All Shall Be Well
Dir. Ray Yeung
While the film is calm, contemplative, and never goes into histrionics, there’s a deep-seated anger in All Shall Be Well…
Stonewalling
Dir. Huang Ji & Ryuji Otsuka
At two hours and nearly 30 minutes, Stonewalling is quite long. The third film from spouses Ryuji Otsuka and Huang…
Blossoms Shanghai
Dir. Wong Kar-wai
With his last film released more than a decade ago, fans wondered what Wong Kar Wai would release next. The…
Youth (Spring)
Dir. Wang Bing
Teenagers forced to grow up quickly and spend their prime years wiling away at garment factories sounds like a grim…
Metallic Rouge
Dir. Yutaka Izubuchi
With most of early January 2024’s slate focused on fantasy, Metallic Rouge is a fairly decent cyberpunk refresher. With fantastic,…
The Exiles
Dir. Ben Klein & Female director
Through her irreverent, no-bullshit point of view, Chinese documentarian Christine Choy balances out The Exiles’ painful reckoning with a traumatic…
Three-Body
Dir. Yang Lei
When a scientist drops dead, the immediate questions are what’s the main reason, and what exactly were they studying. It’s…
Ascension
Dir. Jessica Kingdon
Though it doesn’t provide a more holistic view of Chinese society even in the context of work and industry, Ascension…
76 Days
Dir. Hao Wu & Weixi Chen
Focusing on the personal over the global, 76 Days serves as a valuable reminder for generations to come, of the…
Revenged Love
Dir. Gong Yu Shi
After Wu Suo-wei’s girlfriend dumps him, he decides to get revenge by seducing her new boyfriend, Chi Cheng! It started…
Dying to Survive
Dir. Wen Muye
Robin Hood might be a centuries old folk hero, but his reincarnations seem to pop up in real life, including…
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Dir. Pawo Choyning Dorji
On his first day of class in the remote village of Lunana, the city teacher Ugyen asks his students what…
Jaane Jaan
Dir. Sujoy Ghosh
Jaane Jaan is one of those thrillers where you hope that the main characters would get away with murder. Based…
A Touch of Sin
Dir. Jia Zhangke
“It is better to live miserable than to die happy,” or so says one of the characters in Jia Zhangke’s…
Human Flow
Dir. Ai Weiwei & Weiwei Ai
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei directs his attention towards the ongoing refugee crisis, the biggest displacement of people since World War…
Official Secrets
Dir. Gavin Hood
Keira Knightley stars in this incredible true story of an Iraq War whistleblower who remains relatively little-known in the U.S.…
Protégé
Dir. Derek Yee & Derek Yee Tung-Sing
Crime thrillers have plenty of cops undercover, so Hong Kong’s Protégé won’t be the most unique and extraordinary entry that…
Suzhou River
Dir. Lou Ye
Once banned by Chinese censors, Suzhou River depicts love and obsession amidst the gritty, urban underbelly of Shanghai. As the…
Shanghai Triad
Dir. Zhang Yimou
To pacify Chinese authorities after politically-charged drama To Live (1994), filmmaker Zhang Yimou decided to pivot to the gangster genre…
Brigsby Bear
Dir. Dave McCary
After being held captive his whole life, a man sets out to finish the only show he’s ever seen. Thoughtfully…
Resurrection
Dir. Bi Gan
How do you make sense of Resurrection? This dreamlike feature seems rather inscrutable, but there’s no denying how breathtaking it…
Pickpocket
Dir. Jia Zhangke
Pickpocket captures the experience of being left behind. As the camera follows Xiao Wu, the film captures how the sweeping…
Kaili Blues
Dir. Bi Gan
This startling debut from Chinese director Bi Gan is a mesmerizing synthesis of cinema and poetry. A man searching for…
The Road Home
Dir. Zhang Yimou
With more and more young people moving to the city for jobs, there’s a certain beauty in the countryside that…
