Best movies like Love and Duty

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Love and Duty Starring Ruan Lingyu, Jiqun Liu, Jin Yan, Yanyan Chen, and more. If you liked Love and Duty then you may also like: Youth, The Wedding Banquet, National Customs, New Women, Normal Life and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

The film tells the story of Yang Naifan (Ruan Lingyu) who runs from her arranged marriage to be with her true love, Li Zuyi (Jin Yan). The film details the poverty she must endure for breaking with tradition.

selected filters: Sort: Default

You may filter the list of movies on this page for a more refined, personalized selection of movies.

Still not sure what to watch click the recommend buttun below to get a movie recommendation selected from all the movies on this list

Know any good movies to watch like Love and Duty 1931. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

Youth

A group of performing art troupe members each face their own trials and tribulations in Chengdu; from escaping a family scandal to dealing with unrequited love, each experiences rejection that shapes their lives.

The Wedding Banquet

A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.

National Customs

In 1930, two sisters from the countryside, the serious Zhang Lan (Ruan Lingyu) and the frivolous Zhang Tao graduate from the secondary school where their mother Zhang Jie serves as principal. They both love their cousin Zuo, but have ambitions other than marriage. Their lives change dramatically when both attend university in Shanghai and encounter modern urban life and rapidly changing society. The film also depicts the emergence of Chiang Kai-shek's 1934 New Life Movement. Lianhua Film Studio did the film to appease the Nationalist Party which accused it of primarily presenting left-wing films, which was true.

New Women

Overnight, the sexy Wei Ming will become a successful novelist. But, desperate to get the money that she needs to cure her little daughter (and harassed by a rich, unscrupulous rake), she will end up eventually engage in luxury prostitution.

Normal Life

Chris Anderson and his wife Pam live a fairly normal life until Chris loses his job on the police force and secretly turns to robbing banks to make his wife's dreams come true. Upon discovering his secret, she joins his deadly crime wave and together they terrorize an unsuspecting suburban town.

Once Upon a Time

Bai Qian, a goddess and monarch from the Heavenly Realms, is sent to the mortal world to undergo a trial to become a High Goddess. There, she meets Ye Hua, with whom she falls in love and marries. When an old enemy reappears in her life, everything she holds dear is threatened.

Ju Dou

A woman married to the brutal and infertile owner of a dye mill in rural China conceives a boy with her husband's nephew but is forced to raise her son as her husband's heir without revealing his parentage in this circular tragedy. Filmed in glowing technicolour, this tale of romantic and familial love in the face of unbreakable tradition is more universal than its setting.

The Goddess

A young prostitute, who is trying to give her infant son a good start in life, must contend with a coercive pimp and the prejudices of others.

Ameera

The film tells the female agent Ameera after a failed mission, private life crisis, conspiracy, and attempt to create organizational struggle Resident Evil dark story found during the processing of personal crisis.

Little Toys

Sister Ye lives in a rural village, where everyone makes traditional toys. When Sister Ye's husband dies of an unknown illness, and while Ye is attending to him, her son is kidnapped and sold to a wealthy lady in the city of Shanghai. Shortly after, the village is destroyed during an attack between rival warlords, forcing the villagers move to the city, where they continue to make toys. Ten years pass, and Ye's daughter Zhu'er has become a toy designer. While helping the Nationalist army at the rear, Zhu'er is killed in an attack by the Japanese. On New Year's Eve, Sister Ye is dressed in rags, sitting on the curb, selling toys. A young boy buys toys from her, and it is none other than her son, whom she does not recognize.

Mama

Often cited as China’s first independent feature film, this low-budget drama, filmed largely in the director’s Beijing apartment, depicts the life of a single mother (a topic considered taboo at the time) caring for her mentally challenged son. Shot with a documentary aesthetic that includes interviews with families of mentally challenged persons, the film helped kick-start the Sixth Generation of filmmakers (including Wang Xiaoshuai and Jia Zhangke) and their ethos of employing documentary realism to depict the true conditions of contemporary China.

Painted Skin

Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) 'rescues' her from a band of bandits and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general.

The Peach Girl

An upper-class son of urbane landowners falls in love with a peasant girl. When a pregnancy results, the couple are kept apart by strict societal morays.

Saved from the Titanic

A young woman tells her parents and fiance (in flashback) about the recent sinking of the Titanic and her experiences as a passenger during the disaster. Her intended marriage now faces a new hazard because her fiance is a sailor and her parents have just been reminded of the dangers of the sea. Premiering in the United States just 29 days after the event, it is the earliest dramatization about the tragedy.

A Spray of Plum Blossoms

Bai Le De and Hu Lun tung are military cadets. After graduating, Hu Lin Tung is appointed captain of Guangdong headquarters and goes away. Later, Bae Le De is also appointed to a post at the same place. Hu Lun Ting falls in love with Luo Hua, daughter of the local commander.

Tigertail

A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

The True Story of Ah Q

Based on the 1921 novella of the same name by one of China's most well-known modern writers, Lu Xun (Lu Hsun), the True Story of Ah Q is set during the 1911 revolution. Ah Q is a lowly peasant who wants to rise above his class, or at least get out of his grinding poverty. At first he thinks the way to do it is by marrying into a better station in life; later, he joins the revolution as he feels that is the only way he and others like him can transcend poverty. In this film version of Lu Xun's story, the character of Ah Q might benefit from a more rounded humanity to make him appealing to those not familiar with the harsh environment in China before the 1911 revolution.

Purgatory Comics

Purgatory Comics tells the story of a young woman named Cola who runs from her adult responsibilities and hides in a failing comic book store. This leaves Cola to question how long she can hide from her complicated past.

Man Trouble

A sleazy but affable guard dog trainer is blackmailed to steal a manuscript for a tell-all book from one of his clients.

White Vengeance

White Vengeance tells the story of two brothers contending for supremacy during the fall of the Qin Dynasty, which ruled Imperial China from 221 to 206 BC. As rebels rose, the nation fell into chaos. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, became leaders of the rebellious army, and also became sworn brothers in battle.Xiang Yu and Liu Bang are close friends who both serve King Huai of Chu. King Huai uses a plot, saying that whoever can subvert the Qin kingdom in Guanzhong would be the Lord Qin, in order to benefit from the competition between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. Xiang Yu is over-confident. He fights against the main force of Qin army, and entrusts Liu Bang with Yu Ji, the woman he loves.Liu Bang expresses his love to Yu Ji and takes the chance to invade Guanzhong first when most of Qin army is outside fighting against Xiang Yu’s army.

Brilliant Marriage

When a wealthy heiress discovers the terrible family secret that has been hidden from her since birth, her world is turned upside down.

John and Yoko: A Love Story

Details the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, from before their first meeting to their rise to stardom.

Mini

Tenacious and optimistic, Mini (Angelica Lee) is an acrobat at a Shanghai circus troupe. Having lost both her parents at a young age, Mini has never had a real family, and her greatest dream is to find a love that she can rely on, a love that will make her fly. Kang (Liu Ye) works at a music store called Go With the Flow, which just about sums up his aimless lifestyle. Raised in an overly strict family, Kang grew up into a rebellious young man who likes to challenge social norms. These two very different young people meet by chance in the bustle of modern Shanghai, and spark a story of pure love and vertigo as their confused worlds collide.

Shanghai Knight

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce established a Jockey Club during the Republic of China, patriot Jin Guangrong signed the "Seven Wharfs" gambling contract with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in order to protect the control of the wharf. Ma Yunfei, a hero with superb riding skills became entangled with Jin Guangrong due to someone's framing, and became a murderer overnight. A gamble, a wave of conspiracies, and a fierce and thrilling horse race have made the already unstable Shanghai bund even more turbulent...

The Robbers

Set during the Tang Dynasty, The Robbers tells the story of two robbers' adventures in a seemingly peaceful Bitter Bamboo Village, where they encounter a beautiful woman, a group of soldiers and a village head scheming to kill the duo.

Speed Rescue

When an investigation financed by a wealthy businessman is about to end the operation of a dangerous drug cartel, his daughter and a brave soldier must team up to deliver evidence to the police.

Beijing Blues

The unique feature of his film is the actors - they are not professional but celebrities on micro-blogs. Among micro-bloggers in the cast are publisher Zhang Lixian, folk singer Zhou Yunpeng and screenwriter Shi Hang. The film is based on the true story of a Beijing plainclothes policeman named Zhang Huiling, who has been working for more than 10 years in Shuangyushu, a community of Haidian District, Beijing. It depicts the stories of ordinary Chinese people struggling in the metropolis.

Kung Fu Vampire

A young woman and her friend travel to a distant village to visit her father. Upon arrival they learn that the man has been killed and his body is being transported to his hometown. They want to find the body, but it is stolen by the evil Zombie-King. Together with some newfound allies, they fight against the evil clan.

Fox in Fuso

It tells that after the shooting of Hou Yi, Jin Wu Pui Yu turned mulberry into golden lotus, and fell into the world attached to a small travel doctor Zhang Huaisheng. Meet Zhang Huaisheng and the hidden silver fox Chen Xiang. After Jin Lian gradually awakened, one person and three foxes have a love story in the past and present.

Hudson Taylor

The early years of the great missionary Hudson Taylor are portrayed in this drama. The movie details his work in China and the trails he endured. Hudson Taylor is an inpiration to all as a man of true faith in the living God.

Don't Expect Praises

On the day he was supposed to graduate from elementary school, a precocious boy runs away from home and goes with his best friend on a journey to his friend’s faraway home. He encounters diverse, interesting people and discovers that “precocious” isn’t what he had once believed.

Wrath of Silence

Northern China, 2004. When miner Zhang Baomin returns to his home, a small and isolated mining village, his wife tells him that their son has mysteriously disappeared while shepherding his small flock.

A Little Red Flower

The film tells a warm and realistic story, thinking and facing the ultimate problem that every ordinary person will face-imagining that death may come at any time, the only thing we have to do is love and cherish.

Tempting Hearts

Tempting Hearts is a romantic comedy that tells the love story between Zhou Qiwen (Jerry Yan), the disgraced founder of a gaming company and the creator of a blind dating app called Chen Ran (Ren Suxi). Forced into bankruptcy by the “playboy” comments about him, Zhou Qiwen confronts the instigator, an employee for a blind dating app for an explanation. Signing up to join the dating app might not have been such a bright idea, that is, until Qiwen is matched with the creator of the app herself, Chen Ran. Throughout their dating shenanigans, the pair gradually lose their hostility towards each other, thus begins the start of something that could be wonderful if only they dare to open their hearts to each other. Inspired and Based on Jeff Chang's hit song of the same name from 27 years ago.

Song of Spring

Tells the family story of an 85-year-old mother taking care of her 65-year-old daughter with Alzheimer's disease, using a delicate female perspective to show the infinite power of love and family at the end of life.

Guns N'Roses

The film tells the story of a group of Chinese youths who robbed a bank of the “Manchuguo”, a puppet regime formed in China’s northeastern provinces by Japanese invaders in the 1930s and ’40s.

The House That Never Dies

Story based on the legendary mansion at No. 81 on Chaoyangmennei Street in Beijing, which local legend says is haunted by the ghost of a Kuomintang official's wife, who committed suicide in the home around the time of the Cultural Revolution. The film follows Xu Ruoqing a woman whose presence in the notorious mansion draws up the spirits that have taken residence there.

Gypo

Gypo is the story of a working class family in Margate, Kent, a town where immigrants have become the focus of most of the public's discontent. The film tells the story of the a couple of weeks in this family's life, beginning when a young Czech girl, Tash, comes to visit. The film is made in the Dogme95 tradition, so no costumes, no lighting, no props or sets, which gives the film a gritty texture appropriate to the story.

The White Snake: A Love Affair

The two sisters of Lingshe Mountain - White Snake and Green Snake - devoted themselves to cultivating of immortality. The White Snake was in danger during the tribulation. Fortunately, Xu Xian, who went to the mountain to search for medicine, rescued her. In a dream White Snake learns the words of the poem "Enter the world, know the warmth and the cold" and enters the city in search of a cause. The Great Demon King of the Yin Division coveted the White Snake's pearl for nearly a thousand years. Knowing that the White Snake is alive, he sent his subordinate judges to seal the city for her search. White Snake meets Xu Xian and cures his classmate Gao Jin's critically ill father. When he finds out that the White Snake is a demon, he tells the Underworld that he will take revenge.

Mural

Mural tells the story of Zhu Xiaolian, a poor scholar who travels to the capital to take an examination. During this trip, Zhu becomes distracted by a mural and enters into the fantasy land depicted therein. There he meets the fairies who inhabit this fantasy land and encounters love and hate.

Struggles in an Ancient City

1943, the Japanese Army is falling back to the Pacific, leaving only collaborationist troops. Commissar Yang Xiaodong is sent to inflitrate the provincial capital.

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part V

The film 'Seven Intellectuals In Bamboo Forest' is based on the history of seven talented intellectuals from the ancient Chinese Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Shan Tao, Liu Ling, Ruan Yan, Xiang Xiu and Wang Rong were famous poets and artists at that time. Open and unruly, they used to gather and drink in the bamboo forest, singing songs and playing traditional Chinese musical instruments, in the hope of escaping from earthly life. They pursued individuality, freedom, and liberty. Their remarkable talent and passion made them a notable group in Chinese history. Part 5 is about the return to the city and to reality. We live in the city and belong to it. If any problem arises, we are able to solve it.

Sing-Song Red Peony

The first Chinese sound film. It tells the story of Hong Pion (Red Peony), a singer-songwriter who, after her marriage to the depraved Faxiang Chen, not only tormented and suffered, but also endured the decline of her artistic career.

The Void Evidence

 "Reverse murder" began with the criminal police team receiving an anonymous murder live broadcast email. From the perspective of the different characters of the criminal police team, the puzzle was slowly pushed forward, and a murder many years ago was re-presented in front of everyone in the form of revenge. In addition to the mysterious and compact plot of the story, the friction between the criminals and the police, the truth of the confusing, but also reveals the ingenious connection between the various roles of society and various things in the tiny details, there is a family, The longing for love, and the enthusiasm of the brothers, and the true interpretation of the image of the people in the new era, can be thought-provoking.

For Love or Money

"For Love or Money" is based on a novel by Zhang Xiaoxian, which tells the moving story between a fallen noble lady and a rich heir to a large company. She’s broken and has lost the direction in life, whereas he chooses a life of poverty and freedom to pursue his passion as a painter. Together, will they be able to find themselves in this world of twists and turns before it’s too late?

Wild Rose

A wild country girl moves to Shanghai with her painter boyfriend and experiences exploitation and poverty.

Two Stars in the Milky Way

This is a silent film from China made in 1931. It is about two leads in a film, Yan (Raymond King) and Ying (Violet Wong). They meet after hearing Ying sing while another movie is being shot. You, of course, don't get to hear the song, but it catches people's attention. Once they meet and work together, they fall in love. Is it forever?

More related lists

Sort results by:

X close
Default
Clear filters
...