Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Non-Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far)- Part Two (1-50)
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Non-Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far)- Part One 110-51
Zhou Jinghao Girl on Edge (Zhou Jinghao, 2025) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival series. There are two kinds of cinephile: those who hear a movie described as “Black Swan on ice” and sneer, noses upturned, their one line one-and-a-half star
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke A Useful Ghost (Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, 2025) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival series. One day, noticing an influx of dust into their apartment due to some construction outside, a person known only as an “academic ladyboy” (as they call
Min Kyudong The Old Woman with the Knife (Min Kyudong, 2025) Look, I’m only human. You tell me there’s a movie where a woman plays a professional killer, and I’m in. I love Girls with Guns movies, from the certified classics starring the classy stars like Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock to the early 90s underground of Moon
Shi Shujun Girl Students' Dormitory (Shi Shujun, 1983) Just concluded at the BAM in New York was a very cool series of films that were set and filmed in Wuhan. Programmed by CineCina’s Frank Yan, the series explored different aspects of the city that’s become notable in recent years as the epicenter of the COVID pandemic.
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far) - Part Three: 1-39
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far) - Part Two: 79-40
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far) - Part One: 110-80
Yamanaka Yoko Desert of Namibia (Yamanaka Yoko, 2024) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the Museum of the Moving Image's 2025 First Look series. At first, Yamanaka Yoko’s Desert of Namibia seems to be just another entry in what I’m calling Millennium
Paid-members only Contemporary Chinese (Streaming) Cinema The MIYA Memo: Shell Girl (Wang Xia, 2024) and Female Special Police Officer (Zhang Zhen, 2022)
Rithy Panh Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot (Rithy Panh, 2024) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 Rendez-vous with French Cinema series. It’s been over a decade now since I caught Rithy Panh’s The Missing Picture at the Vancouver Film Festival. His chronicle of his
Paid-members only Contemporary Chinese (Streaming) Cinema More Condors, More Heroes: The Dragon Tamer (Diao Yu and Zhu Lingfeng, 2021) and What is love (Lin Zhenzhao, 2025)
Miike Takashi Blue Fight (aka Blazing Fists) (Miike Takashi, 2025) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam. I watched two films for this year’s IFFR. One was the smash hit Hong Kong family melodrama set in the world of funerals The Last
Anselm Chan The Last Dance (Anselm Chan, 2024) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam. It may be somewhat surprising to learn that The Last Dance in 2024 became the highest-grossing (domestic) film in Hong Kong history, if only because we’
