Monsoon
A masterful and poignant reflection on self-identity, queerness and migration…Questions of identity, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality and colonialism are nothing if not a recurring theme in cultural...
View ArticleYour Name Engraved Herein
This engaging film tells the story of two gay schoolboys who struggle to express their love for each other in a society that stigmatises them…In a scene midway through Your Name Engraved Herein, the...
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The Bride With White Hair
A peak moment of wuxia ‘wire-fu’ from which there was no coming back… With its perfect casting of Hong Kong film idols Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin, masterful cinematography by future Oscar-winner...
View ArticleWhen a Woman Ascends the Stairs
A hostess approaching 30 sees fewer days ahead in a male-dominated world, in Mikio Naruse’s understated kitchen sink drama… Mikio Naruse’s When A Woman Ascends the Stairs is a very depressing affair...
View ArticleThe Invisible Man Appears
Adachi’s mystery sci-fi film remains, after all these years, a highly entertaining narrative… The Invisible Man Appears (1949), written and directed by Nobuo Adachi, is one of the earliest surviving...
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Beyond The Dream
To say that this HK social issue indie was a surprise blockbuster and delight is quite the understatement… The issue of mental illness is not something that’s completely swept under the rug in Hong...
View ArticleChungking Express
Chance encounters in love are never quite as they seem… Two love stories overlap: a cop, pining for his lost girl, encounters a blonde wigged girl who is ending a crime-filled day from hell. Cop 223...
View ArticleTropical Malady
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s audacious jump into the dream world is the calling card of a truly unique filmmaker… Tropical Malady – and indeed the entire output of Apichatpong Weerasethakul – remains...
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In The Mood For Love
Unrequited love never looked so good in this new version of a timeless classic… In the Mood for Love has been one of my biggest blind spots in Hong Kong cinema, let alone Wong Kar-Wai’s filmography....
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The Benny Chan Cops & Robbers Rundown Part 1: What a Hero!
Chan ironically begins his run in his signature genre with something totally unlike anything that would follow… In honour of the forthcoming release of the late Benny Chan‘s Raging Fire, we look back...
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Fallen Angels
Wong Kar-wai’s oneiric and vivacious journey to the Hong Kong underworld… Though some contrarians will no doubt disagree, the overriding aesthetic of Wong Kar Wai’s most iconic films is the urban ennui...
View ArticleFlowers of Shanghai
All that glitters is not always gold in the tea rooms of 19th century Shanghai… In turn of the last century Shanghai, Master Wang (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is angry with the courtesan Crimson (Michiko...
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The Benny Chan Cops & Robbers Rundown Part 2: Man Wanted
More notable for length and violence than narrative strength or cohesion, there’s still a lot of classic HK packed here… In honour of the forthcoming release of the late Benny Chan‘s Raging Fire, we...
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Wild Search
Ringo Lam crafted a tighter composite of Golden Age Hong Kong and Chow Yun-fat’s talent than probably thought possible… As if it’s news to anyone in the loop, there was a world-changing action movie...
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Madalena
The first film from Macau to premiere in Udine’s Far East Film Festival. And no, it’s not about gambling and casinos… Set in 2008 Macau, Lena (Chrissie Chau) is a Chinese immigrant working as a...
View ArticleMy Missing Valentine
Overflowing with energy, this film takes the typical Taiwanese rom-com genre in new and interesting directions… Lots of things go missing in this film. Fathers. Prospective boyfriends. Even important...
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My Missing Valentine
A post office worker is waiting for her Mr Right but then things go (slightly) wrong on Valentine’s Day… My Missing Valentine is the parallel stories of two people. Yang Hsiao-chi (Patty Lee) is a...
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Just 1 Day
A sugar-coated story about conservation in a fast revolving metropolitan city… “Beautiful things are always fleeting.” Just 1 Day makes its theme very clear from the start. It’s a sugar-coated love...
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Sensei, Would You Please Sit with Me?
An irresistibly quirky and inventive examination of the challenges of marriage and/or adultery thru manga… Manga is quite arguably the most universally enjoyed and conveniently accessible form of...
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May 13th, Night of Sorrow
A fascinating jazzy melodrama marking a Taiwan in transition towards modernity… In almost any time and place in cinema, normally when a film is named after a specific date you’d expect it not to be...
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