Movies Like The River (1997)

The River is a 1997 drama, romance film from Tsai Ming-liang with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Sassy Pants and The Blonde One.

Drama Romance

Sassy Pants

2012

Desperate to get out from under her overprotective mother, a home-schooled teen runs off to live with her dad, and forms a bond with his much-younger boyfriend.

5.6

MagicScore

The Blonde One

2019

Gabriel rents a room in Juan’s House. They work together in a Woodwork place. Gabriel is a very quiet guy and has a little daughter. Juan is a party boy who has a lots of girls around. Inadvertently the sexual tension starts to grow between them. It opens a new hidden forbidden world they have to deal with.

7.9

MagicScore

Requiem for a Dream

2000

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

8.0

MagicScore

Born for You

2023

Alba has Down's Syndrome and was left in the hospital when she was born. Thirty families rejected her before the court decided to entrust her to Luca: a Catholic — and gay — single man.

7.2

MagicScore

Any Day Now

2012

In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he's never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight the legal system to adopt the child.

7.0

MagicScore

Holiday Heart

2000

After losing his police officer lover, Christian drag queen Holiday Heart meets 12-year-old Niki and her drug-addicted mother, Wanda. Heart finds relief from heartache and a renewed sense of purpose when he steps in as a father figure to Niki and welcomes the two women into his life. But when Wanda becomes romantically involved with her drug dealer, Silas, it may endanger Niki and threaten to destroy the makeshift family.

6.8

MagicScore

Patrik, Age 1.5

2008

Göran and Sven have been cleared for adoption and they have a possibility to adopt a swedish orphan, Patrik 1,5. But when Patrik arrives he turns out to be someone else, not the little boy they were expecting. A comma had been misplaced, and in comes a 15-year-old homophobic with a criminal past.

6.8

MagicScore

Jonathan

2016

A young man struggles with the pressure of caring for his terminally ill father while trying to unlock a secret that his father seems determined to keep from him. The story takes another dramatic turn when Ron, Burghardt’s long-lost friend from his youth, re-appears — and a well-kept family secret is uncovered.

6.3

MagicScore

Breakfast with Scot

2007

The lives of Eric, an ex hockey player, and his partner Sam, are thrown into turmoil when they are forced to take in Scot, a flamboyant 11-year-old.

6.2

MagicScore

#10

Pit Stop

2013

Openly gay Ernesto and closeted Gabe grapple with the sad tribulations of being gay in a small, working-class Texas town

6.0

MagicScore

#11

The Boy Next Door

2008

Mark, a 25-year-old male prostitute who suffers from anxiety attacks accidentally runs into the 10-year-old son of one of his clients. When the boy tells him he is looking for his father Mark, taken by surprise, wants nothing to do with him. But while they wait for the client to return Mark realizes that maybe this unexpected guest was exactly what he needed. Over the course of the night this strange new friendship grows and gives both Mark and Justin the courage to overcome their fears and face their own personal demons.

5.8

MagicScore

#12

Spork

2010

A frizzy-haired, pink-cheeked outcast named Spork navigates her way through the annals of junior high.

5.8

MagicScore

#13

Harry and Max

2004

Two brothers, Harry and Max, who are both teen idols, come to terms with their dysfunctional family past and deep affection for each other

5.4

MagicScore

#14

American Beauty

1999

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

8.0

MagicScore

#15

mid90s

2018

In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at a skate shop.

7.5

MagicScore

#16

Suddenly, Last Summer

1959

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

7.3

MagicScore

#17

It's Only the End of the World

2016

Louis, a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.

7.2

MagicScore

#18

Swimming Upstream

2003

A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

Other People

2016

David, a struggling comedy writer fresh off from breaking up with his boyfriend, moves from New York City to Sacramento to help his sick mother. Living with his conservative father and much-younger sisters for the first time in ten years, he feels like a stranger in his childhood home. As his mother’s health declines, David frantically tries to extract meaning from this horrible experience and convince everyone (including himself) that he's "doing okay.”

6.3

MagicScore

#20

The Hanging Garden

1997

William, a once obese and troubled teen, goes back to his family's home after being gone, without word, for ten years and finds it (and his family) haunted with his past. He had moved to the city and become a fit, well-adjusted gay man, but during his visit home, he becomes unhinged as the newly remembered reasons for his miserable adolescence come to life in each of their presents.

6.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The River?

The top films similar to The River by MovieMagicScore are Sassy Pants (5.6), The Blonde One (7.9), Requiem for a Dream (8.0). Each shares drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The River worth watching?

The River holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10 from 73 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The River?

The River (1997) is a drama, romance film directed by Tsai Ming-liang, starring Lee Kang-sheng, Miao Tian, Lu Yi-ching.

Where can I find more recommendations like The River?

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 Sassy Pants Movies like The Blonde One Movies like Requiem for a Dream Movies like Born for You Movies like Any Day Now Movies like Holiday Heart

About movies like The River

This ranked list pairs The River (1997), a drama and romance film from Tsai Ming-liang, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Lee Kang-sheng 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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