Death of Robin Hood

2026

Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.

6.2

MagicScore

#17

Rita

2024

Rita, who finds herself alone when husband Ariel works abroad. They both find solace and sexual satisfaction in other people. When Ariel comes back, they both act like nothing happened. But will this keep their marriage from falling apart?

6.3

MagicScore

#18

Joyeux Noel

2005

France, 1914, during World War I. On Christmas Eve, an extraordinary event takes place in the bloody no man's land that the French and the Scots dispute with the Germans…

7.4

MagicScore

#19

Elephant

2003

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

7.0

MagicScore

#20

A Journey Through Time with Anthony

2015

A young man from Dalian pursues his studies in Melbourne, where he undergoes love, loss and self-discovery in this coming-of-age tale.

5.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like River Returns?

The top films similar to River Returns by MovieMagicScore are The Odyssey (8.0), Moana (7.0), Mourning Wife (4.5). Each shares drama/fantasy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is River Returns worth watching?

River Returns holds a MovieMagicScore of 8.5/10 from 2 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is River Returns?

River Returns (2025) is a drama, fantasy film directed by Masakazu Kaneko, starring Sanetoshi Ariyama, Asuka Hanamura, Yo Aoi.

Where can I find more recommendations like River Returns?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Odyssey Movies like Moana Movies like Mourning Wife Movies like The Last Sunrise Movies like Minions & Monsters Movies like Pinocchio: Unstrung

About movies like River Returns

This ranked list pairs River Returns (2025), a drama and fantasy film from Masakazu Kaneko, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Sanetoshi Ariyama take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to River Returns