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Movies that feel like Ashes of Time (1994)

If you loved Ashes of Time, the closest films we have are Shadow (2018), Stalingrad (2013) and Balkan Line (2019). All three share Ashes of Time's kinetic and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

Ouyang Feng is a heartbroken and cynical man who spends his days in the desert, connecting expert swordsmen with those seeking revenge and willing to pay for it. Throughout five seasons in exile, Ouyang spins tales of his clients' unrequited loves and unusual acts of bravery.

πŸ… 79% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Wong Kar-Waicontemplativekineticbleakromantic

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If Ashes of Time hit the spot, these will too

Shadow poster
Shadow
2018 Β· dir. Zhang Yimou
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7action Β· war

Both are built on the same subject: wuxia

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Ashes of Time

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a shadow, a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.

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Stalingrad poster
Stalingrad
2013 Β· dir. Fyodor Bondarchuk
πŸ… 51%β˜… 5.7war Β· action Β· drama

Contemplative and kinetic in the same breath

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

A band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to a Russian woman who has been living there.

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Balkan Line poster
Balkan Line
2019 Β· dir. Andrey Volgin
β˜… 6.6drama Β· action Β· war

Drama built on bleakness, twice over

The difference: Sits closer to war than Ashes of Time does

After the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav army pulls out of Kosovo region, leaving Serbian people at the mercy of the Albanian UCK. A small band of soldiers must take over the Slatina airport, and hold it until the Russian peacekeepers arrive.

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As Tears Go By poster
As Tears Go By
1988 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7drama Β· crime Β· romance

Wong Kar-Wai directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Leans harder into crime than Ashes of Time does

Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.

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Uri: The Surgical Strike poster
Uri: The Surgical Strike
2019 Β· dir. Aditya Dhar
πŸ… 57%β˜… 8.2action Β· drama Β· war

Both lean on stillness more than on action

The difference: 25 years apart, and the 2010s show

Following the roguish terrorist attacks at Uri Army Base camp in Kashmir, India takes the fight to the enemy, in its most successful covert operation till date with one and only one objective of avenging their fallen heroes.

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Happy Together poster
Happy Together
1997 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.7drama Β· romance

Both are Wong Kar-Wai's work, and they rhyme

A couple travels from Hong Kong to Argentina to revive their relationship but experience turbulence when both men's lives drift in separate directions.

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Wings poster
Wings
1927 Β· dir. William A. Wellman
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.5drama Β· action Β· war

Drama with a pulse of romance, in both cases

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

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Warsaw 44 poster
Warsaw 44
2014 Β· dir. Jan Komasa
β˜… 6.6drama Β· history Β· war

Bleak action in both cases

City of Warsaw, Poland, August 1st, 1944. Citizens have experienced inhuman acts of terror and violence during five long years of Nazi occupation. As the Soviet Army relentlessly approaches, the youngest and bravest among them rise up as one and face tyranny fighting street by street, but the price to pay will be high and hard the way to freedom…

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Red Cliff II poster
Red Cliff II
2009 Β· dir. John Woo
β˜… 7.5action Β· adventure Β· drama

Kinetic drama, and it commits to that

The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?

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Days of Being Wild poster
Days of Being Wild
1990 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama Β· romance

Action with a pulse of romance, in both cases

Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

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Eastern Condors poster
Eastern Condors
1987 Β· dir. Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
β˜… 7.1action Β· adventure Β· war

A streak of momentum through both

A motley group of Chinese prisoners held in the US is sent on a covert mission with the promise of a pardon: to go deep into Vietnam and destroy a secret depot of missiles that the US left behind during the pull-out.

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In Darkness poster
In Darkness
2011 Β· dir. Agnieszka Holland
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.3drama Β· war

Both work the same stillness

A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied city of Lviv. In Darkness tells the true story of Leopold Soha who risks his own life to save a dozen people from certain death. Initially only interested in his own good, the thief and burglar hides Jewish refugees for 14 months in the sewers of the Nazi-occupied town of Lviv (formerly Poland).

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In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Ashes of Time’s defining feeling.