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Movies that feel like Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

If you loved Sansho the Bailiff, the closest films we have are 12 Angry Men (1957), Umberto D. (1952) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). All three share Sansho the Bailiff's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel and MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel and others, checked against today's data.

In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.

πŸ… 100% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Kenji Mizoguchicontemplative

When is Sansho the Bailiff streaming? β†’

If Sansho the Bailiff hit the spot, these will too

12 Angry Men poster
12 Angry Men
1957 Β· dir. Sidney Lumet
πŸ… 100%β˜… 9drama

Both trade on stillness more than on being drama

The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.

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Umberto D. poster
Umberto D.
1952 Β· dir. Vittorio De Sica
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.1drama

Contemplative drama in both cases

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.

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An Autumn Afternoon poster
An Autumn Afternoon
1962 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8drama

Both keep circling back to japan

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

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Bicycle Thieves poster
Bicycle Thieves
1948 Β· dir. Vittorio De Sica
πŸ… 99%β˜… 8.2drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycleβ€”essential to his workβ€”gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.

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Late Spring poster
Late Spring
1949 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.2drama

Cut from the same drama cloth

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

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American History X poster
American History X
1998 Β· dir. Tony Kaye
πŸ… 84%β˜… 8.5drama

Drama approached the same way

The difference: A 1990s film, from a different era of filmmaking

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

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Million Dollar Baby poster
Million Dollar Baby
2004 Β· dir. Clint Eastwood
πŸ… 90%β˜… 8.1drama

Both are drama through and through

Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.

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The Help poster
The Help
2011 Β· dir. Tate Taylor
πŸ… 75%β˜… 8.1drama

The same drama instincts

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

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.

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The Pursuit of Happyness poster
The Pursuit of Happyness
2006 Β· dir. Gabriele Muccino
πŸ… 67%β˜… 8drama

The same drama instincts

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

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The Hunt poster
The Hunt
2012 Β· dir. Thomas Vinterberg
πŸ… 92%β˜… 8.3drama

Both are drama through and through

A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.

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The Social Network poster
The Social Network
2010 Β· dir. David Fincher
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.8drama

Drama approached the same way

In 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programmer Mark Zuckerberg begins work on a new concept that eventually turns into the global social network known as Facebook. Six years later, Mark is one of the youngest billionaires ever, but his unprecedented success leads to both personal and legal complications when he ends up on the receiving end of two lawsuits, one involving his former friend.

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Rocky III poster
Rocky III
1982 Β· dir. Sylvester Stallone
πŸ… 66%β˜… 6.9drama

The same drama instincts

Following Rocky Balboa's intense battle with his most powerful adversary yet – the ferocious Clubber Lang – Rocky joins forces with former rival Apollo Creed in an effort to get back his fighting spirit.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Sansho the Bailiff's defining feeling.