5 Best Chinese Movies of the Last 20 Years

To continue my last post, I compiled a short list of Chinese movies that I consider very much worthwhile to check out. By Chinese movies, I mean movies produced in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. To me, a classic Chinese movie is an art by itself. Each of them is different and you have to watch to catch the essence of it. A lot of people have a mis-conception thinking that Chinese movie is all about Kung-Fu. It is not! Kung fu is only an element in the movie just like the music and dancing in Bollywood, the special effect in Hollywood. I have nothing against Ang Lee’s direction and his movies—as a matter of fact, I think he is a great director. But movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is more like a “upscale P. F. Changs” in the movie world, and can not represent Chinese movie. This list, although short, may give you an idea of the Chinese movie without giving Kung-Fu.

1.       Farewell My Concubine: a drama of love, friendship, loyalty, culture, violence, and beauty. It depicts old time China through the lives of two men, one woman and traditional Chinese opera.

Director Chen, Kaige; Cast: Leslie Cheung; Fengyi Zhang; Gong, Li

2.       Comrades, Almost a Love Story: A very fine and cultural movie. It is not a sugar flicks; it is a social commentary that depicts Hong Kong people’s fear and uncertainty towards mainland China. A bit understanding of the social context of this movie would help a lot in understanding this sweet and touching almost a love story.

Director: Peter Chan; Cast: Maggie Cheung; Leon Lai; Eric Tsang

3.       Raise the Red Lantern: this is China’s most famous director Zhang Yimou’s very early movie, as well as the most known movie in the western world. Gong Li became famous after this one. Haunting, slow but intense. Enough said, enjoy!

Director: Zhang, Yimou; Cast: Gong, Li; Cao, Zhengyin; Cao, Cuifen

4.       Mountain Patrol: Kekexili: a heavy crime thriller telling a story of Tibetan voluntary rangers against all odds trying to save Tibetan antelopes. Beautifully shot, real acting, harsh reality, great cruelty, and deep thinking.

Director: Lu, Chuan; Cast: Duobuji; Zhang Lei; Qi Liang

5.       Crazy Stone: This is probably regarded to be the best comedy in recent years in China. It is a smart, funny, dark, and gritty comedy. Shot in Chongqing, a regional city in South West China known for its spicy cuisine, fog, and quick-tempered girls, it is a film about normal people in regional China.

      Director:Hao Ning; Cast: Huang Bo; Tao Guo; Hao Ning

You can find all of them on Netflix. As always, feel free to add this list.

20 Best Bollywood Movies of the Last 10 Years

Below is an extracted list of 20 best Bollywood movies of last 10 years  from the Indians Abroad. While I don’t agree with all the items on the list (Slumdog Millonaire? And where is Three Idiots and Wake Up Sid?), at the time when I have my Bollywood cravings again, this list at least offers me some suggestions and inspirations on what to see next.

1.    Lagaan (2001). Of course it is one of the best! I’ve heard so much about Lagaan, what am I waiting for?!

2.   Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001).

3. Rang de Basanti(2006)

4. Devdas (2002)

5. Veer Zaara (2004)

6. Singh is Kinng (2008)

7. Slumdog Millionaire (2008): I don’t agree on this one as I don’t consider it to be a Bollywood movie.

8. Monson Wedding (2001): Mira Nair’s fine work.

9. Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006)

10. Ghajini (2008)

11. Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001)

12. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008): This is my first time to watch Shahrukh Khan’s performance, and then find out that he’s pretty much always that shy, kind-hearted Suri Sahn whenever he’s trying to be goofy (don’t hate me, SRK fans!)

13. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)

14. Black (2005)

15. Taare Zameen Par (2007)

16. Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (2000)

17. Om Shanti Om (2007)

18. Love Aaj Kal(2009)

19. Koi… Mil Gaya (2003)

20. Doom and Doom 2

Feel free to share your thoughts on this list. 

Mother Review: You Don't Mess with the Context

Director: Bong Joon-ho

Starring: Kim Hye-ja, Weon Bin

Rating: **** out of *****, you don’t mess with the Asian context

Kim is a window who has long been taking care of his son, Do-jun, a 27 year old adult who is amnesiac and mentally slow. Do-jun unfortunately convicted of crime in a high school girl murder case. Mother, who tries all means to protect his son, went on a mission to prove his son’s innocence. As her investigation began, the story behind the murder case started to unfolded.

Here, the singular character’s love is so identifiable, and at the same time, so intense that it almost seems distorted. What’s depressing is, Do-jun constantly failed to understand and appreciate mother’s love, injecting much pathos to this story.

This South Korean film is unique in the way it builds the story. Instead of directly telling what happened, it leaves audience much guessing under context. Intense was created under the un-seen and un-told.

My favorite scene is when the mother fed herb medicine to Do-jun while he was peeing on the street. It is hard for anybody to come up with such a picture with such bizarre arrangement. The cut intensifies the way the story was build.

Besides, it is well-acted. Kim Hye Ja, who plays the mother, might not be well-known in Western world. But having been in the industry for 40 years, Kim is a luminous and brilliant actress who serves as a benchmark for many to inspire to.

I almost didn’t recognize the lead actor Weon Bin, one of Korean’s most popular and beloved actors. Weon abandons his Prince Charming boyish image and lends his role a lot of layers, convincing me that “Weon can act”.

About the director Bong Joon-ho: I give him even more respect after watching Mother, and meanwhile find the almost typical style in his film. Country setting, grayish background, high school girl as victims, mysterious killers, and mentally illness are common tags Bong would like to use.

This is a seemingly slow but actually intense and striking film. As the story ends, you probably will find yourself sitting in the theater, shocked, with a feeling of a bottle broken, a bottle that filled with bitter, sad, question, sympathy, and probably goose bumps.

Post Oscar Movie Stats

These are some statistics from a Hollywood infographics, some of which are educational, some of which make you go “oh wow”.

Guess which one is the most expensive film ever made?

Statistics highlights from behind the scene:

2009 average movie ticket price was $ 7.50

Movie is still Number 1 live entertainment (1474.7 million visitors), followed by amusement park (347 million visitors) and sporting events (141 million visitors).

Warner Bros. enjoys the largest market share (20%), followed by Paramount (14%) and Sony/Colombia (14%).

Top earnings for Hollywood in 2009: 1.Michael Bay, 2. Steven Spielberg, 3 Roland Emmerich, 4. James Cameron, 5. Todd Phillips, 6. Daniel Radcliffe, 7. Ben Stiller, 8. Tom Hanks

The most expensive film ever made was Spider Man 3, $258 million, Avatar was not-- production cost was $237 million, the rest was from private investor

The least expensive film ever made is 2008’s Colin ($ 70), filmed on a mini-DV camera, edited at home PC, actors hired via Facebook, the film was screened at Sundance

The American motion picture and television industry support 2.5 million jobs which includes over 115,000 businesses. 

Shutter Island: talking about real art

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams

Rating: ***** out of *****, the ultimate well-made movie

It is a film that is so well-crafted that you start to understand a level of perfection.
It is a film that is so deep that it requires multiple anatomies to fully appreciate it.

It is a film that can be so terrifying that you still feel the chill afterwards.

What impresses me the most is the way it intervenes reality into the play. In DiCaprio’s delusions, human beings are used as experiment items, and that was what happened with the Nazis in real life. Delusion comes from reality.

In the end, the question marks have been answered, the stories have been unfolded; but the process of revealing the story and the structure the story was build upon is what makes this real art even more intriguing and invaluable.  

It delves into human psychology, and reflects the cruel reality. More than a beloved movie, it is a masterpiece I pay my respect to.

Talking about almost flawless, it is Shutter Island.