Chinese Movies

Aftershock

The epic story of a family separated as a result of the Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.

Blue Kite, The

Banned in China, where the director was under close government scrutiny for making the film without permission. The Blue Kite is the most acclaimed and controversial of all of the films to come out of the new Chinese cinema. Told from the perspective of a young boy. Tietou, it traces the fate of a Beijing family and their neighbors as they experience the political and social upheavals in 1950's and 60's China. Tietou's parents, a librarian and school teacher, both loyal communist party members, soon learn that even the most innocent criticisms can be interpreted by the Party as imperialist propaganda. Over the next fifteen years, Tietou observes the adverse effects of party policy on various members of his family. The only image of hope and freedom offered in the film is a blue kite give to Tietou by his father, which he later passes on to the next generation.

City of Life and Death: 2-Disc Special Edition

On December 9, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to the Chinese capital of Nanking, beginning a reign of terror that killed as many as 300,000 civilians - an infamous tragedy now referred to as the Rape of Nanking

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically skilled, adolescent nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.

Early Spring

Adapted from the Novel of February Around the turn of 1926, a young confusing man called Xiao Jianqiu comes to Furong Zheng and works as a teacher. He shows great concern for a widow called Sister Wen but he loves a landlord's daughter more.Later Sister Wen's son dies of disease and Xiao Jianqiu decides to marry her so as to help her, which brings about a lot of gossip and Sister Wen commits suicide feeling degraded and so Xiao leaves the town indignantly and throws himself into the reforming current of the time.

Eat Drink Man Woman

Trouble is cooking forwidower and master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) who's about to discover that no matter how dazzling and delicious his culinary creations might be, they're no match for the libidinous whims of his three beautiful but rebellious daughters. A master in the kitchen, Chu is at a loss when it comes to the ingredients of being a father. Every Sunday, he whips up a delicacy of dishes for his ungrateful daughters, who are so self-consumed that they don't see his attempt at showing them lovegastronomically.So, as relationships sour and communications break down, Chu concocts a sure-fire recipe that will bring his family back together: He creates his own love affair to rival his daughters' affections!

Empress Dowager, The

Empress Dowager Cixi ruled over China for close to half a century. She had limitless greed and power over family and her subjects. Indeed she had a sharp political sense and decisive practices but under her rule the Qing Dynasty grew more and more corrupt and lost its power. The story of the Empress Dowager and the last Emperor of China have been the subject of many films, this one being a notable screen adaptation of the Empress Dowager's life.

Great Wall, A

European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Hot Summer Days

'Hot Summer Days' shares six entwined stories in which people strive to discover the true meaning of love, where the heat ignites emotions and changes lives forever.

Lijiang: Cultural Evolution

Cultural Evolution', a student-produced cultural documentary, focuses on views from various generations in Lijiang on the social and economic changes in the past 20 years. This presentation demonstrates how the documentary is integrated to the curriculum to enhance cultural understanding and improve language proficiency. Feedback from students will also be included.

New Police Story

A hero cop accidentally leads his team into a trap from which he is the only survivor. Drowning his guilt in booze, he is eventually assigned a new younger partner who turns out to have his own secrets.

Please Vote for Me

Democracy in China exists, that is, in a primary school in Wuhan where a grade 3 class can vote who they want as class monitor.

Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles

For the first time in years, aging fisherman Takata Gou-ichi boards a bullet train to Tokyo when he learns his estranged son is gravely ill. But at the hospital, his son refuses to see him. Daughter-in-law Rie urges Takata to watch a videotape of a documentary his son was filming in rural China. Moved by what he sees, Takata vows to complete his son's work. Though laden with obstacles, his odyssey into the heart of China and the kinship he develops with a fatherless boy and the villagers who care for him recaptures a sense of family he thought he had lost a long time ago.

Slanted Screen, The

From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle, the Slanted Screen examines the portrayal Asian men in film and television, and how new filmmakers are now re-defining age-old stereotypes. Includes interviews with actors Mako, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, James Shigeta, Dustin Nguyen, Will Yun Lee, Phillip Rhee, Tzi Ma, comedian Bobby Lee, producer Terence Chang, casting director Heidi Levitt and directors Gene Cajayon and Eric Byler. The film contains over 50 film clips of depictions of Asian American male characters from Hollywood films spanning almost a century. It asks why and how stereotypic portrayals continue to persist, and why the roles for Asian American men are diminishing while the Asian American population is increasing.

Story of Qiu Ju, The

A humorous fable of justice that traverses shot in the north of China. Gong Li plays Qiu Ju, a tenacious farmer determined to right a wrong done to her husband. Defying all stereotypes of the passiveChinese woman, she remains unbowed by the frustrations of bureaucracy in her quixotic search for dignity.

Taiwan: Beyond Your Expectations

Gina and Andy are two self-styled cynics who are coerced into dating by their coupled friends and co-workers. Gina ropes Andy into co-writing a progressive feminist children's book, and the book becomes a surrogate for their insecure but slowly budding affections. But before they can be together, they must juggle co-dependent roommates, depressive ex-es, a divorce, a wedding and burnt Peking duck.

Warm Spring

Seeking refuge from abusive foster parents, 8-year-old orphan Xiao Hua runs away and finds safety under the care of a poor, illiterate old man from another village. Despite his lack of money and despite being taunted by friends, the elderly man does everything in his power to protect the young child he believes was delivered to him by fate.