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Ugetsu poster

Movies that feel likeUgetsu (1953)

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

If you loved Ugetsu, the closest films we have are The Five Venoms (1978), Blow-Up (1966) and Meshes of the Afternoon (1943). All three share Ugetsu's dreamlike and twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Le Corbeau (1943).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Kenji Mizoguchidreamlikecontemplativetwisty
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Ugetsu hit the spot, these will too

The Five Venoms poster
The Five Venoms
1978 · dir. Chang Cheh
🍅 80%★ 7action · drama · mystery

Both land dream logic and stillness at once

The difference: Sits closer to action than Ugetsu does

A dying master sends his last student to check up on five former pupils, who each know a special style of kung-fu.

Blow-Up poster
Blow-Up
1966 · dir. Michelangelo Antonioni
🍅 87%★ 7.4drama · mystery · thriller

Twisty drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Ugetsu does

A successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he unknowingly captures a death on film.

Meshes of the Afternoon poster
Meshes of the Afternoon
1943 · dir. Maya Deren
🍅 100%★ 7.8mystery · fantasy

Fantasy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Ugetsu

A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.

Fanny and Alexander poster
Fanny and Alexander
1982 · dir. Ingmar Bergman
🍅 100%★ 8.1fantasy · drama · mysteryMax

One thread runs through both: ghost

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

Mirage poster
Mirage
2018 · dir. Oriol Paulo
★ 7.4thriller · drama · mysteryNetflix

Both lean on stillness more than on mystery

During a mysterious thunderstorm, Vera, a young mother, manages to save a life in danger, but her good deed causes a disturbing chain of unexpected consequences.

Le Corbeau poster
Le Corbeau
1943 · dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
🍅 97%★ 7.8mystery · drama · thriller

Both are built on the same subject: black and white

The difference: Trades the dream logic of Ugetsu for an angle of its own

Remy Germain is a doctor in a French town who becomes the focus of a vicious smear campaign, as letters accusing him of having an affair and performing unlawful abortions are mailed to village leaders. The mysterious writer, who signs each letter as "Le Corbeau" (The Raven) soon targets the whole town, exposing everyone's dark secrets.

Donnie Darko poster
Donnie Darko
2001 · dir. Richard Kelly
🍅 88%★ 8fantasy · drama · mysteryPrime VideoHulu

Twisty fantasy in both cases

After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

The Return poster
The Return
2003 · dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
★ 7.9drama · mystery

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Two young brothers in contemporary Russia are reunited with a father they know only from an old photograph after his sudden return from a long absence. With their mother’s reluctant consent, they set out on a remote trip that quickly becomes an uneasy test of authority, trust, and masculinity. As the journey moves deeper into the wilderness, the fragile bonds between father and sons are pushed to their limits.

Innocence poster
Innocence
2005 · dir. Lucile Hadžihalilović
🍅 71%★ 6.8drama · mystery

Twisty mystery in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

At a peculiar all-girls academy, new arrivals, including Iris, are delivered in coffins. Guided by enigmatic teachers, the students dance through enchanted woods by day, while the night unveils sinister lessons that blur innocence and awakening.

Rashomon poster
Rashomon
1950 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 98%★ 8.1crime · drama · mysteryMax

Both are working the same pair: japan, samurai

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

And Then There Were None poster
And Then There Were None
1945 · dir. René Clair
🍅 100%★ 7.3crime · drama · mysteryPrime Video

Both know what they want from drama

Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island and while they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious accusations at each of the guests. Soon they start being murdered, one by one. As the survivors try to keep their wits, they reach a disturbing conclusion: one of them must be the killer.

Citizen Kane poster
Citizen Kane
1941 · dir. Orson Welles
🍅 99%★ 8.2mystery · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.

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The best-reviewed films that share Ugetsu’s defining feeling.