Chinese Cinema
Alice's collection of Chinese films is growing as the film industry there expands and begins to embrace an ever-increasing international audience. Films from China are often marked by great craft and attention to detail, and the stories are involved and often carry a political subtext. Though we have very little that is pre-1990, there is everything here from engaging personal stories to sweeping historical epics.
Pictured: Maggie Cheung in the stylized and breath-takingly beautiful 'Hero' from master craftsman Zhang Yimou.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
7.3/10
Director: Dai Sijie
Starring: Xun Zhou, Chen Kun, Liu Ye
Set in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s, the story follows Luo (Chen Kun) and Ma (Liu Ye), two young men from the city who are sent t... Read more
Beijing Bicycle (2002)
7.3/10
Director: Wang Xiao-Shuai
Starring: Xun Zhou, Cui Lin, Li Bin
Director/co-scripter Wang Xiao-Shuai's Sino-flavoured take on De Sica's "The Bicycle Thief" follows a rural Chinese youth who comes to Beijing and lan... Read more
Springtime in a Small Town (2002)
7/10
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Starring: Xin Baiqing, Wu Jun, Hu Jingfan
An assured return from Tian Zhuangzhuang ("The Blue Kite") with his first film for ten years. Beautifully capturing the setting of a once-grand mansio... Read more
Mountain Patrol ( Kekexili ) (2004)
7.7/10
Director: Lu Chuan
Starring: Duobuji , Zhang Li, Qi Liang, Zhao Xueying
Based on the true story of Beijing reporter, Ga Yu, who travelled to the remote mountain region of Kekexili on China's Tibetan border to cover a story... Read more
Platform (2000)
7.4/10
Director: Jia Zhang-ke
Starring: Wang Hong-wei, Zhao Tao, Liang Jing-dong, Yang Tian-yi
Aka "Zhantai". Jia Zhang-ke's ambitious film follows the lives of four friends over a turbulent 10 year period of Chinese history, from 1979 to 1989.... Read more
The Nightingale (2013)
7/10
Director: Phillipe Muyl
Starring: Boatian Li, Xiaoran Li, Xin Yi Yang
Zhigen, an old Chinese farmer, has lived alone in Beijing for over 20 years after moving to the city to allow his son Chongyi to attend university. He... Read more
Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker (1995)
7/10
Director: He Ping
Starring: Ning Jing, Wu Gang, Zhao Xiaorui, Gao Yang
A beautiful woman is torn between loyalty to her ancestral heritage and her sensual desire for a rebellious artist. A visually stunning film set again... Read more
Together (2002)
7.4/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Tang Yun, Liu Peiqi, Chen Hong, Wang Zhiwen, Chen Kaige
Moving drama from director Chen Kaige ("Farewell My Concubine") centers on a 13-year-old violin prodigy whose father takes him from their small provin... Read more
Fearless (2006)
7.7/10
Director: Ronny Yu
Starring: Jet Li, Shido Nakamura, Betty Sun, Nathan Jones, Brandon Rhea, Anthony De Longis...
Rumoured (sadly) to be Jet Li's last wushu film this epic biopic tells the story of Chinese national hero and founder of the Jingwu Sports Federation,... Read more
The Emperor and the Assassin (1999)
7.3/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, Sun Zhou, Lu Xiaohe, Wang Zhiwen
This lavishly produced, epic historical drama is set in the third century B.C. and tells the multi-faceted story of the man who became the first Emper... Read more