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Directed by Chen Kaige - The Emperor and the Assassin Gong Li stars in sweeping historical drama. Farewell My Concubine. A Cannes Film Festival Award Winner. King of the Children. Reflects a culture in the throes of change. (VHS) Life on a String Intensely beautiful epic about a blind old musician revered as a saint. (VHS) The Promise/ Wu Ji 2005. Epic fantasy with heavy use of special effects. Together / He Ni Zai Yiqi A father takes his talented son to Beijing to seek further training in the violin. Yellow Earth The interaction of a communist soldier with a backward village. (VHS)
Directed by Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain Based on the gay “cowboy “ story by Annie Proulx. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Brilliant blend of epic, romantic melodrama and martial arts. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman Comedy about a retired Taipei chef and his three unmarried daughters. The Ice Storm Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver star in terrific adaptation of Rick Moody’s much-praised novel of America in the 70s. Lust, Caution 2007. Gorgeous, moody, WWII spy thriller set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Sense and Sensibility Emma Thompson stars in and wrote the screenplay for this fine Austen adaptation. Taking Woodstock 2009. The story of the interior designer who inadvertently helped to spark a cultural revolution in 1969 by offering the organizers of the Woodstock Music Festival room at his family's motel. The Wedding Banquet US-Taiwanese. Top-notch comedy in which a gay Taiwanese, living in New York, tries to fool his parents by having a fake wedding.
Directed by Zhang Yimou - Curse of the Golden Flower A sweeping epic of the late Tang Dynasty. Happy Times Comedy about a man who goes looking for a wife and finds a daughter. (VHS) Hero 2002, epic philosophical martial arts movie full of ambiguity. The House of Flying Daggers. Romantic martial arts extravaganza. Ju Dou, 1991. Magnificent melodrama set in and around a dyeing workshop in a remote village in the 20s. Raise the Red Lantern, 1992. Winner of the Silver Lion Venice. Red Sorghum Chronicles a most untraditional union between a pair of rural lovers. Shanghai Triad A complex tale of life and gangsters in Shanghai during the 30s. To Live Unlike other films covering the traumas of the rise of Maoism, this film invokes the optimistic spirit that allowed people to survive.
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai - As Tears Go By 1988. Two parallel stories of Wah caught in the midst of a love affair with his beloved cousin, Ngor and his relationship with his triad brother, Fly. Ashes of Time (redux) 2008. Based on Louis Cha's celebrated novel The Eagle-Shooting Heroes this is a remastered version of his earlier film, which was his first foray into the martial arts genre. Chungking Express Tells two loosely interlinked stories about lovelorn cops who get involved with women who are wrong for them. (VHS) Days of Being Wild Set in Hong Kong in 1960. Fallen Angels Story of a Hong Kong hit-man. Happy Together Lyrical meditation on the meanings of partings, reunions and attempts to start over. In the Mood for Love Stars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in a love story set in Hong Kong in 1962. My Blueberry Nights 2007. A young woman takes a soul-searching tour across America. Stars Jude Law and Norah Jones. Made in English. 2046 Continues the tale started in In the Mood for Love which has parallels with the story of Hong Kong and China.
Arahan Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan. Fast and furious urban martial arts. Korean. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Dir. Dai Sijie. Lyrical tale of “reactionary students” banished to a remote but beautiful village during the Chinese Cultural Revolution Beijing Bicycle Dir. Wang Xiashuai. Enjoyable film about two 17 year old boys in present day Beijing, and the thing they have in common. Bichunmoo Dir. Kim Young-Jun. South Korean epic set in 14th century China. Blind Mountain Dir. Yang Li, 2007. Looking for work in rural northern China, a female student is kidnapped by a businessman posing as her employer, and sold into a family as the son’s bride to be. Blush Dir. Li Shaohong. Set in Shanghai in the 1930s. (VHS) Breaking News Dir. Johnnie To. Hong Kong action drama. Bullet in the Head Dir. John Woo, 1990. Ambitious Vietnam epic about the dehumanising effects of greed and repression. (VHS) Cave of the Yellow Dog Dir. Byambasuren Davaa. A touching story about a nomadic child who befriends a stray dog on the Mongolian veld. Chinese Ghost Story Dir. Ching Siu-Tung, cult Hong Kong flick produced by martial arts great Tsui Hark. (VHS) Chinese Ghost Story II Dir. Ching Siu-Tung. More high style, low comedy and classy special effects. (VHS) Chinese Ghost Story III Dir. Ching Siu-Tung. Completes his ghostly series. (VHS) Confessions of Pain Dir. Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, Hong Kong 2006. A detective helps investigate the death of a friend’s father. The Cup Dir. Khyentse Norbu. Delightful Tibetan tale of a group of monks obsessed with football and the World Cup. East Palace, West Palace Dir. Zhang Yuan. The most daring of all the “illegal” independent films made in China in the 90s. (VHS) Electric Shadows Dir. Jiang Xiao, 2004, deals with the enduring power of cinema in China even during the long years of government repression. Ermo Dir. Zhou Xiaowen, 1994, entertaining tragi-comedy about the ups and downs of modernisation in China. (VHS) The Eye Dir. Pang Brothers, Hong Kong 2002. Horror tale about a blind woman who receives the corneas of a suicide victim. The Eye 2 Dir. Pang Brothers, Hong Kong 2004. A knockout follow up ghost story. Foreign Moon Dir. Zhang Zeming. Wittily charts the lives of 3 Chinese emigrés living in the West (VHS) Hard Boiled Dir. John Woo, Hong Kong. Critically acclaimed, but unbelievably violent action film. Rated R. (VHS) Himalaya Dir. Eric Valli. Stunning ethnographic drama of a semi-nomadic people's annual caravan and struggle for survival. The Host Dir. Joon-Ho Bong. Korean horror film - a monster emerges from the Han River in Seoul. 2006. Kitchen Dir. Yim Ho. Cantonese adaptation of the cult Japanese novel by Banana Yoshimoto. (VHS) Lies Dir. Jang Sun-Woo. South Korean film based on a novel banned as “pornographic”. Rated R. Musa the Warrior Dir. Kim Sung Su. Sweeping 14th century epic retelling of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Korean. Red Cliff Parts 1 & 2 Dir. John Woo, 2009. Director’s Cut of the epic two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.) Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker Dir. He Ping. Based on a short story by Feng Jicai, this is a multi-award winning tale of love in China. (VHS) Rouge Dir. Stanley Kwan, 1989. Award-winning melodrama which features two of Hong Kong’s greatest stars - Anita Mui & Leslie Cheung. (VHS) Samsara Dir. Pan Nalin, 2002. Reminiscent of Siddhartha, a Tibetan monk swaps his spirituality for carnality. Sex and Zen Dir. Michael Mak. Outrageous Cantonese erotic saga. Rated R. (VHS) Sex and Zen II Dir. Chin Man-Kei. The wildly improbable sequel. Rated R. (VHS) Sex and Zen Part 3 Dir. Aman Chang. Just when you thought they’d “done it all”, there’s more. Also Rated R. (VHS) Shower Dir. Zhang Yang. Contrasts the fast pace of modern life with the value of tradition. (VHS) Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter … and Spring Dir. Kim Ki-duk. A small gem of a film about the power of the seasons and their yearly cycle of birth, growth and decay. Korean. Springtime in a Small Town Dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang. Blacklisted after making The Blue Kite, this is a welcome, if somewhat decorous, return to filmmaking after his 10 year absence. The Story of Xinghua Dir. Yin Li, 1993. Set in a remote northern village, it explores the conflict between moral corruption and ancient traditions and the strength of new ideals in modern China. (VHS) Sun Valley Dir. He Ping. Mythic tale of a widow, her lover and the taciturn hitman who turns up to kill the lover. (VHS) Swan Song Dir. Zhang Zeming. From the streets of Canton, the powerful story of a father & son betrayed by the “new” China. (VHS) Sympathy for Lady Vengeance Dir. Park Chan-Wook, 2005. A woman seeks revenge on the man who caused her wrongful imprisonment for the murder of a child. South Korean. The Temptation of a Monk Dir. Clara Law. An epic story of love, lust and betrayal set in 7th century China. Travellers and Magicians Dir. Khyentse Norbu. A kind of Buddhist road movie set in Bhutan. The Valley of the Flowers Dir. Pan Nalin, 2006. An epic Himalayan saga spanning 2 centuries from the Silk Road on 19th Century to Japan of the 20th Century. The Warlords Dir. Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Hong Kong 2007. Jet Li stars in this Mandarin language heroic epic about three brothers and their struggles in the midst of war and political upheaval. The Way Home Dir. Jeong-Hyang Lee. Korean drama. The Weeping Camel Dir. Luigi Falorni & Byambasuren Davaa. Poignant Mongolian drama about the birth of a rare white camel. Windhorse Dir. Paul Wagner & Thupten Tsering. Tibetan drama. (VHS) Yi Yi/ A One and a Two Dir. Edward Yang. A moving account accross three generations of a family of the ways people cope with crises and emotional setbacks. Taiwanese.
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