Film Friday: Humanity amid massacre: ‘City of Life and Death,’ reviewed
What filmmaker Lu Chuan does that his predecessors were unable or unwilling to do is bring multidimensionality…
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The tragic end of Shi Hui, Maoist China’s most promising actor-director
Persecuted and misunderstood, Shi Hui was one of many individuals swept up and destroyed by the Anti-Rightist…
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Film Friday: Taiwan’s gay-themed ‘Dear Ex’ touches on acceptance, love, and humanity
A pleasant surprise of a movie that’s arrived at the appropriate time.
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The People’s Republic of Desire, reviewed
A dark and provocative glimpse at China’s celebrity streaming culture
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The Unfinished Comedy: How a brave satire in Maoist China destroyed its creator’s career
In the 1957 satirical film The Unfinished Comedy, made during Mao Zedong’s Hundred Flowers Campaign, one…
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Film Friday: ‘Einstein and Einstein’ depicts the painful reality of growing up in China
Storytellers the world over are drawn to bildungsroman, focusing on…
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Film Friday: ‘The Great Buddha+,’ Taiwan’s award-winning dark comedy, is worth the hype
Director Huang Hsin-yao’s satirical, sometimes bleak dark comedy focuses on class, political corruption, and religion in Taiwan.
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5 must-see Chinese movies of 2018
Five noteworthy Chinese movies from 2018, including from big-name directors Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhangke, and Jiang Wen.
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Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu: The unlikely duo who pioneered Chinese cinema
History now remembers Zhang Shichuan, a businessman, and Zheng Zhengqiu, an intellectual, as two of the key…
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Hopping Vampires and Beautiful Ghosts: A Brief History of Chinese Horror, Pt. 2
From killer butterflies and hopping zombies (in a movie nominated for Best Film at the Hong Kong…
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Hopping Vampires and Beautiful Ghosts: A Brief History of Chinese Horror, Pt. 1
Chinese horror films might not be internationally renowned — and indeed, they are frowned upon in today’s…
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5 classic movies to remember Xie Jin, the master of Chinese melodrama
Xie Jin remains relatively obscure outside of his home country, which is a shame. He directed such…
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‘Havoc in Heaven’: How China’s first animators braved war, politics, and exile to create a masterpiece
Based off Journey to the West, this hand-animated classic took more than two decades to complete, with…
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5 influential movies from the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers
Coming of age during the Cultural Revolution, China’s post-Mao filmmakers would revolutionize the industry with story-driven movies…
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Film Friday: Xiang Yu, the tragic Chinese hero
Xiang Yu is ubiquitous in Chinese culture, appearing in countless TV shows, plays, and films (including the classic Farewell…
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