Movies Similar to Arirang

The Host(2006)

A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.

7.0

A Taxi Driver(2017)

May, 1980. Man-seob is a taxi driver in Seoul who lives from hand to mouth, raising his young daughter alone. One day, he hears that there is a foreigner who will pay big money for a drive down to Gwangju city. Not knowing that he’s a German journalist with a hidden agenda, Man-seob takes the job.

8.1

The Bow(2005)

On a fishing boat at sea, a 60-year old man has been raising a girl since she was a child. It is agreed that they will get married on her 17th birthday. They live a quiet and secluded life, renting the boat to day fishermen and practicing strange divination rites. Their life changes when a teenage student comes aboard.

6.9

Secret Sunshine(2007)

Shin-ae moves to her recently late husband’s hometown. Despite her efforts to settle in this unfamiliar and too-normal place, she finds that she can’t fit in. After a sudden tragedy, Shin-ae turns to Christianity to relieve her pain, but when even this is not permitted, she wages a war against God.

7.2

Joint Security Area(2000)

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.

7.8

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring(2003)

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

7.8

Larisa(1980)

Elem Klimov's documentary ode to his wife, director Larisa Shepitko, who was killed in an auto wreck.

5.9

MAS*H(1970)

The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and hijinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.

7.0

Camera Buff(1979)

Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.

7.5

The Universe Is Out There: Josh and Benny Safdie(2017)

Get to know the siblings whose films have captured the skittering pulse of New York’s city streets. An original documentary featuring footage from the making of their new thriller, Good Time, along with several of the brothers’ early features and shorts. Produced by the Criterion Channel for their "Meet the Filmmakers" series.

7.0

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl(1993)

This documentary recounts the life and work of one of most famous, and yet reviled, German film directors in history, Leni Riefenstahl. The film recounts the rise of her career from a dancer, to a movie actor to the most important film director in Nazi Germany who directed such famous propaganda films as Triumph of the Will and Olympiad. The film also explores her later activities after Nazi Germany's defeat in 1945 and her disgrace for being so associated with it which includes her amazingly active life over the age of 90.

7.3

Barking Dogs Never Bite(2000)

An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog. He decides to take drastic action.

6.8

The Exterminating Angels(2006)

A filmmaker holds a series of boundary-pushing auditions for his latest project: a thriller on the subject of female pleasure.

5.2

Living in Oblivion(1995)

Nick is the director of a low-budget indie film. He tries to keep everything together as his production is plagued with an insecure actress, a megalomaniac star, a pretentious, beret-wearing director of photography, and lousy catering.

7.2

American Movie(1999)

American Movie is the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, American Movie is a portrayal of ambition, obsession, excess, and one man's quest for the American Dream.

7.6

This Film Is Not Yet Rated(2006)

Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.

7.1

Happy Endings(2005)

Filmmaker Nicky offers to track down the son that Mamie gave up for adoption nearly two decades before. Meanwhile, Mamie's stepbrother (and the father of her child), Charley, along with his boyfriend, Gil, try to find out what became of the sperm Gil donated to a lesbian couple. Finally, singer Jude becomes entangled in a love triangle with androgynous drummer Otis and his conservative father.

5.7

The Loss of Sexual Innocence(1999)

The story of the sexual development of a filmmaker through three stages of his life.

5.7

Faces Places(2017)

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

7.7

President′s 7 Hours(2019)

The film traces PARK Geun-hye's life back to the 1970s, when the leader-follower relationship began between PARK, who became the first lady of the Yushin regime, and CHOI Taemin, the leader of a pseudo-religion. It then examines the Sewol ferry incident, CHOI Soonsil Gate, candlelight rallies, and finally the impeachment.

9.0