It’s hard not to mention stuff that isn’t already somewhat canonized, what with Hou, Tsai, Wong, and so on. However, I have yet to hear (or see) many people talking about Zhimin Sheng’s great Bliss (Fu sheng) which is actually one of my favorite films of all time!
Woah woah, let’s talk recent. Chungking Express is over ten years old!
From 06:
Still Life
Syndromes and a Century
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone
From 07:
Secret Sunshine
The Sun Also Rises
This could be called a Taiwanese American film
but Lust, Caution by Ang Lee, definitely.
Second Eli’s choices, Still Life and Syndromes and a Century are two of the best movies of the last ten years. Has anyone seen Peacock? I heard that was great. Would it be unfair to suggest all of Johnnie To’s films?
Rica, can you give me a semi-review about Lust, Caution? I’ve been wanting to see it really badly, but havent gotten the chance.
Also, has anyone seen Kim Ki-Duk’s “Spring,Summer,Fall,Winter,…and Spring”? I just picked up the other day and might get around to watching it tonight.
Some of my recent Asian favorites (from this decade): The Vertical Ray of the Sun, In the Mood For Love, All About Lily Chou-Chou, Cafe Lumiere, I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone, The Wayward Cloud, 2046, Three Times, The World
I am really dying to see “Still Life”. I’ve enjoyed all of Jia’s films that I have seen and the trailer for it looks incredible…..
They were not supposed to love each other.
The man was a Chinese collaborator for Japanese government.
The girl was a spy sent from a group of students who were trying to assassinate him.
She approached him, became his mistress. Their encounters became passionate
and the girl realised she was emotionally involved with him, and so was he.
Audacious but classic, very well acted by Tony Leong
and Tang Wei, who has a figure broken out from Chinese ads or posters in 40s and 50s.
She was just an innocent country girl first, then followed her handsome senior at college
to join this group and got beyond the point of no return.
Lust, Caution is a very emotional film which I adore, soul-stirring forever.
How awesome was the performance of Tang Wei in Lust, Caution?? Consider that it was her first feature (as an agent working under a second identity to ensnare a dangerous collaborator)!
I liked the scene in which the girl ambiguously informed the man that he was in danger at a jewelry shop
where he was surrounded by his enemies, when they came to pick up a gorgeous ring he bought for her.
I also liked one in which she picks up and put back away a bottle of poison which she was always carrying
after the man escaped from the jewelry shop, leaving her behind.
Ang Lee is so good at using such details to narrate the characters’ emotions.
He ordered to murder her, which was cruel enough after their involvement,
but I think he made this decision as she was the only one he trusted her and she betrayed this relationship.
You don’t have to be an experienced actor to be in a film.
Camera is an emotional device which can delicately pick up the actors’ mood.
The only ability required for actors is to be able to relate in the situation.
That’s why many newcomers look good in films.
I liked Lust, Caution… and I find the scene where the protagonist sings in Chinese for her lover at a Japanese restaurant particularly touching and remarkable.
Memorable Asian films for me are:
1) The Last Emperor (1987) by Bernardo Bertolucci … which came out 21 years ago… so not that recent.
2) Raise the Red Lantern (1991) by Zhang Yimou… which came out 17 years ago… so not very recent either.
3) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) by Ang Lee… still remember the bamboo grove scene as something quite beautiful
4) Lust, Caution (2007) by Ang Lee…
The Japanese films I know are not so recent either… e.g. Shall We Dansu? (1996) by Masayuki Suo
I wrote this in another discussion but the best recent Japanese film for me is
Spring Snow based on a fiction by Yukio Mishima.
http://www.harunoyuki.jp
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468753/
some of the films listed are are agreeably fantastic, old boy, symphathy for mrs vengeance, and of course we shouldn’t forget vengeance for mr symphathy, tale of two sisters, audition. But i think that my favourite and also recently realised film has to be A bitter sweet life, with a surperb story line and great cinamatography i think this sould go down in history as a classic. i hope there’s plenty who will agree with me
I love Failan and Lost in Time. Both feature Cecilia Cheung coincidentally.
Has anybody watched Tawaa – Okan to Boku to, Tokidoki Oton (2007) by Joji Matsuoka?
English title … Tokyo Tower: My Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad…
www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/tokyo_tower.html
I just came across it on the web and am intrigued by it. Sounds like it might be a good film and it is recent.
My personal favorite Japanese films are:
-End of Evangelion (though it’s not exactly recent)
-Uzumaki (it’s good if you’ve never read the manga)
-Ichi The Killer
-Gozu
-Spirited Away
I want to see the new Evangelion movie, but I can’t find it anywhere.
2046 and the trilogy oldboy, sympathy for mr vengeance, sympathy for mr vengeance are my favourites though internal affairs is also worth wathcing
Oldboy , A bittersweet life, Hana-bi , Ichi the killer and also infernal affairs.
Hana-bi, yeah! Kitano’s new film is at Toronto this year, I hope I can get to see it, as his last two films never made it to the States…
Battle Royale was a real treat.
some standout asian cinema from this decade:
“Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors” (2000), “On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate” (2002), “Tale of Cinema” (2005), “Night and Day” (2008) – Hong Sang-soo
“2046” (2004), “Ashes of Time Redeux” (2008) – Wong Kar Wai
“Barking Dogs Never Bite” (2000), “Memories of Murder” (2003), “Host” (2006) – Joon-ho Bong
“Platform” (2000), “The World” (2004) – Zhang Ke Jia
“Yi Yi” (2000) – Edward Yang
“Tony Takitani” (2004) – Jun Ichikawa
“Tokyo.Sora” (2002) – Hiroshi Ishikawa
“Distance” (2001) – Hirokazu Koreeda
“3-Iron” (2004) – Kim Ki Duk
“Linda Linda Linda” (2005) – Nobuhiro Yamashita
“All About Lily Chou-Chou” (2001), “Hana & Alice” (2004) – Shunji Iwai
“Millennium Mambo” (2001), “Café Lumière” (2003) – Hou Shiao-hsien
“Vertical Ray of the Sun” (2000) – Tran Anh Hung
“What Time is it There?” (2001), “The Wayward Cloud” (2005) – Tsai Ming-liang
“PTU” (2003), “Breaking News” (2004), “Election” (2005), “Exiled” (2006) – Johnny To
there’s a recent japanese film called “fine, totally fine” that is brilliant. not available in the states yet, but out on dvd in japan. other directors that deserve mention are chang dong lee, katsuhito ishii, and joon-hwan jang,
“Also, has anyone seen Kim Ki-Duk’s “Spring,Summer,Fall,Winter,…and Spring”? I just picked up the other day and might get around to watching it tonight.”
I love this movie. The images of the temple floating in the middle of the lake in the Korean mountain-scape are wonderful. I have a soft spot for any movie that delves deeply into Buddhism, such as WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST by Bae Yong-kyon on Milestone, or even SIDDHARTHA by Conrad Rooks (which btw is pretty boring, but beautiful if you’re patient).
And why hasn’t anyone mentioned many of the fantastic movies by Zhang Yimou? HERO is fabulous, as well as most of the earlier Gong Li pictures, such as RED SORGHUM or JU DOU, both of which just cry out for a decent transfer (hint hint, Criterion). RAISE THE RED LANTERN or even TO LIVE or the recent HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS or CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER would be great additions to the collection.
“Jologs” (2002) from the Philippines. The script was exceptional and was filmed cleverly.
Then there’s always “Oro, Plata, Mata” (the best!) from 1983 and “Himala” from 1982 — both from The Experimental Cinema of the Philippines — if one can call the 80s “recent.”
Tropical Malady – Syndromes and a Century
Recent to me would probably be within the last 8 to 10 years or so.
Tony Takitani – 2004
Oldboy, Sympathy for My Vengence, Lady Vengence – 2002-2005
I’m A Cyborg, but that’s Ok – 2006
Nobody Knows – 2004
Postman Blues – 1997 (close enough)
Survive Style 5+ – 2004
Tae Guk Gi – 2004
Take Care Of My Cat was an excellent film, very underrated methinks.
Likewise, Hirokazu Kore’eda’s Distance
Some unmentioned ones:
Ong Bak
Chocolate
Battle Royale
Ip Man
SPL
Audition, The Bird People of China, and other Miike flicks
The Machine Girl
Tokyo Gore Police
The Horse Thief
Yi Yi
Is there SERIOUSLY not one acknowledgment of STRANGE CIRCUS?
Halim Cillov
As a huge fan of Asian Films, I was wondering what are the Best Asian movies that you have seen relatively recently.
My recent favorite movies goes like this:
- In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Happy Together and 2046, (As it is obvious, I am a HUGE fan of Wong Kar Wai)
- 3- Iron ( Kim Ki Duk)
- Oldboy and Sympathy for Mrs. Vengance ( Park Chan Wook)
- The Last Life In the Universe (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
- A Tale of Two Sisters (Kim Ji-woon)
- Take Care of My Cat (Jae-eun Jeong)
- Audition ( Takashi Miike)
- Kids Return ( Takeshi Kitano)
- Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
- Three Times (Hsiao-hsien Hou)
- All About Lily Chou-Chou (Shunji Iwai)