Before Next Spring is a humanistic look at a group of young Chinese students working in Japan. Based on the experiences of first-time director Li Gen during his own time studying abroad in Japan, the film proves a strong debut Read More
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Incantation is the latest Taiwanese film to try bridging traditionally Taiwanese elements with contemporary horror (other recent examples include 2019 hit Detention). The film has been highly successful at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Taiwanese movie of 2022 thus far. In fact, the film’s distributors tout it as being the highest-grossing Taiwanese horror movie of all time; the film made 23 million NT in its first three days in theaters. It may not be surprising, then, that Netflix will soon distribute Incantation internationally. Read More
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a triumph. The film can be categorized as “Asian American film,” but it is much more than that—Everything Everywhere All at Once is bold, innovative, and high-concept, while managing to engage with personal themes Read More
Although there have been several short fiction films about the 2019 Hong Kong protests, such as “Night is Young” and “Lost Pearl,” May You Stay Forever Young (少年) is perhaps the first full-length fiction film to address this tumultuous time in recent Hong Kong history. Given increasing censorship in Hong Kong, as with protest documentary Revolution of Our Times, May You Stay Forever Young could only see nationwide theatrical release in Taiwan. The film was in the running for "Best New Director" and "Best Editing" at the 58th Golden Horse Awards. Though it won neither, it did win the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema award at the Golden Horse Film Festival in 2021 Read More
There are few words fit to describe Blue Island, apart from “masterpiece.” The film stands out as an example of its genre, while also managing to be highly powerful and personal Read More
“Shunyata” sets high ambitions, with a frame narrative suggesting religious or spiritual undertones. Likewise, the film aims to dazzle through sound and image. Consequently, it demands concentration in order to mine out meaning Read More
The documentary "Singing in the Wilderness" is a look at a church chorus thrust into China's national stage after fame from participating in a televised singing competition. What makes this chorus especially interesting is that all its members are Miao—one of China's officially recognized ethnic minorities. Unlike the Muslim Uyghurs and Hui or Buddhist Tibetans, the Miao receive little international focus, which makes this documentary especially notable Read More
“Footnote,” directed by Zhengfan Yang, consists primarily of footage of Chicago cityscapes in 2020. The footage is mostly of empty streets, paired with audio from police radio in the background Read More
Anatomy of Time follows Maem, the daughter of a clockmaker, and her relationship with a Thai military officer involved in the violent suppression of the Communist insurgency in the 1960s and 1970s. The film jumps between when the couple is young, as well as late in life, when Maem’s husband, who goes unnamed through the film, is ill and on his deathbed Read More
“The Making of Crime Scenes” follows many of Hsu Che-yu’s usual concerns, in integrating oral history with CGI animation and live-action reenactment Read More
Journey to the West is a magnificent debut for first-time director Kong Dashan. The film is not only excellently edited and shot, but also humanistic and funny; it marks Kong as someone to keep an eye on in future years Read More
American Girl is a family drama, following a family of two girls and their mother and father after they return to Taiwan following a significant stay in the US, with the father having stayed working in Taiwan to support the rest of the family during this time. Their return is due to the fact that the mother of the family has breast cancer and has decided to come back to Taiwan for treatment. However, this results in conflict between the family, with the eldest daughter, 13-year-old Fen, wanting to stay in America and be with her friends and begrudging her mother for her illness Read More