Asian Cinema
180 of my favourite films from Asia, This list spans a variety of decades and countries within Asia including Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Mongolia, Indonesia, China and Japan.
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- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsBanlop LomnoiSakda KaewbuadeeHuai DessomA romance between a soldier and a country boy, wrapped around a Thai folk-tale involving a shaman with shape-shifting abilities.
- DirectorYi'nan DiaoStarsFan LiaoGwei Lun-MeiXuebing WangAn ex cop and his ex partner decide to follow up on investigation of a series of murders that ended their careers and shamed them, when identical murders begin again.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsTilda SwintonPaul DanoAhn Seo-hyunA young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsRentarô MikuniMichiyo AratamaMisako WatanabeA collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaMachiko OnoYôko MakiRyota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.
- DirectorByambasuren DavaaStarsBatchuluun UrjindorjBuyandulam DaramdadiNansal BatchuluunThe little Nansal finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend against all rejections of her parents.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaIshirô HondaStarsAkira TeraoMitsuko BaishôToshie NegishiA collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTatsuya NakadaiKeiju KobayashiA crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraMinoru ChiakiAn aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYutaka SadaTatsuya NakadaiAn executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
- DirectorTseng-Chai ChangStarsYin WangHung LiHung-Lieh Chen
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraMachiko KyôHaruko SugimuraThe head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineMasayuki MoriMariko OkadaA tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.
- DirectorGô OharaStarsRina AkiyamaRuito AoyagiAsamiAfter her mother is murdered, a girl dresses-to-kill as a Gothic Lolita. Using a deadly umbrella, she seeks revenge by slicing and dicing the wacky assassins responsible.
- DirectorHideo NakataStarsHitomi KurokiRio KannoMirei OguchiA mother and her 6-year-old daughter move into a creepy apartment whose every surface is permeated by water.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsMegumi OkinaMisaki ItôMisa UeharaA mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsNoriko SakaiChiharu NiiyamaKei HorieAs their curse spreads on, the ghosts find their chance to live once again through the pregnancy of a cursed woman.
- DirectorDanny PangOxide Chun PangStarsAngelica LeeChutcha RujinanonLawrence ChouA blind girl gets a cornea transplant so that she will be able to see again. She gets more than she bargained for upon realizing she can also see ghosts.
- DirectorHiromasa YonebayashiStarsSara TakatsukiKasumi ArimuraNanako MatsushimaAnna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to be.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsCate BlanchettMatt DamonLiam NeesonA five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsChieko BaishôTakuya KimuraTatsuya GashûinWhen an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsShûichirô MoriyamaTokiko KatôBunshi Katsura VIIn 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.
- DirectorHiromasa YonebayashiStarsBridgit MendlerAmy PoehlerWill ArnettThe Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter Arrietty is discovered.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsYukiji AsaokaTôru MasuokaMasako ArakiThe life and misadventures of a family in contemporary Japan.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsShinchô KokonteiMakoto NonomuraYuriko IshidaA community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.
- DirectorMichael Dudok de WitStarsEmmanuel GarijoTom HudsonBaptiste GoyA man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a big red turtle, which changes his life.
- DirectorSunao KatabuchiStarsNonAva PickardKenna PickardA spirited 18-year-old woman is married off to a man she barely knows as she combats the daily struggles of living in Hiroshima during World War II.
- DirectorMori MasakiStarsIssei MiyazakiCatherine BattistoneYoshie ShimamuraA powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a disturbing story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
- DirectorToshio HirataStarsIssei MiyazakiMasaki KôdaKei NakamuraThree years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.
- DirectorJuly JungStarsBae DoonaKim Sae-ronSong Sae-byeokA young police officer is sent to work in a small village and takes in a teenager to protect her from her abusive stepfather.
- DirectorTengo YamadaStarsFumiko AbeKazuhide HarutaEtsuko Ichihara
- DirectorKim LonginottoJano WilliamsStarsGaishTatsuKazukiShinjuku Boys is a 1995 film by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams. It explores the lives of three transgender men who work at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo, Japan.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsYou GeGong LiBen NiuAfter Fugui and Jiazhen lose their personal fortunes, they raise a family and survive difficult cultural changes during 1940s to 1970s China.
- DirectorMouly SuryaStarsLadya CherylDonny AlamsyahKinaryosihAlisha (Ladya Cheryl) never feel comfortable staying in her cool and spacious home until one day she meets Bari (Donny Alamsyah) who introduces her the meaning of love.
- DirectorRiri RizaStarsCut Mini TheoZulfannyIkranagaraIn the 1970s, a group of 10 students struggles with poverty and develop hopes for the future in Gantong Village on the farming and tin mining island of Belitung off the east coast of Sumatra.
- DirectorUsmar IsmailStarsA.N. AlcaffAstamanAwaludinA hero of revolution returns to civilian life to find the new society very different from the ideals he fought for.
- DirectorTeguh KaryaStarsRoy MartenChristine HakimSlamet RahardjoBased on the famous novel, this is a story about Siska, a young woman, who gets heartbroken, as her fiancé broke off their engagement. Her brother introduces her to his friend Leo, who is known as a womanizer. However, he manages to make her happy. What she doesn't know is that Leo decided to be with her as she was a part of a bet...
- DirectorArifin C. NoerStarsMeriam BellinaDorman BorismanRano KarnoDesi, a pretty young woman, leaves her baby in a taxi driven by Giyon. After going to the press to seek help in finding Desi, he takes the baby to his home. He soon becomes famous for his kind deed and later on discovers Desi, who has become a singer in the capital. Their happiness is, however, short-lived when the newspapers spread malicious rumors that the child is illegitimate and that Giyon is the father.
- DirectorM.T. RisyafStarsDeddy MizwarNurul ArifinWawan WanisarNaga Bonar is a pickpocket. During the withdrawal of the Japanese occupying forces from Indonesia in 1945 he declares himself a general of the Liberation Forces. Soon a mask becomes his true self, and he becomes a true soldier and patriot.
- DirectorTeddy SoeriaatmadjaStarsDonny DamaraRaihaanunYayu A.W. UnruCahaya (Raihaanun) travels to Jakarta, Indonesia, to search for her father and discovers that he is a prostitute for men.
- DirectorYudho AdityaStarsChicco KurniawanJacob McCarthyGladhys Elliona SyahutariCaught between the traditions of his upbringing in rural Indonesia and his idealization of Western freedom, a teenager struggles with the expectations of imminent manhood.
- DirectorArdy OctaviandStarsMarrio MerdhithiaNino FernandezNadia SaphiraTwo girls, Key and Citra, struggle to make their ends meet, and that includes paying their monthly house rent. Their problems seem to be lifted up when two guys, Nesta and Aldi, move to the house and start playing roles in the girl's lives, despite a certain big secret the two guys try to keep for themselves.
- DirectorJohn HuddlesStarsJames D'ArcySophie LoweDaryl SabaraAt an international school in Jakarta, a philosophy teacher challenges his class of twenty graduating seniors to choose which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear apocalypse.
- DirectorNia Di NataStarsJajang C. NoerShantyDominique Agisca DiyoseThis is the story of women those are live in polygamy life. It's about their consequence to accept the status as other wife.
- DirectorLucky KuswandiStarsJoko AnwarTiti DwijayatiIkhsan HimawanWhen A Capital in the middle of nowhere is threatened by the emergence of KANJENG Storm And The militant political party and homophobia, Safety of Country Singer depending on ADAM, A Hairdresser.
- DirectorNia Di NataStarsCut Mini TheoTora SudiroAida NurmalaFriendship and principles are put to a test in the circle of Jakarta's social elite which can be as turbulent as the city's slums.
- DirectorNia Di NataStarsCut Mini TheoTora SudiroSurya SaputraEight years have passed since the first "Arisan!", many things have changed in the lives of a social elite friendship in Jakarta. Amidst the chaotic sequence of events in Jakarta, a friend of them decide to head to Gili island, Lombok.
- DirectorGarin NugrohoStarsSarah AzhariDeni ChristantraChristine HakimThe Indonesian society is seen through a middle-aged lady's eyes in her daily encounters with the street children who work and live off the harsh and sleazy world of adults.
- DirectorNasri CheppyStarsDidi PetetOnky AlexanderAyu AzhariA college student from a rich family had a relationship with a girl from his college but the couple's love was objected by her parents.
- DirectorTeguh KaryaStarsSlamet RahardjoRachmat HidayatSardono W. KusumoA group of Javanese villagers are driven to revolt against the Dutch colonialists in this historical drama, which revolves around the themes of loyalty and treachery.
- DirectorRiri RizaStarsNicholas SaputraJonathan MuliaThomas NawilisSoe Hok Gie is an activist who lived in the sixties. Set in the darkest era of Indonesian modern history, "Gie" is an interpretation of what happened based on his journal.
- DirectorRako PrijantoStarsIkranagaraChristine HakimAgus KuncoroThe Clerics (Indonesian: Sang Kiai) follows the story of a Muslim Cleric Hasyim Asyari through the Japanese Occupation of Indonesia and the Indonesian National Revolution.
- DirectorEddie CahyonoStarsSekar SariBintang Timur WidodoTiti DibyoSiti has to find ways and means to care for her son and her husband. By day, she sells snacks; by night, she works as a karaoke guide. Tainted by her nighttime employment, Siti finds her husband no longer wishes to speak to her.
- DirectorWicaksono Wisnu LegowoStarsUbaidillahSlamet AmbariYono DaryonoThe residents of Kampung Tirang live in dilapidated shacks just to earn for their next meal. The hardworking and reliable Turah has been appointed by the cooperative leader to tend to complaints or settle conflicts that arise in the village. Peace in the settlement is disrupted when the alcoholic Jadag starts questioning the governance of the village. His accusations towards the leaders soon land both Turah and the whole village into further trouble.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKimiko IkegamiMiki JinboKumiko ÔbaA schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
- DirectorStephen ChowStarsChao DengShow LoYuqi ZhangShan, a mermaid, is sent to assassinate Xuan, a developer who threatens the ecosystem of her race, but ends up falling in love with him instead.
- DirectorFrant GwoStarsJing WuMan-Tat NgZhi WangWith the sun dying out, a group of brave astronauts set out to find new planet for the whole human race.
- DirectorSergei BodrovStarsTadanobu AsanoAmadu MamadakovKhulan ChuluunThe story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world in 1206.
- DirectorAnh Hung TranStarsKen'ichi MatsuyamaRinko KikuchiKiko MizuharaToru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûShima IwashitaKeiji SadaAn aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraYôko TsukasaMariko OkadaA widow tries to marry off her daughter with the help of her late husband's three friends.
- DirectorJeffrey LauStarsStephen ChowMan-Tat NgKar-Ying LawA Monkey King is reincarnated in the un human form as Joker, a highwayman oblivious to his original identity and the fact that 500 years earlier, he and his master, the Longevity Monk, were punished and made to stay human.
- DirectorJeffrey LauStarsStephen ChowMan-Tat NgAthena ChuThe convoluted continuation of the adventures of the time-traveling, now-human Monkey King, who attempts to fulfill his divine destiny.
- DirectorJing WongStarsStephen ChowSharla CheungMan-Tat NgA judge tries to save a female innocent who's wrongly being accused for murder.
- DirectorJing WongStarsStephen ChowSharla CheungChingmy YauA jester is accidentally recruited by a cult leader to spy on a young and inexperienced Chinese emperor. Things don't go according to plan, and he ends up working for multiple opposing sides while trying to survive the madness.
- DirectorJing WongStarsStephen ChowBrigitte LinChingmy YauWei the jester, turned undercover spy, turned high ranking official in the Chinese imperial court, tries his best to deal with warring factions and deadly martial artists all vying for power.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsTeruo YoshidaYukie KagawaTeruko YumiAfter escaping from an insane asylum, a medical student assumes the identity of a mysterious dead man, who appeared to be his doppelganger, and gets lured to a sinister island ruled by a mad scientist and his malformed men.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsTomorô TaguchiKei FujiwaraNobu KanaokaA businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsTomorô TaguchiShin'ya TsukamotoNobu KanaokaWhen metal-worshipping fanatics abduct his son, a father unleashes his dormant destructive power, as his naked rage transforms the once-feeble flesh into a grisly symbiosis of metal and tissue. Who dares to defy the ultimate body-hammer?
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoTakahiro MuraseTakahiro KandakaA man wakes up to find himself locked in a cramped concrete maze of corridors, in which he can barely move. He doesn't remember why he is there or how he got there. He has a terrible stomach injury and is slowly bleeding to death.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoKirina ManoTatsuya NakamuraA man sees his life changed forever when his fiancee shoots herself. Baffled, he wants by all means to obtain such a weapon of destruction and he finds himself caught in the middle of a violent group of young vicious punks. They first beat him severely and then he seeks revenge with his fist, then with a gun. Everything from then on is a complete downward spiral.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsMasayuki MoriMachiko KyôKinuyo TanakaA tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.
- DirectorTea Lim KounStarsSuon Bou LotoMandolineDy SavethAfter an affair with the fabled Snake King, a woman gives birth to a son she names Veasna. After Veasna finds a wife, a witch curses their daughter to be born with snakes instead of hair.
- DirectorFai Sam AngStarsWinai KraibutrPich ChanbormeyTep RindaroBased on a Cambodian folk tale. In a small Thai village, Nhi comes across a Snake Immortal and falls in love with him. She becomes pregnant by the snake, but does not tell her husband. When he discovers the truth, he kills both Nhi and the Snake Immortal. One of the small snakes escapes from Nhi's abdomen, and is brought up by another immortal. Slowly the snake grows up to be a beautiful woman, who sets out to develop another relationship.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
- DirectorKyu-dong MinKim Tae-yongStarsKim Gyu-riPark YejinLee Yeong-jinIn this second installment of the Whispering Corridors series, a young girl finds a strange diary, capable of arousing hallucinations, kept by two of her senior fellow-students who seem to have an unusually close bond.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.
- DirectorDaisuke GotôStarsHôryû NakamuraRyôko AsagiYumeka SasakiA young widow, Noriko, lives with her senile father-in-law, Shukichi, on a farm. He believes his favorite cow, long gone, is still alive. Noriko pretends to be the cow and lets him milk her - a satisfying arrangement for them both.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsGoro AbashiriTarô ApolloShiro DemaemochiSet in a future in which children have overthrown adults, the film does not have a central narrative. It depicts a series of graphic tableaux in which children engage in cruel and abusive acts against the adults.
- DirectorAkiko ÔkuStarsMayu MatsuokaKanji FurutachiAnna IshibashiYoshika is 24 years old and works in an office. She doesn't have a boyfriend in her life, but still romanticizes her former junior high school classmate.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKen TakakuraChieko BaishôHidetaka YoshiokaA mysterious stranger appears at door of a farmhouse on a stormy night and asks for shelter.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKen TakakuraChieko BaishôKaori MomoiThree complete strangers embark on a road-trip to Hokkaido.