Movies
Movies are a window to explore a culture. Here are the best Chinese movies you shouldn't miss.
Monster Hunt (2016)
The film takes place in the distant past, where the Human race existed alongside the Monster race. The story begins with an unnerved young village mayor who becomes pregnant with the Monster Queen's baby, and he encounters an aspiring Monster-hunter, and they both embarks on an adventure to protect the baby from villains of the Human and Monster worlds alike. Upon release, it became a huge commercial success, breaking numerous box office records, including as (was) the highest-grossing film in China.
Monkey King: Hero is Back (2015)
The all-powerful Monkey King once roamed freely between Heaven and Earth, but after angering the Gods, he was imprisoned within an ice cage deep within the mountains. 500 years later, monsters attack a small village and a child flees to the mountains. Unknowingly, the child releases the Monkey King from his curse. With the help and encouragement from this special child, Monkey King saves the village from the evil monsters.
Set in China during the warring 1920s, "Poxy" Zhang (Jiang Wen) leads a group of bandits and ambushed and killed Ma Bangde, who is on his way to Goose Town to assume the position of county governor. Taken Ma's place, Zhang descends upon the town posing as its new governor. At Goose Town, Zhang's appointment is opposed by local mobster boss Master Huang (Chow Yun Fat). Thus begins the crazy and absurd​ battle between the two.
City of Life and Death (2009)
City of Life and Death is set in 1937, shortly after the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing (or Nanking), capital of the Republic of China. What followed is historically known as the Nanking Massacre , a period of several weeks wherein massive numbers of Chinese prisoners-of-war and civilians were killed by the Japanese military.
After some commanders of the National Revolutionary Army flee Nanking, a Chinese soldier Lieutenant Lu Jianxiong and his comrade-in-arms Shunzi attempt to stop a group of deserting troops from leaving the city, but as they exit the gates, they are captured by Japanese forces that have surrounded the city.
Lust, Caution (2007)
Lust, Caution is adirected by Ang Lee, based on the novella of the same name published in 1979 by Chinese author Eileen Chang. The story is mostly set in Hong Kong in 1938 and in Shanghai in 1942, when it was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and ruled by the puppet government led by Wang Jingwei. It depicts a group of Chinese university students from the Lingnan University who plot to assassinate a high-ranking special agent and recruiter of the puppet government using an attractive young woman to lure him into a trap.
The film takes place in the distant past, where the Human race existed alongside the Monster race. The story begins with an unnerved young village mayor who becomes pregnant with the Monster Queen's baby, and he encounters an aspiring Monster-hunter, and they both embarks on an adventure to protect the baby from villains of the Human and Monster worlds alike. Upon release, it became a huge commercial success, breaking numerous box office records, including as (was) the highest-grossing film in China.
The film takes place in the distant past, where the Human race existed alongside the Monster race. The story begins with an unnerved young village mayor who becomes pregnant with the Monster Queen's baby, and he encounters an aspiring Monster-hunter, and they both embarks on an adventure to protect the baby from villains of the Human and Monster worlds alike. Upon release, it became a huge commercial success, breaking numerous box office records, including as (was) the highest-grossing film in China.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) is an accomplished swordsman and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) is a female warrior. The two are reconnected when Mu Bai, after choosing to relinquish the warrior lifestyle, asks Shu Lien to give his sword "Green Destiny" to their friend Sir Te in Beijing... The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for six other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.[4] The film also won four BAFTAs and two Golden Globe Awards, one for Best Foreign Film.
Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996)
The film, spanning years, centers on two Chinese mainlanders who migrate to Hong Kong to make a living, but end up falling in love. The loneliness of living in the big city inevitably brings the two into a passionate love affair. But their different ambitions mean that they are unable to be together. This movie is also known as Tian mi mi (甜蜜蜜), named after the same name song by Teresa Teng, one of the most famous singers in East Asian. And lots of Teng's songs are featured in the film.
Farewell My Concubine (1993)
The film explores the effect of China's political turmoil during the mid-20th century on the lives of individuals, families, and groups. In this case, the affected are two male stars in a Peking opera troupe and the woman who comes between them. In this film, you can see how the history affects the life and relations between the three main characters. Farewell My Concubine remains to date the only Chinese-language film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Wedding Banquet (1993)
Wai-Tung Gao and Simon are a happy gay couple living in Manhattan. Wai-Tung is in his late 20s, so his tradition-minded parents are eager to see him get married and have a child in order to continue the family line.The story begins as Gao marries a mainland Chinese woman to placate his parents and get her a green card. His plan backfires when his parents arrive in the United States to plan his wedding banquet and he has to hide the truth of his partner.
Rouge (1988)
Chan Chen-Pang, better known as the "12th Young Master" was a fashionable playboy who frequented the opium dens prevalent in Hong Kong in 1934, where he met the high-class and much sought-after courtesan, Fleur. They began a passionate love affair, something frowned upon by the family. Clearly, their love was doomed when it was found out. Seeing no way to pursue their love in life, the couple resolved to commit suicide together by swallowing opium, and promise to meet again in the afterlife. After waiting for Chan in hell for 50 years, Fleur returns to the world of the living to look for him, wondering why he has not emerged...
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