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Asian cinema

Asian cinema
Views, news, and reviews of films from the continent's biggest movie production centres.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Wanrong and Puyi, in Tianjin, circa 1925. Photo: Getty Images

Paul French lifts veil on final months of China’s last emperor in the Forbidden City

It is not the first biography of China’s Puyi, but Paul French’s latest book brings with it a feminine voice of modernity and fully exploits its place in the ‘doomed-monarchy’ sub-genre.

Reading Time:6 minutes
The city of Baguio, on Luzon island, in the Philippines, was favoured by American administrators for its climate. Photo: Thomas Bird

Escape Manila’s heat for northern Luzon’s pine-scented hills and Sagada’s hanging coffins

Reading Time:6 minutes
Nurbol Baimukhanov’s Zhabe horse, Ayan, near Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photo: courtesy Nurbol Baimukhanov

Ode to the horse: 5,000 years of human-equine connection on display in new Kazakh museum

Reading Time:7 minutes
Soy-glazed, fish-sauce-marinated chicken thigh with black-garlic oil at Chiu San. Photo: courtesy Chiu San

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from Sugar Daddy’s creamy pastries to Japanese-Chiuchow fusion fare at Chiu San

Reading Time:2 minutes
Architect Kisho Kurokawa with his creation, Japan’s Nakagin Capsule Tower, in 1972. Photo: Tomio Ohashi/M+

How Japan’s innovative Nakagin Capsule Tower is finding new life

Reading Time:6 minutes
John Yiu, an art historian and the deputy director of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole academic research and cultural centre, at the University of Hong Kong, with his guqin. Photo: Alexander Mak

Hong Kong’s guqin revival bridges ancient philosophy and modern passions

Reading Time:6 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum is staging a retrospective exhibition tracing Japanese artist Mariko Mori’s cosmic journey. The show, which runs from October 31 to March 28, 2027, includes this 1995 work Birth of a Star. Photo: Handout
Art

Mariko Mori’s landmark Tokyo retrospective traces an extraordinary cosmic journey

From 1970s anime to ancient Jōmon culture and Buddhist thought, the Japanese artist’s retrospective explores cosmic connections.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

From Cheng Pei-pei to Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong’s history of action heroines

Wellness

He trained Jet Li. Wu Bin, 89, shares his secrets to great health in old age

European cinema

Best movies from the 2026 Venice Film Festival, including Possible Love and Musk

Indie dramas and documentaries, rather than big Hollywood productions, took the spotlight at this year’s festival. Here are 10 of the best.

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Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk walks to the stage to speak alongside Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Film reviews

Review | Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors: Lav Diaz’s gruelling colonial epic

Director Lav Diaz’s latest film explores colonial terror, faith and resistance in a perilous 17th century jungle in the Philippines.

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K-drama news

Profile | Who is Nana, star of Netflix K-dramas The Scandal and Mask Girl?

Nana’s rise in the industry has been a journey of talent, resilience and reinvention, going from singer and model to bona fide actress.

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On Our Radar

HKLGFF: 37 years of queer cinema, from Leslie Cheung to RuPaul

Asia’s longest-running international LGBTQ film festival invites Hong Kong audiences on an emotional, cinematic ride, with a revamped programming featuring six distinct ‘moods’.

A still from Maspalomas, one of the centrepieces of this year’s Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Photo: HKLGFF
Film reviews

Review | A Bit of Light: Iranian drama about Tehran doctor strikes melancholic chord

Ali Asgari’s Tehran-set drama about an aggrieved doctor who decides to end it all as war looms is well acted but never fully bursts into life.

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Hong Kong society

‘Rest in eternal peace’: veteran horror actor, filmmaker Simon Loui dies at age 62

Long-time friend, fellow actor Frankie Ng reveals to reporters on Friday that Loui lost his battle with gastric cancer earlier this week.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Cantopop lyricist Wyman Wong became a cultural force in Hong Kong

Songwriter for the stars, fashion journalist, LGBTQ activist – Wong’s impact on modern Hong Kong culture cannot be overstated.

Wyman Wong attends the Ultimate Song Chart Awards 2016 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on January 1, 2017. The Hong Kong lyricist, actor and fashionista has written career-defining hits for many Cantopop singers, appeared in various movies, designed and written about fashion, and promoted LGBTQ visibility in his home city. Photo: Visual China Group via Getty Images
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

On This Day | Deanie Ip scores first best actress win for Hong Kong in Venice – SCMP archive

Ip’s portrayal of an ageing domestic servant in Ann Hui’s film won her the prestigious Volpi Cup, the first for a Hongkonger.

Actress Deanie Ip poses with her Volpi Cup. File photo: AFP
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Once Upon a Time in the Middle East: Shen Teng leads anti-war blockbuster

Full of roaring action and heart-wrenching tension, this mainland China hit delivers a message of peace through Chinese cooking appreciation.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

The making of Na Hong-jin’s sci-fi spectacle Hope, most expensive Korean film

The director talks about tension, timelines, sequel potential and a clash of tastes at Cannes as Hope gears up for US and Hong Kong releases.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Arrested Memory: Ethan Ruan leads Sabu’s muddled police thriller

Ethan Ruan plays a detective with memory issues investigating a kidnapping case in this action-packed if confused police procedural.

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Ethan Ruan in a still from Arrested Memory.
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Look Back: Hirokazu Koreeda explores childhood manga dreams

A deep, intense friendship between two schoolgirls is explored in Hirokazu Koreeda’s adaptation of a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto.

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Natsuki Deguchi as the grown-up Fujino in a still from Look Back (category I, Japanese), directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. Aju Makita, Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada co-star.
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Possible Love: Burning director Lee Chang-dong back with another masterpiece

Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong play a rich couple opposite Sul Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon’s have-nots in Lee’s sharp critique of Korean society.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? is a striking portrait of Vietnam war trauma

The Vietnam war drama, in competition at the Venice Film Festival, explores trauma, redemption through a US Marine’s true-life journey.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The wild days of Hong Kong’s Category III era: when sex and gore went mainstream

The adults-only, Category III rating was introduced in 1988, making stars of actresses including Shu Qi and Amy Yip.

Clockwise from left: Elvis Tsui (left) and Shu Qi in a still from Sex and Zen II (1996); Chingmy Yau Suk-ching in a still from Naked Killer (1992); Veronica Yip Yuk-hing in the film, Hidden Desire (1991); Simon Yam Tat-wah in a still from Dr Lamb (1992); Amy Yip Chi-mei in a still from Sex and Zen (1991); The Untold Story. (Pork bun murders) starring Anthony Wong.
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | The Last Song You Left Behind: Japanese teen romance plays a familiar tune

Shunsuke Michieda and Meru Nukumi star as classmates who slowly develop feelings for each other over an unusual musical collaboration.

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US-China relations

Can Chinese sleeper hit Dear You conquer the US box office next?

After grossing nearly US$300 million in mainland China, its North American release will test its popularity beyond Chinese-speaking diaspora.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | I Know Who You Are: Hu Ge leads Chinese spy drama that falters at the finish

Feng Xiaogang’s drama set during the early years of the People’s Republic of China entertains but is let down by an unsatisfying ending.

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Hu Ge as Feng Jingbo, a spy who becomes embroiled in a years-long cat-and-mouse game with a stubborn Beijing official, in a still from I Know Who You Are (category: IIA Mandarin), directed by Feng Xiaogang. Lei Jiayin co-stars.
Crime in Hong Kong

Man, 87, arrested after gravestone of film star Linda Lin Dai found vandalised

Marble altar at Lin’s Happy Valley grave found covered in cement, with police saying cemetery staff reported suspected vandalism.

Linda Lin’s grave at St Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley was previously found damaged. Photo: Edmond So
American cinema

Desk job to Jackie Chan stunts: martial artist Alfred Hsing’s rise in film

After leaving a financial career, the wushu champion became a fight coordinator, stuntman and actor working with some of film’s top stars.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Josie Ho rejected her billionaire heiress destiny for indie filmmaking

Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho’s eighth child has built her own legacy as a musician, award-winning actress and movie producer.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Wakesurf Lovers: Jeffrey Ngai, Renci Yeung make a splash in uneven sports drama

Full of beautiful bodies but paper-thin characters, Fung Chih-chiang’s film about wakesurfing and cybershaming drifts nowhere in particular.

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Renci Yeung (left) and Jeffrey Ngai in a still from Wakesurf Lovers (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Fung Chih-chiang.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

The Chinese Mulholland Drive? Why ‘so bad it’s good’ film Niu Lai is special

Initially mocked, the low-budget film by a first-time animator and his mum is now being hailed as a bastion of hard work and free expression.

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A still from Niu Lai, a Chinese micro-budget animated feature by Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang. Met with memes and widespread mockery upon its release on August 5, 2026, the movie has since become a must-see box-office hit that has made millions. Photo: courtesy of Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Ronny Yu and Jet Li made Fearless (2006) a martial arts masterpiece

Director Ronny Yu put Jet Li’s martial arts skills and acting chops to good use in this classic, blending superb fights and a human story.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | A Mighty Adventure: wordless animation by McDull director is breezy if flawed

Hong Kong director Toe Yuen’s film about insects surviving the city is a visual marvel, though dialogue would have made it more expressive.

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