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.
Ilo Ilo (2013)
7.3/10
In 90s Singapore, the friendship between Filipino nursemaid Teresa and her young charge Jiale makes waves in a family, while the Asian recession hits... 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
A Touch of Sin (2013)
7.1/10
Director: Zhangke Jia
Starring: Zhao Tao, Wang Baoqiang, Wu Jiang, Lanshan Luo, Li Meng
Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival... Read more
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)
6.8/10
Director: Stephen Chow
Starring: Shu Qi, Zhang Wen, Bo Huang, Show Luo, Shing-Cheung Lee, Bingqiang Chen, Sihan C...
This is a world plagued by demons, who cause its human inhabitants unspeakable suffering. Young demon hunter Xuan Zang, fearlessly guided by his belie... Read more
The Assassins (2012)
5.6/10
Director: Linshan Zhao
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Yifei Liu, Hiroshi Tamaki
During the tumultuous era of the Three Kingdoms, aging monarch and warrior Cao Cao (Chow Yun-Fat) edges closer to achieving supreme power as China's n... Read more
Dangerous Liaisons (2012)
5.9/10
Director: Hur Jin-ho
Starring: Lisa Lu, Zhang Ziyi, Cecilia Cheung, Dong-gun Jang, Shawn Dou
1930s Shanghai: the glamorous, tumultuous "Paris of the East" whose salons, streets and bedrooms frame this Chinese adaptation of the French novel "Le... Read more
The Flowers of War (2011)
7.6/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Christian Bale, Ni Ni
In 1937 China, an American mortician (Christian Bale) come to Nanking to deal with a monk's burial finds himself trapped by the Japanese occupation of... Read more
White Vengeance (2011)
6.3/10
Director: Daniel Lee
Starring: Leon Lai, Yifei Liu, Zhang Hanyu, Shaofeng Feng
In a time of tyranny and oppression, deception is everywhere. Insurgency swells among the people as two friends battle for supremacy - and the love of... Read more
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011)
6/10
Director: Tsui Hark
Starring: Jet Li, Xun Zhou, Chen Kun, Mavis Fan
In Tsui Hark's epic wuxia thriller, Jet Li plays a swordsman at war with the reigning forces holding power during the Ming Dynasty, while a concubine... Read more
The Sorcerer and the White Snake ( Blu-ray ) (2011)
5.9/10
Director: Tony Ching Siu-Tung
Starring: Jet Li, Charlene Choi, Eva Huang, Raymond Lam
White Snake (Eva Huang) in the guise of a beautiful woman falls in love with a young herbalist, Xu Xian (Raymond Lam). At her own risk but with the he... Read more