Dynamic Watchlist Hub: Apr 13, 2026

10 Best Movies Like Mao

If you loved Mao, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

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Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for Mao.

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#1
Upstream

Upstream

2024★ 6.8

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Mao for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

A moment of impulsiveness turns Gao Zhilei into a "stay-at-home" individual, but he never expected his life to take a turn in the opposite direction. A series of changes compel him...

#2
So Long, My Son

So Long, My Son

2019★ 7.7

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Mao for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Two married couples adjust to the vast social and economic changes taking place in China from the 1980s to the present....

#3
Summer Palace

Summer Palace

2006★ 7.3

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Mao for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Yu Hong leaves her home village and starts university in Beijing, where she develops a consuming and compulsive relationship with another student. The student riots from 1989 then ...

#4
Lighting Up the Stars

Lighting Up the Stars

2022★ 7.5

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Mao for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Having been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life....

#5
Caught by the Tides

Caught by the Tides

2025★ 6.8

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Mao for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him....

#6
All Day and a Night

All Day and a Night

2020★ 6.2

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to Mao for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime....

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