Must-see Movies to Better Understand China
Single Man
光棍儿
21 year-old filmmaker Hao Jie assembled non-pro fellow villagers for his directorial debut about a group of unmarried old men’s frustrated and chaotic sexual lives in countryside where women are outnumbered and sought after. Heavy social topics such as poverty, gender discrimination, human trafficking and living conditions of the LGBT minority form its background without stealing the thunder of an unstoppable, laugh out loud story about how jungle rules and human desires defy law and moralities in the isolated and scenic rural community.
Let the Bullets Fly
让子弹飞
The story, set in 1920s, deliver satirical critiques on modern China’s issues, such as corruption and income disparity, with clues and references that flew under censors’ radars, but got picked up, decoded and reinterpreted by audiences nationwide. The almost unprecedented high interest in watching, rewatching, and discussing the film saw an active Chinese cinephile community taking shape. Some of the film’s lines — such as “Let the bullets fly longer” and “Earn money while standing on your feet” — have left a lasting impact on modern Chinese culture.
Are We Really So Far
From the Madhouse?
我们离疯人院究竟有多远
Maya E. Rudolph, writer/director/producer
Minister of deadpan cool Li Hongqi follows a tour by the Beijing rock scene’s big brothers, P.K.14, with a sense of surreal, affectionate hysteria. This is the most punk rock doc of all punk rock docs, with a soundtrack featuring P.K.14, Dear Eloise, and various snarling wild animals.
Kaili Blues
路边野餐
Considered an art-film tribute to Tarkovsky, but with a magical realistic aesthetic specific to Chinese village scenes.
One of our picks of the decade for sure, and one that made a huge impression on the international festival circuit. The narrative is elegant and simple — though given an edge of mystery through the use of a rural dialect and a liberal weaving of supernatural elements into the storytelling style. The film’s dreamy quality is technically reinforced through a staggering 45-minute tracking shot in the film’s second half that crosses a river and roams freely around a remote Chinese village.
Mr.Six
（Guan Hu, 2015）
老炮儿
An ode to what has been lost amidst all the changes taking place in China, as China goes headlong into capitalism and development/growth, whatever the cost.
RADII
This brisk-clip crime drama stars one of China’s most influential directors, Feng Xiaogang, as the titular street thug Mr. Six, and frequent subject of RADII coverage Kris Wu as the leader of a drag-racing gang.
Angels Wear White
嘉年华
Vivian Qu’s hyper-realistic film tells a story about how a corrupted coastal town silences a young girl raped by a powerful man, and another girl who’s the only witness with access to evidence. It shockingly resembles social reality, in which numerous similar incidents constantly happen, but the female victims’ voices always get neglected, discredited, or intentionally shut down by a male-dominated public discourse, even during the age of global #MeToo movement.
People’s Republic of Desire
虚你人生
One of the best films made about contemporary China, about tech, and about how the lines between online and offline are blurred in late capitalism. It’s an extraordinary work on every front.
Dying to Survive
我不是药神
This film examines the vast inequities in daily life that the average person must deal with in China. In this case, cancer patients and their travails against a system that does not allow them to access the drugs they need to survive their condition.
The film’s success and its social conscious or social justice message represented polarizing points. On the one hand, the audience fully supported and appreciated the film and story. However, the level of breakout success may have put unwanted additional attention on the practices of the pharmaceutical industry. This issue is not just in China, and exists with the pharmaceutical industry worldwide.
An Elephant Sitting Still
（Hu Bo, 2018）
大象席地而坐
In the age of “the Chinese blockbuster,” the sudden appearance of An Elephant Sitting Still felt like it emerged from another universe, with an understated and sensitive story, a bold signature visual style, and an uncompromising epic canvas that brings to mind masterpieces like Platform and A Brighter Summer Day. This should have been the announcement of a major new talent for the future of Chinese cinema, but after the director Hu Bo took his own life, it tragically became his farewell poem. A rare and unique gem of a film that should be cherished.
Better Days
（Derek Tsang, 2019）
少年的你
The award-winning team behind [2016 film] Soulmate’s follow-up dramatizes Chinese high schoolers’ experiences of on-campus bullying and the stressful gaokao, a controversial, cut-throat national competition, but also an irreplaceable selection system that gives equal chances to students from China’s disparate social-economic backgrounds. The film points out that the real pressures put on teenagers don’t come from their peers, but are passed down by adults in dysfunctional families and a hierarchical society.
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