Movies Like Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 drama, history, romance film from Rob Marshall with a MovieMagicScore of 7.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Insect Woman and Lady Sings the Blues.

Drama History Romance

The Insect Woman

1963

A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.

7.2

MagicScore

Lady Sings the Blues

1972

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

6.9

MagicScore

Sisters of the Gion

1936

Umekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when he asks to stay with her after becoming bankrupt and leaving his wife. However her younger sister Omocha tells her she is wasting her time and money on a loser. She thinks that they should both find wealthy patrons to support them. Omocha therefore tries various schemes to get rid of Furusawa, and set themselves up with better patrons.

7.1

MagicScore

In the Realm of the Senses

1976

A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.

6.6

MagicScore

Hard Paint

2019

Pedro earns a living in chat rooms. He transforms himself into NeonBoy in front of the webcam. Slowly, this young man dips his fingers into pots of coloured paint and glides them across his naked body. But things change when Pedro notices that somebody is imitating his performances. He agrees to go on a date with his mysterious rival. This rendezvous will have far-reaching consequences.

6.3

MagicScore

Marley & Me

2008

A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.

7.2

MagicScore

Reagan

2024

Told through the voice of former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich, whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan's when Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, Reagan overcomes the odds to become the 40th president of the United States.

6.3

MagicScore

The Last Emperor

1987

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

7.6

MagicScore

The Tin Drum

1979

Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.

6.9

MagicScore

#10

Hitler: A Career

1977

A keen chronicle of the unlikely rise to power of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and a dissection of the Third Reich (1933-1945), but also an analysis of mass psychology and how the desperate crowd can be deceived and shepherded to the slaughterhouse.

7.4

MagicScore

#11

Le Bal

1983

In a French nightclub, choreographed song and dance routines are performed, rather than a streamlined narrative. They tell the story of Parisian culture and politics from the 1920s—1980s. A disparate, anachronistic series of characters, including an ordinary waiter, a Nazi collaborator, resistance fighters, and 1960s student protestors gather to celebrate and satirize 20th century France's icons, demons, and social changes.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

In This Corner of the World

2016

Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm…

7.9

MagicScore

#13

The Color Purple

1985

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Held for Ransom

2019

HELD FOR RANSOM tells the true story of Danish photojournalist Daniel Rye who was held hostage for 398 days in Syria by the terror organization ISIS along with several other foreign nationals including the American journalist, James Foley. The film follows Daniel’s struggle to survive in captivity, his friendship with James, and the nightmare of the Rye family back home in Denmark as they try to do everything in their power to save their son. At the center of this crisis, we find hostage negotiator, Arthur, who plays a pivotal role in securing Daniel’s release.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Ravenous

2017

In an isolated rural community of Quebec, Canada, some inhabitants attack other people, hungry for human flesh. A few survivors gather and go deep into the forest to escape them.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

Stonewall

2015

Kicked out by his parents, a gay teenager leaves small-town Indiana for New York's Greenwich Village, where growing discrimination against the gay community leads to riots on June 28, 1969.

6.0

MagicScore

#17

Row 19

2021

A young female doctor and her 6-year-old daughter are on an overnight flight in a violent storm. When passengers on the half-empty plane inexplicably begin to die, the woman’s grip on reality weakens and she is forced to relive her worst childhood nightmare.

5.4

MagicScore

#18

They Don't Wear Black Tie

1981

Otavio is an idealistic union leader trying to organize workers at a factory to resist the company's exploitative practices. His son, Tião, one of the employees, is more of a realist and doesn't want to risk losing his job by striking. This clash of perspectives puts the father and son at odds. Fortunately, Tião's mother, Romana, is on hand to act as a moderator between the two opinionated men.

8.2

MagicScore

#19

In the Arms of an Assassin

2019

Victor (William Levy) is one of the world’s most handsome men, but he has a deep secret – he is a cold blooded assassin. Smooth talking and seductive, Victor was raised to do one thing only, which is to kill for money. When he is sent to the home of a brutal drug lord to collect payment for his most recent hit, he encounters the beautiful Sarai (Alicia Sanz), who has been forced to spend the last 9 years of her life with the drug lord.

7.8

MagicScore

#20

Pretty Baby

1978

Hattie, a New Orleans prostitute, meets a photographer named Bellocq at her brothel one night and, after he photographs her, he befriends her 12-year-old daughter, Violet. When Violet is brought on as a working girl by her mother's madam and Hattie skips town to get married, Violet quickly loses her innocence and focuses on reuniting with Bellocq. But a life with Bellocq is compromised for Violet after her mother returns to town.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Memoirs of a Geisha?

The top films similar to Memoirs of a Geisha by MovieMagicScore are The Insect Woman (7.2), Lady Sings the Blues (6.9), Sisters of the Gion (7.1). Each shares drama/history/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Memoirs of a Geisha worth watching?

Memoirs of a Geisha holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.7/10 from 3,245 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Memoirs of a Geisha?

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) is a drama, history, romance film directed by Rob Marshall, starring Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh.

Where can I find more recommendations like Memoirs of a Geisha?

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 Insect Woman Movies like Lady Sings the Blues Movies like Sisters of the Gion Movies like In the Realm of the Senses Movies like Hard Paint Movies like Marley & Me

About movies like Memoirs of a Geisha

This ranked list pairs Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), a drama and history and romance film from Rob Marshall, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Zhang Ziyi 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.

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