Best movies & TV Shows like Piano

A father and his children are caught by a storm whilst sailing in Alaska. When they get shipwrecked, things go from bad to worse.

A young gay man finds how to love himself and accept love from another, despite the disapproval of his father.

One day Sammy and his younger sister Ellie happen upon a cabin where Alice, a young, partially deaf girl with epilepsy is being kept by her abusive stepfather. The three soon become friends and hope to get Alice an education and help her escape from the torture she undergoes daily. However, Alice's stepfather soon finds out about the friendship Alice has struck up and punishes her brutally. This story of friendship and youth shows that everyone is human and deserves to be treated so, no matter their disability or weakness.

Tipsy Canoe (Actually Huizenga) was once an innocent child of the 90's. But after a gory initiation by immortal gang leader Bop (Ryan Linkof), she has developed not only a twisted blood-lust, but a desperate addiction to fame and youth. She needs to be loved in order to live. And now, in the year 2205, after marauding the streets with her gang of Warlords for over 200 years, Tipsy must find new ways to be adored. Her life is a dizzying tale of excess and depravity. If she can persuade top Hollywoodite, RIsha (Elisha Drons), to write a book about it, will her sick desires be fulfilled?

Charlie and Lola is a British animated television series based on the Charlie and Lola books written by Lauren Child. It aired from 2005–2008. The animation uses a collage style that emulates the style of the original books. Three series were commissioned by and initially broadcast on the BBC between 2005 and 2008. The series are produced by Tiger Aspect and have been subsequently broadcast in more than twenty countries. The series has won multiple BAFTA awards.

Twelve-year-old Bastian Balthazar Bux had lost the wonderful imagination he had as a child somewhere between growing older, watching TV, going to school and playing with his Gameboy. But when his mother dies suddenly, Bastian's limitless imagination is reborn. Bastian comes across a magical book, 'The Neverending Story,' in a curious little bookstore. Inspired by the book, Bastian creates an enchanted world called Fantasia, inhabited by dragons, dark knights and assorted heroes and villains.

Ohisama is a Japanese television drama that aired on NHK in 2011 in the Asadora time slot. Set in Nagano prefecture, "Ohisama" covers the life of Yoko Sudo (Mao Inoue) through World War II. Yoko Sudo with her smile is able to bring brightness to those around her & she follows her mother's motif to laugh through the hard times. During the onset of WW II, Yoko is a high school student and "Ohisama" follows her as she eventually becomes a teacher and then gets married and has a child. Yoko then opens a soba restaurant with her student. --asianwiki

When author Rosalind Leigh is assigned to write a book about the life of Olive Martin, a woman sentenced to life in prison for killing her mother and sister, she develops a relationship with Olive and is soon convinced of her innocence. With the help of restaurant owner and former policeman Hal Hawksley, she sets out to prove it and undo what she sees as a miscarriage of justice.

Umechan Sensei is a Japanese television drama series. It debuted on April 2, 2012. It is about a girl named Umeko Shimomura who, despite being overshadowed by her talented older brother and sister, and despite being thought of as a clumsy child, decides to follow in her father's footsteps and become a doctor. It is the 86th NHK Asadora.

After a devastating earthquake strikes Makuhara the northern part of Chiba, 18 year-old Yamato, leaves to Makuhara to find his friend Kiichi who lives in the area. On his way Yamato meets Takeru, who is also traveling to Makuhara as a volunteer in the relief effort. However, when the two arrive at Makuhara they are shocked to find that the city, which is under government lock down, is intact and is managed solely by children after a mysterious virus results in the deaths of all the adults. Forced to survive on their own, the child leaders must save the city and also fight the government, which tries to hide the truth.

In 1930 and as a young child, Tsuneko Kohashi lives at Enshu in Shizuoka Prefecture. She has a happy life with her parents and two younger sisters. Things change after her father dies from tuberculosis. Her father asked Tsuneko Kohashi to take care of the family in his place. Due to financial difficulties, her mother Kimiko decides to move the family to Tokyo where Tsuneko's grandmother lives.

The 77th NHK Asadora is Chiritotechin. Location includes Fukui prefecture. This renzoku is about Wada Kiyomi (referred to as Kiyomi-B), a girl brought up in Fukui who moves to Osaka in search of her soul. In Osaka, Kiyomi-B becomes enchanted with rakugo, a Japanese traditional form of comic storytelling, and pursues a career in rakugo. In the summer of 1982, Kiyomi-B and her family move to Obama of Fukui, her father's hometown. Kiyomi-B's grandmother and uncle welcome the family, but Shotaro the grandfather does not allow Masanori to take over the Wakasa lacquer chopsticks making. One day, Kiyomi-B listens to rakugo at Shotaro's factory and becomes fond of it. Shotaro and Kiyomi-B become close through rakugo.

Itsuki Hashima is a light novelist obsessed with little sisters, strictly focusing on them when he writes his stories. Despite his personality, he's surrounded by a tight circle of friends, including a beautiful genius writer who loves him, a big-sisterly college classmate, a fellow male writer, a sadistic tax accountant, his editor, and Chihiro, his perfect younger step-brother who takes care of the housework and cooking. As the story progresses, the underlying conflicts of dreams and goals surface, as each character attempts to achieve their dreams, in their own way.

Born in 1937 in Osaka as the eldest daughter, Kawahara Kimiko moves to Shigaraki with her family at the age of 9. She works to support her family from a young age. Eventually, she jumps into the male world of pottery and becomes a pioneer of female ceramic arts. After marrying her husband who is also involved in ceramics and owning her own kiln, she raises her two children while struggling to create unique ware.

Thousands of years in the future, a city known as "Eden 3" is inhabited solely by robots whose former masters vanished a long time ago. On a routine assignment, two farming robots accidentally awaken a human baby girl from stasis questioning all they were taught to believe -- that humans were nothing more than a forbidden ancient myth. Together, the two robots secretly raise the child in a safe haven outside Eden.

Richard E Grant packs his clothes and a bag of books and travels to the locations authors have fictionalised to gain a sense of the places that inspired their novels.

The 4th NHK Asadora. Starring Michiko Hayashi as a woman born in poverty who lives a brave life. She lost her husband in war and now must take care of their 5-year-old child alone. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Fumiko Hayashi.

This drama is the tale of one high spirited, strong-willed young woman and her struggle to fulfill her lifelong ambition of becoming a carpenter and building homes. The story takes place from the later part of the Showa era to present day Heisei rule. The heroine of the story, Kawashima Urara, lost her father at the tender age of seven and this drama depicts her life as she grows from a young school girl, through puberty and adolescence and on into her adult years as an independent woman who owns her own carpentry business. As Urara grows into a beautiful and strong woman and a talented carpenter, her family around her goes through many difficult and trying times. This story of becoming an independent businesswoman in the male-dominated world of carpentry accurately reflects the lives and struggles of the young women in present day Japan who are trying to make a career for themselves in addition to balancing the demands of family obligations, friends, and lovers.

Fight is a story about fifteen year old Yuu, whose family becomes separated after an incident involving her father's spring factory. With her undying spirit to "fight" off every obstacle arising in life, Yuu maintains her positive attitude and moves forward in hopes of the day when her family will reunite again.

Natsumi is the 23 years old daughter of a master baker in Yokohama and in training with her father to become a pastry chef. She lives with her parents and younger brother in Yokohama. One day she travels to Iwate Prefecture with her boyfriend Masaki for his grandmother Katsuno's 77th birthday. While they are there, Katsuno, head okami of a famous ryokan in Morioka City, becomes ill and asks Masaki to return to run the ryokan. Natsumi returns to Yokohama and later Masaki visits, asking her to disregard their earlier plans to get married because he will return to Morioka as requested by Katsuno. However, Natsumi surprises him with a vow to become the ryokan's okami. Is Natsumi in for clear skies as suggested by the series name?

Born over a tofu shop in Osaka, twin sisters Reiko and Kyoko have very different characters. Reiko is diligent, and longs for a secure, middle class lifestyle. Kyoko is a free spirit, who seeks thrills and adventure.

The story is about a young woman who becomes a landscape gardener following her father's wishes. Wakaba, born and brought up in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, lived happily with her parents and younger brother until the Great Hanshin Earthquake shook and destroyed the city in 1995. In the disaster, Wakaba loses her father, who was an architect and moves with her mother and brother to Obi, old castle town in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture, where her grandmother lives with her uncle and aunt. Living in Obi's rich natural environment, Wakaba learns that plants can heal people's hearts. She makes a resolution to return to Kobe and reconstruct the city abundant in greenery.

The 61st NHK Asadora Drama is Asuka. Set in Kyoto in the home of a traditional Japanese candy-maker, Asuka is the story of one young girl's dream to one day walk in her father's shoes and become a top candy-maker in the male-dominated world of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Asuka grows to be a healthy, adventurous young girl with a deep curiosity and, a desire to become a candy-maker like her father. This NHK drama is one of the best in years with an excellent cast, a well-developed story based on extensive research into the traditional worlds of candy making and the tea ceremony in Kyoto, and beautiful scenery and settings in Kyoto and the surrounding areas.

The 13th NHK Asadora. Starring Youko Takahashi in a story about a brother and sister coming of age in Hakodate and Kanazawa.

Kano is known as a "cocoon child" whose father is an agriculturist. Her mother disappeared when she was little and since then Kano has been wondering why her mother left her thus changing the shape of her life.

The year is 1947, August. Ono Junko's family is being evacuated to Wakayama and the father is going to war. A few years later, the father has returned from Manchuria but he also brought a boy that had been abandoned by his mother. The boy is Yuta and the family will adopt him.

The 78th NHK Asadora is Hitomi. The series takes place in the old shitamachi area of Tokyo, and in these most recent episodes, 20-year old heroine Hitomi becomes the force around which her divorced mother, long estranged from her own father, is forced to reconcile and renew a sense of family camaraderie. This is not particularly easy, given the trifling issues and problems of modern day life that beset each of the characters, and the drama unfolds with a light comedic touch. Hitomi's upbringing is the issue that is constantly brought into focus. The family reconciliation is made possible, ironically through the death of Hitomi's grandmother. Hitomi seizes the opportunity to travel to her funeral from Sapporo. Once there, she sets out to realize her dream of becoming a dancer, all the while interfering with and disrupting her grandfather's life.

This is the story of a young mother, Kitayama Nazuna, and her son Taiyo from Ohma, a small town at the tip of a peninsula in Aomori. Taiyo's father, Murai Kento had aspirations to be a professional boxer but due to a detached retina he was forced to abandon his dream. Leaving Nazuna behind, he left for America, with another woman, to get treatment for his eye-problem, unaware that Nazuna was pregnant. As his life is boxing he quickly returns to the ring after the operation turns out to be successful and once again he dreams of becoming a professional boxer. However, success eludes him and he returns home to Japan. Nazuna meanwhile has given birth to her son and moved to Tokyo to search for Kento. By chance she finds Kento. When discovers he has become a father, he tries to make up for lost time. The show picks up their story as Nazuna, Taiyo and Kento begin family life together. Of course things are not as simple as they appear.

A struggling Korean veteran comes to terms with the fact that he is actually a caterpillar. I just made this up.

At the age of nine, Haruka moves from Osaka to Yufuin with her father Yosuke and her younger sister Asuka because Yosuke hopes to open a restaurant in the town. Her mother Yuko, however, chooses to stay in Osaka and the parents soon get a divorce. Yosuke starts running a restaurant but ends up closing it down soon after. Ten years later, Haruka supports her family by working part time while going to a junior college. Worrying about Haruka, Yuko invites her to come to Osaka and offers her a job. Although she has not forgiven her mother, Haruka decides to earn money in Osaka to help Yosuke reopen the restaurant. Through various experiences in Osaka, Haruka gradually understands her mother and grows as a tour planner with her talent for pleasing people.

The series takes place in 1962 Osaka. Hanaoka Machiko, 37, is single and works at a hardware store in Osaka City while doing literary work. One day, she falls ill due to overwork and falls in love with Tokunaga Kenjiro, the doctor who examines her. Kenjiro and Machiko marry. But Kenjiro, who lost his first wife to illness, lives not just with his five children, but his brother, sister, and parents. In a comical and heart-warming way, the drama depicts Machiko's struggle with the new family while pursuing her career as a novelist.

A serialized television series, aired in 1979, based on Hasegawa Machiko's "Sazae-san Uchiakebanashi" (Sazae-san Confessions), which depicts the true vibrant energy and strength of the common people, through their laughter and tears, from the pre-war to the post-war period in Japan.

A woman works hard to become a good doctor even though she is separated from her husband.