Movies Like Flowing (1956)

Flowing is a 1956 drama film from Mikio Naruse with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Faust and Late Chrysanthemums.

Drama

Faust

2011

A doctor in early 19th-century Germany becomes infatuated with the sister of a man he unintentionally killed and bargains with the Devil incarnate to conjure their union in exchange for his soul.

6.6

MagicScore

Late Chrysanthemums

1954

With delicate, unobtrusive strokes, Naruse evokes both the humor and bitterness of his characters’ dilemmas, in this bleak, compelling poignant portrait of a quartet of aging geishas contemplating their troubles with men and money.

7.3

MagicScore

My Geisha

1962

Famed movie director Paul Robaix breaks with tradition by not casting his actress-comedienne wife, Lucy Dell, in his latest film production, a version of Madame Butterfly. Undaunted, the resourceful Lucy wings her way to Tokyo and, masquerading as a Japanese geisha, lands the coveted role from her unsuspecting husband! But in front of the cameras (and behind the pancake makeup), Lucy faces greater challenges: her lecherous leading man - and a husband who is beginning to realize that his talented new "discovery" seems vaguely familiar...

6.7

MagicScore

I Remember Mama

1948

Norwegian immigrant Marta Hanson keeps a firm but loving hand on her household of four children, a devoted husband and a highly-educated lodger who reads great literature to the family every evening. Through financial crises, illnesses and the small triumphs of everyday life, Marta maintains her optimism and sense of humor, traits she passes on to her aspiring-author daughter, Katrin.

7.1

MagicScore

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko

2021

Brash single mother Nikuko is well-known for her bold spirit, much to the embarrassment of Kikuko, her pensive yet imaginative daughter. In contrast to her mother, Kikuko wants nothing more than to fit in as she navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school. Life in the harbor is peaceful until a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair's tender relationship.

7.1

MagicScore

Year of the Jellyfish

1984

Chris, a sexy teenager who appears mostly bare-breasted on the French Riviera, has a crush on Romain, her mother's lover. In reaction to her inability to attract his attention, she experiments with other risque affairs.

5.8

MagicScore

The Hating Game

2021

Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against cold and efficient nemesis Joshua, a rivalry that is complicated by her growing attraction to him.

7.3

MagicScore

Susana

1951

The story of a girl of questionable mental stability who escapes from incarceration and ends up at a plantation where she disrupts a working family's daily routines and chemistry.

6.7

MagicScore

Emma

1996

Emma Woodhouse is a congenial young lady who delights in meddling in other people’s affairs. She is perpetually trying to unite men and women who are utterly wrong for each other. Despite her interest in romance, Emma is clueless about her own feelings, and her relationship with gentle Mr. Knightley.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Can You Keep a Secret?

2019

Emma Corrigan, a girl with a few secrets, thinks she’s about to die on a turbulent plane ride. She spills them all to the handsome stranger sitting next to her. At least, she thought he was a stranger. But then, her company’s young and elusive CEO, arrives at the office. It’s him. And he knows every single humiliating detail about her.

6.4

MagicScore

#11

Capricious Summer

1968

Middle-aged Antonin and his friends, the major, now retired, and the canon, are in the river, swimming and philosophizing. Then it starts to rain. It just seems to be that sort of summer. Antonin runs the swimming bath with his portly wife Katherine... A man appears with his horse-drawn caravan. He lays a striped pole across the river and walks over. With a handstand and a magic trick, Ernie the Conjuror invites everyone to that evening's performance... Ernie is a tightrope walker of only modest skill, but with a slim and beautiful assistant, Anna. Antonin speaks to her. The two spend the night in the change room by the river, Antonin massaging her feet all night long. Katherine decides to move into the caravan with Ernie. But now the major and even the canon sense Anna's attractiveness...

6.4

MagicScore

#12

The Help

2011

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.

8.2

MagicScore

#13

The Valley of Decision

1945

Mary Rafferty comes from a poor family of steel mill workers in 19th Century Pittsburgh. Her family objects when she goes to work as a maid for the wealthy Scott family which controls the mill. Mary catches the attention of handsome scion Paul Scott, but their romance is complicated by Paul's engagement to someone else and a bitter strike among the mill workers.

7.3

MagicScore

#14

Dolores Claiborne

1995

Dolores Claiborne was accused of killing her abusive husband twenty years ago, but the court's findings were inconclusive and she was allowed to walk free. Now she has been accused of killing her employer, Vera Donovan, and this time there is a witness who can place her at the scene of the crime. Things look bad for Dolores when her daughter Selena, a successful Manhattan magazine writer, returns to cover the story.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

Girl with a Pearl Earring

2003

This film, adapted from a work of fiction by author Tracy Chevalier, tells a story about the events surrounding the creation of the painting "Girl With A Pearl Earring" by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

The Member of the Wedding

1952

Tomboy, Frances 'Frankie' Addams, dreams of running away with her brother and new fiancée away from the Deep South.

6.2

MagicScore

#17

Exploits of a Young Don Juan

1986

In 1914, sixteen year old Roger returned home from boarding school during vacation to find his puberty hit hard in a house filled with beautiful women. These women have previous engagements with other men who are away, and during this time, Roger impregnates them all, including his aunt and sister, then devises plans to cuckold the men.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

Mothering Sunday

2021

On a warm spring day in 1924, house maid and foundling Jane Fairchild finds herself alone on Mother's Day. Her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Niven, are out and she has the rare chance to spend quality time with her secret lover. Paul is the boy from the manor house nearby, Jane's long-term love despite the fact that he's engaged to be married to another woman, a childhood friend and daughter of his parents' friends. But events that neither can foresee will change the course of Jane's life forever.

5.4

MagicScore

#19

Street of Shame

1956

The lives of five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation is debating the passage of an anti-prostitution law.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

The Castle of Sand

1974

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

7.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Flowing?

The top films similar to Flowing by MovieMagicScore are Faust (6.6), Late Chrysanthemums (7.3), My Geisha (6.7). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Flowing worth watching?

Flowing holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 33 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Flowing?

Flowing (1956) is a drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine.

Where can I find more recommendations like Flowing?

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 Faust Movies like Late Chrysanthemums Movies like My Geisha Movies like I Remember Mama Movies like Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko Movies like Year of the Jellyfish

About movies like Flowing

This ranked list pairs Flowing (1956), a drama film from Mikio Naruse, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Kinuyo Tanaka 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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