Favorite Chinese films
Favorite Chinese films from the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Mostly from the 2000s.
If you are interested in seeing a list of ALL the Chinese films I've seen and rated:
[link]http://sitenoise.com/film/chinese/[/link]
If you are interested in seeing a list of ALL the Chinese films I've seen and rated:
[link]http://sitenoise.com/film/chinese/[/link]
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- DirectorOxide Chun PangStarsCharlene ChoiShawn YueIsabella LeongWinnie Leung is a lonely woman that likes to make puppets and write her diary, and she misses her boy-friend Seth Lau, who left her after breaking up their relationship. Winnie leaves messages in his mail box and unsuccessfully tries to contact him in his job. When she meets Ray Fan, she tells him that his resemblance with Seth is amazing. Ray moves to her place and when Winnie's next door snoopy neighbors calls the police because of the smell in her apartment, a dark secret is disclosed in her diary.The creative camera angles, the mostly gray/green color palette accentuating a sense of disease or decay, the original music and sound design, and the beauty of the actors add up to a sensuous ninety minute delight. At times the film seemed adrift on a sea of music carried along by the score instead of leading it, while at other times the conspicuous absence of any sound almost embarrasses the viewer in moments of voyeuristic character study.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiPeiqi LiuLiuchun YangA peasant woman seeks justice after the headman of her village has kicked her husband in the groin.Zhang Yimou's sweet homage to the days of yore. The Story of Qiu Ju is a slow paced, somewhat repetitive film but it's all the better for it. Viewers are treated to a heart-warmimg world of relationships which are themselves slow-paced and repetitive. It would be a shame to rush through it.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungSiu Ping-LamTwo neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.A gorgeous and remarkable film.
- DirectorXiaoshuai WangStarsWeiwei LiuJia-yi ZhangNan YuA divorced couple learns that the way to possibly save daughter, who is suffering from blood cancer, is to have another child. Problem is: They're both already remarried.No surprise to learn director Xiaoshuai Wang studied painting before becoming a director. This is a marvelously composed film. The screenplay is brutal sharp with one large unnecessary gimmick toward the end. The four main performers are solid and compelling, with lots of shots of faces on bodies doing nothing but carrying burden within. And they all pull it off.
- DirectorWen-tang ChengStarsTarcy SuYi-ching LuLeon DaiJust coming out of the jail, depressed and close-hearted, Ah Yu met two men with different characters from each other. One is a businessman, charming and mature; the other is a young supervisor in a factory with a promising future. But these two loves are short-lived, fading away like bubbles on the beach. With a wounded soul, she went back to the cottage owned by Sister An, a friend from jail. An treats her like a sister, embracing her tortured soul. When they are unhappy, they dance on the pier. Their dancing steps swing like small boats in the harbor, driving away all the depression. Someday, a puppet show was performed on the pier. They saw a fisherman, Lao-Yao, playing a puppet. Through Lao-Yao who suffers from autism, Ah Yu found herself tangled in a feeling as deep as the ocean.Blue Cha Cha requires patience, and yes, that’s code for it being an art house type film that moves slowly and doesn’t offer a lot of detail as to why things are happening. Blue Cha Cha isn’t a low-budget indie film. It has excellent production values and looks gorgeous. The direction is fluid and creative and the cinematography crisp and colorful. The real highlight here is Tarcy Su. She is able to make us care for a character we never learn much about.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsMinzhi WeiHuike ZhangZhenda Tian13-year old Wei Minzhi is the new substitute teacher of a mountain village school. She is told not to lose any of her pupils under any circumstances.Somehow, thirteen year old Wei Minzhi, who appears unable to act her way out of a paper bag turns in the performance of a lifetime. Blushing, awkward body language, a drifting gaze, and an pre-adolescent thespian's grasp of dialog pacing, filmed docu-realistically, come together to create the most endearing character I've seen in a long time.
- DirectorYe LouStarsLei HaoXiaodong GuoXueyun BaiYu 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 ensue and take a toll on their lives."Because it is only when we make love that you understand that I'm gentle."
That's all the character development I need. This is an ambitious film about the stalled maturation of an idealistic but troubled young woman flanked by the Tiananmen Square protests, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China.
The direction is a little chaotic at times but it reflects the nature of the film and doesn't come off as a liability. The soundtrack is impeccably chosen and the film is ultimately very sad. I was glued to this 140 minute masterpiece. Politics aside, and they are on the side, this is a remarkable film in its honest portrayal of failure, not of personal character, but of circumstance. - DirectorChih-yen YeeStarsGwei Lun-MeiChen Bo-linYolin LiangAn is-she-or-isn't-she gay comedy focused on a Taiwanese teen, the boy she might like, and the girl she may love.Dreamy, Romantic, Tender. This is a well-acted, well-directed, well-written movie, a joy to watch. I smiled from ear to ear, from the time sensitive boy was introduced until the very end. This is an exceptionally well done film, off-the-charts-delightful.
- DirectorHur Jin-hoStarsJung Woo-sungYuanyuan GaoShaohua MaA traveling architect meets an old friend from his student years; the pair realize their connection has always been a romantic one.Hur is a fascinating director. In some ways his films are just cheesy romances with questionable soundtracks, but he possesses an emotional intelligence and an eye for subtle soul-searching details that make his films powerful when he gets it right. He gets it right this time. A good rain knows when to fall.
It would be a spoiler if I were to share one of the main reasons I love this movie. I can say, however, that the film is very much about a Chinese experience, and the fact that it's directed by a Korean is what makes it interesting. - DirectorXiaogang FengStarsDaoming ChenChen LiYi LuThe epic story of a family separated as a result of the Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.This isn't a perfect film but its story is so moving that any shortcomings in the telling can easily be overlooked. I was moved to tears several times during the film but more from just thinking about the scenarios than from any melodramatic presentation. It has some structural weaknesses but it's a magnificent and heart-rending story with a lot of legs. Highly recommended to those who like that kind of thing.
- DirectorWen JiangStarsChow Yun-FatWen JiangYou GeIn 1920s China, a bandit arrives in a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor, where he faces off against a tyrannical local nobleman.Surprising how damn funny this film is.
- DirectorAnn HuiStarsSimon YamJingchu ZhangAriel Hiu-Man ChanStarts at the end of the story, with the brutal murder by a man of his wife and daughters. Hui gradually unmasks the idyll of the peaceful family and that of Hong Kong as the promised land for gold seekers.This is one of the more painfully sad films I've seen in a long time. I put it on when it was already way past my bed time, thinking I'd just get a feel for it and fall asleep. Well, a feel for it I got, and ended up staring at it, bug-eyed, the entire two hour runtime. The acting and direction of Night and Fog are so pitch perfect, that even though the story starts at the end, so we know the result and it's unraveled through flashbacks and police interrogations, it plays out like a mystery.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTang WeiJoan ChenDuring World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.I don't care about Ang Lee's attitude towards women or whether or not this film betrays those feelings. This is a great movie. This is mainstream cinema at its best. Sex is the new violence in film. Set against a WWII backdrop and the Japanese occupation of China. It's got everything!
- DirectorYuan ZhangStarsWen JiangWei ZhaoLijun FangWell, apparently Wu Fang (Wei Zhao) is a young lady on a mission. Namely, to go on as many dates as quickly as possible, not to drink as much tea as possible, but to find the man of her dreams. Then there is her latest blind date, one Chen Mingliang (Wen Jiang), who is on a rebound and meeting Miss Wu. Will this one work out? After all, they seem to be opposites in so many ways.Twice the Vicki Zhao Wei fun in this beautiful, saturated romance. Christopher Doyle outdoes himself.
- DirectorYang LiStarsLu HuangYouan YangYuling ZhangA young woman is kidnapped and sold to a villager in the mountains.
- DirectorHerman YauStarsYi HuangYu-Hang ToRose ChanThe film tells the story of Qiu Jin and her involvement in revolutionary uprisings against the Qing Dynasty in Anhui province. Influences on her life are shown through a series of flashbacks.Action and social commentary. Fun for the whole family.
- DirectorChuan LuStarsYe LiuWei FanHideo NakaizumiIn 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
- DirectorYang LiStarsYixiang LiBaoqiang WangShuangbao WangTwo coal miners and conmen looking for their next murder victim decide on a naïve country boy desperately looking for a job.
- DirectorBaoping CaoStarsXun ZhouChao DengWang NingWhen a mysterious death occurs, the lives of five unexpected strangers are suddenly intertwined together. A drug trafficking crime is unveiled, and through the twists and turns of the investigation, their stories unravel, and a bizarre connection is gradually discovered between them. THE EQUATION OF LOVE AND DEATH weaves together three different love stories, examining the different emotional struggles people go through in dealing with pain and loss, and how letting go might just be the hardest thing to do.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsLifan DongBenshan ZhaoJie DongAn aging bachelor has to engage his old, laid-off friends to keep a blind girl happy as a masseuse at a non-existent massage parlor.
- DirectorFen-fen ChengStarsEddie PengIvy ChenMichelle ChenA delivery boy falls for a young girl who is hearing impaired. Comparing themselves with "water birds" and trees, together they are going to break the barrier and pursue their dreams and take their relationship to the next level.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsJet LiTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungA defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
- DirectorYu LiStarsBingbing FanDawei TongTony Ka Fai LeungA look at modern-day life in China's capital centered on a ménage-a-quatre involving a young woman, her boss, her husband and her boss's wife.
- DirectorTung-Shing YeeStarsCecilia CheungChing Wan LauLouis KooSui Wai lost her fiance Ah Man in a car accident. With the obligations of life sitting heavy on her shoulders, she lives on only to find herself confiding in her beloved through a phone call. Dai Fai. a mini-bus driver who witnessed Ah Man's death, is always there offering her attentive encouragement and support, yet he himself also lives in the shadow of his last relationship. When Siu Wai strives to face the future without the man she loves, Dai Fai finds himself steadily falling in love with her.
- DirectorYibai ZhangStarsKaren MokWenli JiangEason ChanThe relationship between a teenage son and his mother becomes complicated when they take a secretive young woman into their home.