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.

Ip Man

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Ip Man is the honourable Chinese version of a Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. He has his own one-liners, develops his own enemies, and has some sweet martial arts moves. Best of all, Ip man isn’t even a fictional character! This Martial Arts treat is definitely worth a watch!

Why Watch Ip Man?

You like Martial Arts action (obvious choice).
See a possible casting choice for the next Expendables movie?
What happened to China in the Second World War? Find out here.
For montages like Rocky and some top-notch action scenes.

The films opens with a brief look at Ip Man practising Kung-Fu at home instead of attending a Kung-Fu competition in his local town. Unsatisfied with the quality of the challengers, one of the Kung-Fu leaders goes to visit Ip Man to challenge Ip Man to a secret fight. Ip Man’s wife seems pretty annoyed, but Ip Man assures her “it won’t take long”. Sure enough, Ip Man beats up the top Kung-Fu fighter in town with ease. Someone even ends up seeing the fight and tells the whole town about it to the annoyance of Ip Man and the local Kung-Fu leader.

There are two groups of enemies that Ip Man and his community encounter in this film. First there is a group from the north of China looking for people to bully. Later, there is the Japanese occupiers that suppress the Chinese population during World War Two.

The group from Northern China appear shabby. They are poorly dressed, unshaven, and slurp their noodle soup. As a result, the Southern Chinese seem more civilised and clean in comparison to their Northern neighbours. Maybe this director from Hong Kong still holds some grudges against mainland China in stereotyping these bandits.

Secondly, the Japanese come and disrupt the Southerners way of life. Their occupation is shown in the cinematography of the film, as the wide range of colours in the early part of the movie (reds, greens, browns) are switched for a lot of grey. The film looks more like a black and white movie at some points! The director uses this colour switch to emphasise the hardship and poverty under the Japanese occupation.

In addition to his portrayals of Southern China’s enemies, Director Wilson Yip has a load of incredible action scenes. The speed of the fights and clarity of the actors moves are truly awesome. It is like watching a beautiful ballet. Just pay attention to the fights as it must have taken a lot of takes and rehearsing to get all these moves perfect.

If you’re into action and/or martial arts, give this one a watch!

Le Moulin (Taiwan) – An Inventive Documentary of Surrealism in Taiwan

Le Moulin Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

Watching Le Moulin is like walking round a great Taiwanese museum. All the interesting stuff is listed next to some intriguing artifacts from the period. You will come out of the film feeling like an expert on Taiwanese literature in the 20th century.

Why Watch Le Moulin?

If you want to see a proper art house film
To learn a contemporary history of Taiwanese literature, especially the influence of Surrealism (pretty specialist stuff)
See a documentary told through a range of artistic forms (paintings, poems, and of course film) reminiscent of Weerasethakul’s A Mysterious Object at Noon
Learn a bit about the history of Taiwan as well from the pre-war 1930s to the Kuomintang ruled 1950s

The Breakdown

Le Moulin starts with dice rolling on a board. Disorientating music plays as we watch four men with their heads and feet out of frame line up to be photographed. Next we see the picture crystalising on a piece of photo paper in it’s chemical bath.

The four men are part of a collective of Taiwanese poets that tried to establish a Taiwanese voice against the Japanese colonisers. You’ll follow their story from the early 1930s when Taiwan was occupied by Japan, through to the 1950s when Kuomintang declared martial law.

You will learn a lot about Taiwanese history and literature watching Le Moulin. However, the main attraction is it’s form. One minute you’re watching a re enactment of the collective and the next you are being shown incredible still pictures from the era and having poems read to you in full. You’ll even notice art work from Picasso, Cocteau, and Chaplin dotted around the film.

All in all it is a complete documentation of modern Taiwanese literature. It leaves no rock unturned.

Conclusion

The style and form sets Le Moulin apart. It weaves in photos, mementos, art, poetry, and reenactments to create what is effectively a museum exhibit on Taiwanese literature. A must for someone interested in how to use form in historic documentary films.

For a fictional film which also experiments with form, I’d recommend checking out Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mysterious Object at Noon.

The Rocket – Cheer for the Family Underdog

The Rocket Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you always like supporting the underdog, you’ll enjoy following ‘Little Balls’ in The Rocket. As he was born a twin, his family think he’s cursed and destined to bring bad luck to the family. What they don’t see is that he’s the future of their traditional way of life. The more they blame him, the more distant their link to their heritage becomes.

From: Laos, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Free on Vudu, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Whale Rider, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, The Eagle Huntress

Beyond the Clouds (India) – Why You Watch Films on the Big Screen

Beyond the Clouds Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Are you looking for a big film for a bit of entertainment? With music, melodrama, and some epic shots? Look no further than Majid Majidi’s Beyond the Clouds. This Iranian director is one of the best at making great family films (check out Children of Heaven). Plus, if you liked Slumdog Millionaire (another great Mumbai film made by a foreigner) you’ll love this. It’s pure entertainment.

Image result for beyond the clouds

Why Watch Beyond the Clouds?

To be entertained! There’s big sweeping shots and beautiful colours! You’ll notice the echoes of Slumdog Millionaire
For the music composed by A R Rahman (it’s not a musical, but you’ll notice the Bollywood touch)
To learn to appreciate the NHS (and all other countries with public healthcare)
See the melting pot of Indian diversity – in this film you’ll hear Hindi, Tamil, and bits of English

The Breakdown

Beyond the Clouds opens with a wide shot of a highway bridge in Mumbai. The camera tracks downwards to show us life under the highway. As Majid Majidi (the director) states, he wanted to get under the skin of the city, and right from the start he focuses on life that has escaped modernisation.

There’s a lot going on in each shot. We meet our protagonist walk-dancing along an empty path with his friend. They both hop on the back of a motorbike and zoom off down an empty straight road like cowboys riding towards the sunset. The sweeping camera movements and dance steps make it feel like you’re watching a big film. This is pure entertainment.

You’ll also be led by Majidi’s use of colours and darkness. When Amir visits his sister, she recounts all her traumas from the shadowed darkness of her bedroom. She has been ignored, emphasised by the darkness she is left in. Likewise the white sheets left to dry outside the busy clothes washers are a perfect symbol of innocence. Innocence that is fated to be stained…

Conclusion

This is why you go to watch films on the big screen. It has the wide sweeping shots, vivid colours, music, and plenty of melodrama. Yes, there’s a little cheesiness, but not enough to put you off. If you want to be entertained for a few hours, you can’t much go wrong watching Beyond the Clouds.

Manila – Welcome to the Dark Side of the City

Manila Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

If you’re looking for a dark portrayal of life in Manila, you’ve come to the right place. In Manila there’s social problems, political corruption, and injustice hidden behind the tropes of the Hollywood noir genre. You’ll meet a few characters of the city, but the focus is always on the city of Manila and its sounds, sights, and life.

From: Philippines, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Prime, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: From What is Before, Miles Ahead, Manila by Night