Marshy's Favourite Asian Movies of 2016/2017
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- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHidetoshi NishijimaYûko TakeuchiToru BabaTakakura is a former detective. He receives a request from his ex-colleague, Nogami, to examine a missing family case that occurred six years earlier. Takakura follows Saki's memory. She is the only surviving family member from the case. Meanwhile, Takakura and his wife Yasuko recently moved into a new home. Their neighbor, Nishino, has a sick wife and a young teen daughter. One day, the daughter, Mio, tells him that the man is not her father and she doesn't know him at all.After the low-key Journey to the Shore, Kiyoshi Kurosawa returns to the more familiar end of the horror genre, following a cop and his wife as they move to a new suburban neighbourhood, only for their oh-so-odd neighbour to strangely ingratiate himself into their home and lives. Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yûko Takeuchi and the always brilliant Teruyuki Kagawa star.
- DirectorMani HaghighiStarsAmir JadidiEhsan GoodarziHomayoun GhanizadehAn orange Chevrolet Impala drives across a cemetery towards an abandoned shipwreck in the middle of a desert landscape. It is the 22nd of January, 1965. The day before, the Iranian prime minister was shot dead in front of the parliament building.Certainly one of the more bizarre entries on this list, Mani Haghighi infuses a whodunnit thriller set in 60s pre-revolutionary Iran with a noirish Hollywood tone, thumping rock soundtrack, surreal imagery and occasional leaps into mockumentary. An apparent suicide in an abandoned house near a shipwreck by a cemetery in the middle of the desert (got all that?) is just the trigger for a series of dreamlike events, including disappearances, betrayals and an examination of cinema itself. Wholly unique and definitely worth seeking out.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsKim Min-heeHa Jung-wooCho Jin-woongA woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.Park Chan-wook, the Korean wunderkind who spearheaded his nation’s recent cinematic charge onto the world stage, returns home with his first Korean film since 2009’s Thirst. Adapted from the British novel Fingersmith, The Handmaiden is a visually lush, thematically audacious and riotously camp thriller set almost entirely within the vast estate of an eccentric Japanese aristocrat. Newcomer Kim Tae-ri is mesmerising as the new housemaid, who’s presence is part of a scheme to rob the estate’s young heiress (Kim Min-hee) of her fortune and freedom. What follows is an absurd game of sexual exploration and exploitation that is as morally questionable as it is stylistically ravishing.
- DirectorShinsuke SatoStarsYô ÔizumiKasumi ArimuraMasami NagasawaA manga artist assistant is surprised by a zombie apocalypse.Just when you thought the zombie movie had nothing new to offer, along comes I am a Hero, adapted from the manga by Kengo Hanazawa. Borrowing liberally from the likes of Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead, the film follows an awkward manga illustrator - with a diligent love of skeet shooting and prone to flights of fantasy - who finds himself amidst a full-blown zombie apocalypse. Striking the perfect balance between genuine laughs and shocking violence, I am a Hero is riotously entertaining from start to finish and the best zombie movie in a good many years.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsYûko TakeuchiAi HashimotoKentarô SakaguchiAn author of mystery-novels helps a student to uncover the tragic story of the people who lived in her apartment before which is filled with anger, hatred, murder and suicide.It has been a long time since Japan produced a genuinely scary horror film to match the modern classics of the late 90s and early 2000s. Likewise, director Yoshihiro Nakamura has had a rather uneven few years after finding widespread acclaim for the likes of Fish Story and A Boy and his Samurai. Therefore, what a great relief it is to discover that The Inerasable can sit proudly alongside the likes of The Ring and Dark Water (which Nakamura also wrote). Yuko Takeuchi (who also appears in Creepy) plays a popular author of mystery novels who investigates strange goings on in an apartment building, only to unearth a long-buried and truly terrifying secret.
- DirectorMin-ho WooStarsLee Byung-hunCho Seung-wooBaek Yun-shikA former political henchman seeks out revenge for being dropped by a ruthless politician while a determined investigator tries to find proof of a connection between the two of them.After a tough year, Lee Byung-hun bounces back in fine style with this typically slick and polished thriller, exposing the corruption ingrained within large conglomerates, political parties and even the media in contemporary South Korea. After getting burned by his superiors, Lee’s mid-level enforcer forms an unlikely alliance with Cho Seung-woo’s ambitious prosecutor, also disillusioned and frustrated by high level cronyism. The results are bloody and stylish, featuring an abundance of grown men shouting at each other.
- DirectorStephen ChowStarsChao DengShow LoYuqi ZhangShan, a mermaid, is sent to assassinate Xuan, a developer who threatens the ecosystem of her race, but ends up falling in love with him instead.Stephen Chow’s latest romantic comedy proved a monster Chinese New Year hit and currently stands as the most successful movie of all time at the Chinese box office. Newcomer Jelly Lin plays the titular mermaid, tasked with seducing Deng Chao’s womanising property developer, who is threatening to destroy their aquatic enclave. The results are typically manic, goofy and surprisingly touching, with Show Lo’s Octopus stealing the show. While in no way can this really qualify as a Hong Kong movie, it’s great to see that Chow can still deliver the goods.
- DirectorHerman YauStarsChapman ToGregory WongPhilip KeungWhen a gang boss is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he looks to two of his lieutenants to take over.Hugely prolific Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau has made a number of films over the years beloved by readers of these pages, not least his grotesque collaborations with Anthony Wong, namely The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome. In the wake of 2014’s Umbrella Revolution, Yau and Wong teamed up with Chapman To, one of only a few other local celebrities to publicly support the 75-day protest, to mold this deliciously satirical triad flick through which they can vent their frustrations.
The Dragon Head elections are imminent, with candidates selected and ultimately voted for by an elite collective of senior gangsters. Chuck (To), who is in contention himself, leads the charge to give every man their right to vote in who will become the new triad leader. While the results may not be as polished as Johnnie To’s Election films, they are certainly more direct in their refusal to take China’s rule over Hong Kong lying down. - DirectorSoi CheangStarsAaron KwokGong LiShaofeng FengWhen a travelling monk is stranded in a wasteland, The Monkey King must escort him across the land to retrieve sacred scriptures and protect him from an evil demon.After the unholy debacle that was 2014’s The Monkey King, the prospect of a sequel was understandably unappetising, though inevitable considering the ton of cash the film made on the mainland. With Donnie Yen - honestly the only positive element of the first film - relinquishing his hold on Sun Wukong, Aaron Kwok steps into the lead role, again for director Soi Cheang, to tell the part of the epic Journey to the West probably most familiar to Western audiences. Tasked with shepherding a young monk to Northern India, the pair is joined by a water demon and a half-man, half-pig and set off on a multitude of adventures. Gong Li is fantastic as the villain here - a baby-eating spirit in search of eternal youth - while slicker CGI and a genuine sense of fun ensure The Monkey King 2 is a huge improvement.
- DirectorJevons AuKiwi ChowZune KwokStarsBrenda ChanCow ChanFun-Kei ChanFive short films set in Hong Kong in the year 2025.Far and away the most important film to come out of Hong Kong in the past 12 months, Ten Years was not only banned on the mainland, but when it received a Best Picture nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards, the entire ceremony was dropped by every TV channel north of the border. And then it won, beating out Philip Yung’s Port of Call - and giving the entire local industry an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction for China’s handling of the Umbrella Revolution (albeit anonymously). Suffice to say, Beijing was not happy.
An anthology of five speculative stories imagining Hong Kong under Chinese rule a decade from now, the film may not be the most technically proficient piece of cinema you'll see this year, but its ideas, messages and fears absolutely need to be heard. - DirectorJevons AuFrank HuiVicky WongStarsRichie JenJordan ChanKa-Tung LamIn early 1997, mobsters Kwai Ching-hung, Yip Kwok-foon and Cheuk Tze-keung, whom have never met one another, are all in Hong Kong. Thereafter, rumour has it that Hong Kong's three most notorious mobsters, known in the underworld as the "Three Kings of Thieves", are plotting together to score a final hit before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong. However, none are initially aware of the rumour. Yip is living as a fugitive after a gunfight with the Royal Hong Kong Police. He now makes his fortunes by smuggling counterfeit electronics. Powerful and prestigious in the past, Yip must now grovel to high Chinese officials. Although successful in his business, he becomes depressed. When the rumour comes to him, he feels the urge to give up everything and pick up his gun once again to join forces with the others. Kwai is very cautious and uses several pseudonyms to hide his identity. Although the scale of his crimes is nowhere as large as Yip's and Cheuk's, but he has managed to commit repeated robberies that are totally unknown to the police. Small-scale robberies, which have become his expertise, have minimal risk but also little profit. As he hears of the rumour, he realizes that he will make a large fortune by collaborating with Yip and Cheuk. He initially restrains himself and chooses to ignore it. However, Cheuk begins to have second thoughts. Cheuk has recently abducted the son of a rich tycoon and successfully extorted a ransom, all while under police surveillance. Wanting to raise the bar for himself, he hears about the rumour and becomes obsessed with the idea, going to extreme lengths to seek out Yip and Kwai.The best Hong Kong movie of the year so far is a three-pronged crime thriller produced by Johnnie To. Directed by up-and-coming filmmakers Jevons Au (one of the five directors responsible for Ten Years), Frank Hui and Vicky Wong, Trivisa follows three criminals - each of whom believes themselves to be Hong Kong's “King of Thieves” - who hear rumours of an apparent team-up, so set out to make it a reality. Jordan Chan, Richie Ren and Gordon Lam star, with each director following one of these three principals, all ably supported by a raft of familiar Milkyway players. Set in the lead up to the 1997 Handover, the film effortlessly evokes the golden era of Hong Kong action, while also teasing at the city’s current uncertain climate. The result is a top drawer crime drama and one of the year’s best films.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsJun KunimuraHwang Jung-minKwak Do-wonSoon after a stranger arrives in a little village, a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman, drawn into the incident, is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.Six years after The Yellow Sea, Na Hong-jin finally delivers a new film, and boy was it worth the wait. Opening as a typical small-town murder mystery, The Wailing spirals into a full-blown supernatural nightmare for slobbish copper Jong-goo (a fantastic performance from Kwak Do-wan), when his community turns against a mysterious Japanese resident (Jun Kunimura), and a big city shaman (Hwang Jung-min) is called in to help. A nerve-shredding rollercoaster that blends elements of Memories of Murder and The Exorcist as it builds towards an insane, morally ambiguous finale, The Wailing is the best South Korean thriller to emerge in quite some time.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoGong YooKorean resistance fighters smuggle explosives to destroy facilities controlled by Japanese forces in this period action thriller.After a questionable US outing helming Schwarzenegger’s comeback The Last Stand, Kim Jee-woon returns home with this richly staged, relentlessly exciting spy thriller. Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo and Lee Byung-hun headline, but it’s Eom Tae-goo who steals the show, as a delightfully sinister Japanese officer looking to foil a plot to bring explosives into occupied Seoul.
- DirectorJunfeng BooStarsFirdaus RahmanWan Hanafi SuMastura AhmadInevitably, a transfer to a maximum security prison will eventually challenge the integrity and ethics of a young correctional officer on his way to become a chief executioner.Only 33 years old, Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng is fast making a name for himself in Asia’s arthouse arena, not least because of this crackling prison drama. Firdaus Rahman plays a junior prison guard, who is enlisted to train under the institution’s resident executioner (Wan Hanafi Su), the man responsible for hanging his father.
- DirectorBenny ChanStarsChing Wan LauEddie PengLouis KooA group of villagers must stand up to a warlord's psychopath son, who is protected by a Commander with proficient martial arts skills as well as a small army.Benny Chan embraces the Wild West roots of his period actioner, which sees small town sheriff Lau Ching-wan taking a stand against an encroaching warlord after his spoilt heir (Louis Koo) commits murder. Eddie Peng, Wu Jing and Yuan Quan round out the cast, with Sammo Hung providing action duties, in this hugely entertaining stand-off that local critics read as a thinly-veiled allegory for Hong Kong’s increasingly volatile relationship with mainland China.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsMatt DamonTian JingWillem DafoeIn ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.Universal and Legendary’s preposterous fantasy epic sounded like a terrible idea from the get-go, with Matt Damon playing a rogue mercenary who bands together with Chinese forces to defend their eponymous structure against an army of reptilian monsters. But while the film is flat-out ridiculous, it is also quite a lot of fun. Andy Lau, Willem Dafoe, Eddie Peng and Pedro Pascal are given very little to do, but Damon and Jing Tian’s military prodigy at least appear to be enjoying themselves.
- DirectorXiaogang FengStarsBingbing FanWei FanXiaogang FengAfter being swindled by her ex-husband, a woman takes on the Chinese legal system.Fan Bingbing is fantastic as a down-trodden villager tricked by her philandering husband, who wants their divorce overruled so she can do it again on her own terms. When the local judge palms her off, she takes on the system, beginning a 10-year battle that leads all the way to Beijing. What follows is a razor-sharp bureaucratic satire that manipulates formal cinematic conventions in all manner of fascinating ways.
- DirectorDante LamStarsHanyu ZhangEddie PengBaoguo ChenInspired by the true story known as the Mekong Massacre--two Chinese commercial vessels are ambushed while traveling down the Mekong River in the waters of the Golden Triangle, one of the largest drug-manufacturing regions in the world. 13 sailors are executed at gunpoint, and 900,000 methamphetamine pills are recovered at the scene. Upon discovery, the Chinese government immediately sends a band of elite narcotics officers led by Captain Gao Gang (Zhang Hanyu) to the Golden Triangle to uncover the truth behind the murders. Tea field owner and Golden Triangle-based intelligence officer Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) joins the investigation. After it is discovered that the drugs seized on the Chinese ships had been planted by the henchman of a notorious drug cartel leader named Naw Khar, the governments of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China launch a joint task force to apprehend the criminal. The road to justice is, however, paved with dangerous and deadly obstacles.After spreading his wings with sporting dramas Unbeatable and To The Fore, Dante Lam returns to what he does best in blistering fashion with this high-octane action spectacular set in Asia’s Golden Triangle. Zhang Hanyu and Eddie Peng team up to take down an international drugs syndicate, leading to all manner of shoot-outs, smackdowns and top flight carnage. There’s also a great supporting role for a badass police dog.
- DirectorYûji ShimomuraStarsTak SakaguchiYura KondoTakumi SaitôA legend covert soldier with a mysterious past now decides to once again unleash his beast inside of him to stand up for what he cares about.After a semi-forced retirement clearly didn’t take, Japanese martial arts star Tak Sakaguchi returns to the screen in this pioneering action flick from the director of Death Trance. In collaboration with fight choreographer Yoshitaka Inagawa, the film showcases a brutal new form of close-quarters combat that leads to a blood-splattered third act to rival anything you will see on screen this year.
- DirectorHideaki AnnoShinji HiguchiStarsHiroki HasegawaYutaka TakenouchiSatomi IshiharaJapan is plunged into chaos upon the appearance of a giant monster.It seems to be no easy task bringing Godzilla to the big screen these days, or doing so in a manner that appeases his millions of fans all over the world. Over a decade since his last official appearance on home turf, the king of monsters returns to Toho for his 29th official appearance, and the response has been mixed. What emerges is a full-blown political satire, that throws as many barbs at the Japanese government's handling of the 2011 Tohoku disaster as it does pay loving homage to Ishiro Honda’s 1954 original, and when it works, it's great
- DirectorTung-Shing YeeStarsKenny LinPeter HoYiyan JiangHong Kong cinema giants Derek Yee and Tsui Hark join forces in this 3D martial arts epic, about an elite swordsman who is haunted by his skill, and a challenger who aims to take his place at all costs.Derek Yee teams up with producer Tsui Hark to remake the Chor Yuen classic that made him a star back in 1977. Swapping out the vibrant Shaw Brothers sets for immersive 3D and fantastical digital landscapes, Sword Master embraces its artificiality and dives headlong into a tale of rival swordsmen, hidden identities and vengeful broken hearts. Peter Ho, in full-blown Brandon Lee The Crow make-up, might be the year’s most charismatic antagonist.
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.After making his name on gritty animated dramas, director Yeon Sang-ho blew all expectations out of the water with his live-action debut - a breathless zombie thriller set aboard a cross-country locomotive. Peppered with social commentary amidst the terrifying carnage, Train to Busan became a monster hit around the world and currently stands as the most successful Asian film of all time in Hong Kong. Yeon also delivered an animated prequel, Seoul Station, this year, but it’s this high-concept slam-dunk that will be remembered.
- DirectorLee Kyoung-miStarsSon Ye-jinKim Ju-hyukHan Cheol-wooTHE TRUTH BENEATH follows a mysterious 15-day scandal of a politician and his wife as their daughter goes missing just before the national elections.In a year packed with top drawer offerings from Korea, none was more surprising than this dark, absorbing sophomore thriller from Lee Kyoung-mi. Not only is Lee that rare breed - a female filmmaker working in Korea - but the film itself features a knockout performance from long-time romantic leading lady Son Ye-jin. When her daughter is kidnapped during the midst of her husband’s political election campaign, it falls to her to uncover the truth. And this being a Korean film, things get real ugly, real fast.
- DirectorAkihiko ShiotaStarsTasuku NagaokaYuki MamiyaYûmi AkagiWhen a successful, but tired Tokyo-based playwright who has sworn off easy women and casual encounters takes refuge in the countryside, his plans are disrupted by a horny woman who pedals fast into his life and is unrelenting.Nikkatsu reboots its 1970s Roman Porno craze with a quintet of brand new films inspired by classics of the genre, but this time with a more pro-feminist twist. Easily the best of those to have emerged thus far is Shiota’s delightfully entertaining tale of a young playright (Tasuku Nagaoka) seeking seclusion in the countryside, who becomes the target of a predatory young woman (Yuki Mamiya) and her insatiable sexual appetite. What follows is sure to titillate, but is also legitimately great cinema.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.It takes a lot for anime to pique my interest, but the breakout hit from revered - yet still largely unknown - filmmaker Shinkai has put him on the global cinematic map, whether he likes it or not. A time-travel body swap romance about a frustrated young girl from the countryside and a lad from Tokyo intertwines so many different genres, ideas, images and emotions, that mere words struggle to do it justice. Breathtakingly beautiful - with at times photo-realistic depictions of actual inner-city locations - with a knockout soundtrack from boy band RADWIMPS, Your Name is an absolute joy from start to finish.