Asia

Best Asian films

If you’re looking for the best Asian films, there’s plenty to choose from. Asia holds approximately 60% of the world’s population, so it’s no surprise the continent has a wealth of great films. The continent hosts one of the world’s largest (if not the largest) film industries in India’s Bollywood, the most famous animation studio outside the U.S. in Japan’s Studio Ghibli, as well as the second largest film market in the world by box office receipts in China (second only to the U.S.).

But that’s not all. The Iranian art-house cinema scene is still booming despite government bans. Southeast Asia holds two of the most famous torch-bearers of the transcendental film movement in Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Lav Diaz. Plus, there’s South Korean, Bong Joon-ho, whose Parasite became the first foreign language film to win the Best Picture. And we haven’t even mentioned the growing film presence of the countries in Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and the Caucasus.

So scroll down to see some of the best Asian films. Or, if you know where you want to go, pick a country from the links below.

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, East Timor, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon,Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

*We’re still looking for the best Asian films from countries without links. Send us your recommendations.

Sand Storm

Image result Sand Storm Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Want to learn a bit about modern Bedouin life in the Middle East? Well it doesn’t appear to be all rosy in Sand Storm. Explore a small village where gender roles are not always clear and rules are upheld out of habit. This is also your chance to start watching some films from Israel/Palestine. Be sure to check out the excellent Ajami and Omar after this!

Why Watch Sand Storm?

Following on from Ajami and Omar, here is another great film from Israel/Palestine (it’s currently available on Netflix)
To get a feel for life as a Bedouin, including a Bedouin wedding!
See the barren landscape of the Negev desert – it is reminiscent of the Kazakh desert shown in The Wounded Angel
Witness how different life is for men and women, and young and old

The Breakdown

Sand Storm starts with Layla driving a car along a dirt track through the Negev desert. Her father sits in the passenger seat and asks her what grades she got at school. She says she got 63, but her father does not believe her, and voices his disapproval. Despite this, she continues to drive until they reach their village where they switch seats. Because he let her drive and study, and is pretty laid back, the dad appears more liberal than we might expect.

The opening sets the scene for the rest of the film as gender roles are explored. Layla’s mother (Jalila) appears to be the complete opposite to her father. From the outset she is angered by her husband’s loose discipline their daughter. He lets the daughters do what they want, whereas she wants them to grow up to become strong wives.

However, whilst Jalila has some control of Layla, she has no control over little Tasnim. Unlike Layla, Tasnim does not help out with household chores, goes and hangs out with her father and friends, walks around town in trousers, and even gets away with standing on the kitchen counter. She always has the same excuse: “dad says I can”, which exasperates poor Jalila. In the context of the dad’s second wedding (which Jalila has to prepare) you start to sympathise with Jalila. Is her strictness just her way of trying to protect her kids? After all, she has nothing else.

Conclusion

Sand Storm explores gender roles in Bedouin society. Are women free to do what they want or are they ultimately always in the hands of their fathers? Watch to find out and uncover what life is like in a remote town in the Negev desert.

The Wounded Angel

The Wounded Angel Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Image result for the wounded angel baigazin You may have seen films from China and Europe, and even the Middle East, but have you seen a film from Kazakhstan? Here’s your chance to see something new. This is an excellent portrayal of Kazakhstan in the mid-90s. A country experiencing an economic and emotional depression after the split of the Soviet Union. Find out what life was like growing up in a remote town in Kazakhstan.

Why Watch The Wounded Angel?

To see a film from Kazakhstan!
Experience life in mid-90s Kazakhstan after the collapse of the U.S.S.R.
You like coming-of-age stories
See Kazakh singing in traditional dress and a currency with 3 Tenge notes

The Breakdown

“After the collapse of the USSR, in an effort to preserve the economy, the government cut off electric power every evening”

The film starts with 13 year old Zharas, a young boy living in a remote town in Kazakhstan. He pokes a hole in the top of an egg shell and drinks its contents raw while standing topless in a bare room. He starts shadow boxing before sitting down to make a knuckleduster out of molten metal and a simple mould. Next, he hops onto a train and smokes a cigarette by the door as the train moves through barren landscape.

The Wounded Angel, looks at four 13 year old Kazakh boys living in the same Kazakh town in the middle of a barren landscape. There is an emotional depression. None of the adults ever smile, grimace, or frown. Their permanently expressionless faces have rubbed off on their children who have grown up without emotion. As a result, without emotion, their childhood cannot exist, and they ae forced to become adults.

The fixed camera shots do not hint any change either. The lack of camera movement conveys stillness, therefore mirroring the lack of progress on film (the electricity cuts out, there is no employment, and no emotion).

Look out for the ‘through-the-window-frame’ (or keyhole) shots that appear in each of the four stories. Each one (apart from Toads) shows the character standing within a derelict house by an empty window frame. Each window is a window showing their fate:

Zharas: his father walks away, but he runs after him after finishing his cigarette
Chick: shows his friends beating up the two kids he didn’t want to fight
Toad: he climbs through a hole in the wall and meets a group of kids
Aslan: shows a half dead tree

Conclusion

The Wounded Angel is a fantastic depiction of a country in an emotional depression. This is a realist coming-of-age story that contrasts heavily with the nostalgic coming-of-age films that you are used to. Watch this if you are interested in watching something from the great Eurasian Steppe.

Theeb – Journey Back in Time in Jordan

Theeb Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Meet Theeb and Hussein, two Bedoiun brothers living in the Arabian desert during the First World War. Their lives are relatively peaceful until an Englishman appears from the desert and drags them into the violence of the war.

From: Jordan, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Rent, Amazon Buy
Next: Lawrence of Arabia, Mimosas, Rabbit Proof Fence

Bad Genius (Thailand) – Films About Exams Can be Exciting!

Bad Genius Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Looking for teen thriller at the other end of the spectrum from the usual teen horror films? Try Bad Genius. It will conjure up those dreaded memories of sitting in exam rooms at school. And before you think, how can a film about exams be exciting, think again. These fun characters are big time cheaters and keep taking their tricks to the next level as the stakes get higher and higher.

Why Watch Bad Genius?

If you’re looking for an exciting teen-thriller that everyone will enjoy!
To be introduced to the criminal underworld of exam cheating
It’s easy to watch – in fact 20-30% of the dialogue in this film was unscripted (according to the director, Nattawut Poonpiriy)
There’s already rumours of an American remake

The Breakdown

Bad Genius starts with Lynn, a teenager applying to a top secondary school to take her final year exams. She’s got a load of trophies from all her academic achievements, but she knows her dad can’t afford to pay for the education at this new school. So, her Dad pays for it on the sly by hiding the payments he makes.

It’s inevitable that she finds out he is paying more than she expected (which she’s not happy about). But, more importantly, she finds out after she’s helped her best friend cheat in a maths exam. The perfect time to receive a proposition from her richer classmates: to help them cheat their school exams for a price. From then on, the stakes slowly get higher and higher.

What’s obvious from the start is the massive class divide between the kids at this scholarship school. Unfortunately, the poor, clever kids are exploited by the rich, lazy kids. Ultimately, this is the wealth privilege. As presented in this film, the rich will always make it out OK, whereas the lives of the underprivileged have to be absolutely speck free to get anywhere close to success.

Image result for bad genius

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a thrill, watch Bad Genius. The story-line is tight, and the characters are fun, and just like the best magic shows, you’ll be enthralled by seeing how these kids managed to cheat the SAT exams.

Omar

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Omar reminded me of a Shakesperian-esque epic. He fights for love and carries the patriotism of Palestine, but for what? Think of a Mexican drug-war thriller like Heli, Miss Bala, or even a film like Zero Dark Thirty shot from the other side and you will be getting close to the kind of film that Omar is. There’s no drugs in Omar, but there is one man fighting for normality whilst dealing with the expectation that he must fight for his people.

Why Watch Omar?

Learn a little bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian.
Romantic love vs. Patriotism – which would you choose?
It was nominated for an Academy Award!
It was even screened at the United Nations = must be important!

The Breakdown

Omar starts with a man standing by a large concrete wall watching cars pass by. As soon as the cars on the road disappear he climbs up a long rope attached to the concrete wall. As he reaches the top gun shots fly by him and he drops down quickly on the other side. He made it but his hands are bloodied from the rope burns. He disappears into the streets to dodge any potential chasers.

The tension in Omar is always present. You never know when Omar is going to be chased. He never has complete freedom as the Israeli police are always watching his and everybody else’s actions. Right from the start, the great big West Bank Wall obstructs his freedom of passage from the place he lives to where his girlfriend goes to school. Later in the film, as the pressure mounts on Omar, he struggles to actually climb the wall – showing the extra limits on the already limited freedom he already had. This wall, and Omar’s relation to it, symbolise the oppression of Omar and the Palestinian people.

Another thing to watch out for are the billboards and messages that appear in the background of some of the scenes. One of the billboards has a happy looking commercial for something or other with the words ‘Planting Hope’. Other billboards carry similar positive messages which the director has planted in the background to dramatically contrast with the oppressed Palestinians. The Israeli billboards mark the difference between what the Israelis can do and what the Palestinians cannot. Just like the Wall, they are symbols of the lack of freedom for the Palestinian people.

This is an important film for everyone to watch – plus it’s available on Netflix. So, what are you waiting for? Watch this one now!