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10 must-see Asian sci-fi movies below the radar, from S. Shankar’s Enthiran and Joko Anwar’s Gundala to Frant Gwo’s Lee’s Adventure
- Asian science fiction has evolved since Japan’s Godzilla movies – witness Korea’s Train to Busan and China’s The Wandering Earth
- There are plenty of underrated Asian sci-fi gems to catch, from Fruit Chan’s The Midnight After to Yoshihiro Nishimura’s evocatively named Tokyo Gore Police
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From Blade Runner to Star Wars, science fiction remains one of the most popular cinematic genres.
In Asia, Japan has dominated science fiction filmmaking since Godzilla’s atomically mutated head first loomed above Tokyo Bay, but recent years have seen other countries’ film industries, not least those of China and South Korea, score big at the box office with movies like The Wandering Earth and Train to Busan.
This month alone sees the release of Choi Dong-hoon’s star-studded time-travel alien-invasion epic Alienoid, while Hong Kong audiences can finally experience Louis Koo Tin-lok’s long gestating passion project Warriors of Future, which arrives in Hong Kong cinemas after almost a decade in development.
There is a lot more to Asia’s science-fiction heritage than these barnstorming behemoths, however, and some of the best examples that the region has to offer have gone overlooked by international audiences.
From micro-budget gems to regional success stories still searching for global acclaim, here, listed in chronological order, are 10 great examples of envelope-pushing entertainment from around Asia that might have passed you by.
1. Save the Green Planet (2003)
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