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Asian cinema

Asian cinema
Views, news, and reviews of films from the continent's biggest movie production centres.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Chinese writer Hu Anyan pictured in People’s Park, Chengdu, China. Photo: Eric Mast

He thought his life was a failure. Then he wrote it down.

The author of I Deliver Parcels in Beijing, a viral account of China’s gig economy, will appear at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival in March.

Reading Time:5 minutes
Living area of the flat in Tsim Sha Tsui designed by GAAN. Photo: Eugene Chan

This Hong Kong home sleeps six – and still feels serene

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The Tower of Heavenly Success with the Tan River in the background, in Majianglong, Taishan. Photo: Graeme Kennedy

The Chinese city where waffles, watchtowers and world history meet

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Baking Social’s Christmas Cookie Social event featured treats in all shapes and sizes. Photo: Leo Thom

How did cookies kickstart a community social movement for one lost Hongkonger?

Reading Time:3 minutes
The humphead wrasse, also known as Napoleon wrasse, one of the world’s most endangered coral reef fish. Photo: Alamy

US$600 endangered coral reef fish on menu at Hong Kong hotels

Reading Time:9 minutes
Cattle at Mayura Station, located on the Limestone Coast of South Australia. Photo: courtesy Mayura Station

Can Cadbury chocolate-fed Wagyu outshine Japan’s finest beef?

Reading Time:4 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Tang Wei (left) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from Lust, Caution. Photo: Edko Films
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Lust, Caution made waves for its sex scenes but overdid the caution

Although beautifully staged, this Hong Kong-US-China production starring Tony Leung and Tang Wei had a muddled story and misguided messages.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Hong Kong’s Category III adult film industry laid bare in 2 films

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Profile | Adult film legend Amy Yip bares all about her soft porn career

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How the Erotic Ghost Story films shocked and seduced Hong Kong

The trio of 1990s adult movies with Hong Kong sex symbols like Amy Yip and Japanese adult-video actresses like Kudo Hitomi were a huge hit.

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(From left) Amy Yip, Man Siu and Kudo Hitomi in a still from Erotic Ghost Story.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The Hong Kong films released in 2024, ranked from worst to best

From We 12 to Papa, Fly Me to the Moon and The Last Dance, our ranking of the Hong Kong films that hit cinemas in the course of the year.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Chingmy Yau shocked Hong Kong and became one of its biggest sex symbols

Chingmy Yau’s transition from respectable actress to star of Category III adult films full of sex and violence like ‘Naked Killer’ was quite the revelation in Hong Kong in the 1990s.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

‘I’m second,’ says South Korean star Hyun Bin on life now he’s a dad

Hyun Bin says his son and his wife, Crash Landing on You co-star Son Ye-jin, are his priorities, and reveals the pressures of making Harbin.

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Korean actor Hyun Bin with his wife Son Ye-jin. The couple married in March 2022 and had their son in November the same year. Photo: Instagram/hyunbinactor
The Philippines

‘Bombas’: the Philippine sex films whose stars were household names

Cheaply made and with female characters who were either predators or victims, bombas thrived despite Catholic Church opposition; they also often represented the hardships of everyday life for Filipinos under the Marcos dictatorship.

Asian cinema: Korean films

5 career-defining roles for Hyun Bin – yes, one of them is Secret Garden

From Hyun Bin’s breakthrough in the 2005 drama My Lovely Sam Soon to huge hit Secret Garden to Netflix series Crash Landing on You, five of the Korean actor’s career-defining roles as he turns 41.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Is Simon Yam Hong Kong cinema’s hardest working actor?

Adults-only and mainstream crime films, sex films, and serious dramas with Alex Law and Ann Hui – Simon Yam has done them all. Good-looking and with an expressive face, he has a work ethic second to none.

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Simon Yam at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Awards presentation ceremony. Photo: Edward Wong
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Who is Hikari, the Japanese director behind Beef and Rental Family?

The filmmaker talks about her journey from Osaka to Hollywood and how her new film with Fraser as a fake dad was inspired by her childhood.

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Hikari at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2026. The Japanese director shares her story and mission to “leave people feeling inspired”. Photo: AFP
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Love ‘A Better Tomorrow’? The Hong Kong director and film that inspired it

Patrick Lung Kong was known for films that imparted moral lessons. We look at ‘The Story of a Discharged Prisoner’ and ‘Teddy Girls’.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Why Michael Tse, Hong Kong actor behind Laughing Gor, is a lesson in resilience

Michael Tse’s journey from backup dancer to Young and Dangerous henchman to leading film and TV actor showcases his endurance and tenacity.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Scare Out: Zhang Yimou tackles national security in subpar Chinese spy thriller

A story of a mole inside a state security team in China, Scare Out is slickly executed but narratively muddled, and far from Zhang’s best.

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Jackson Yee as security operative Yan Di in a still from Scare Out (category IIB, Mandarin), directed by Zhang Yimou. Zhu Yilong and Song Jia co-star.
American cinema

10 of the best movies from the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival

Controversy overshadowed an engaging selection at this year’s Berlinale, the best of which included Rose, Josephine and Queen at Sea.

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Juliette Binoche (left) and Anna Calder-Marshall in a still from Queen at Sea, which won the Jury Prize at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Double Happiness: Liu Kuan-ting, Jennifer Yu lead clever wedding comedy

A couple have two simultaneous wedding ceremonies to keep their parents apart in Double Happiness, an ingenious comedy of errors.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How these 2 films became classics of Hong Kong’s Chinese folk opera cinema

Love Eterne and Dream of the Red Chamber are two very different ‘huangmei diao’ films from legendary Hong Kong director Li Han-hsiang.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

How Anthony Chen’s We Are All Strangers captures the beauty of Singapore

Singaporean director portrays ordinary folk with dignity in the final film in his ‘Growing Up’ trilogy with Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler.

Yeo Yann Yann (left) in a still from We Are All Strangers, the third film in Anthony Chen’s “Growing Up” trilogy. Photo: Giraffe Pictures
American cinema

Why Saving Face is the most important Asian-American lesbian film ever made

Alice Wu fought to film Saving Grace with an all Asian-American cast, and the film inspired a generation of Asian-American filmmakers.

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Fame and celebrity

Video | Michelle Yeoh unveils star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

The honour came days after Yeoh won an award for lifetime achievement at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | A New Dawn: climate crisis meets fireworks in confusing Japanese anime

Yoshitoshi Shinomiya’s beautiful debut feature is sure to excite fans of Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, even if a muddled plot lets it down.

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A still from A New Dawn, directed by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya. Lead characters voiced by Riku Hagiwara and Kotone Furukawa. Photo: A New Dawn Film Partners
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

With Blades of the Guardians, Yuen Woo-ping revives the wuxia blockbuster

Hong Kong martial arts choreographer and director Yuen Woo-ping returns with an epic wuxia, starring Wu Jing and Nicholas Tse.

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Wu Jing as Dao Ma in a still from Blades of the Guardians, directed by Yuen Woo-ping, who helped define the martial arts genre in cinema.
Tourism

Ponyo exhibition invites visitors into Hayao ⁠Miyazaki’s ocean world

The ‘Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo’ exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles includes rare artwork and production sketches.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Blades of the Guardians: Wu Jing leads star-studded Chinese martial arts epic

Starring Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse and Chen Lijun, the visually stunning Blades of the Guardians is one of the fiercest wuxia films in years.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Jackie Chan’s hot streak continues with Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe

Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe manages to overcome its previous instalment’s failings to become a fun, wholesome family adventure.

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Jackie Chan in a still from Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe (category IIA, Mandarin), directed by Derek Hui. Ma Li co-stars.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | We Are All Strangers: Anthony Chen’s epic look at fatherhood in Singapore

A beautiful conclusion to Anthony Chen’s ‘Growing Up’ trilogy, We Are All Strangers is a study of family and love in all its forms.

(Standing, from left) Yeo Yann Yann and Andi Lim in a still from We Are All Strangers, directed by Anthony Chen. Photo: Giraffe Pictures
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Night King: Dayo Wong, Sammi Cheng lead enjoyably fluffy nightclub comedy

While slightly disjointed and overlong, Night King delivers a fun blend of romance and nostalgic glamour set in Hong Kong’s nightclub scene.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why these 2 films from Hong Kong director Allen Fong are New Wave masterpieces

‘Father and Son’ and ‘Ah Ying’, which both won best film at the Hong Kong Film Awards, are compelling neo-realist explorations of Hong Kong.

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China consumption

China’s Spring Festival box office faces plot twist after 2025 smashed records

Home-grown films lead the charge but fail to meet the phenomenal success of last year’s Ne Zha 2, which attracted record-breaking crowds.

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Moviegoers walked past posters for 2025 blockbusters Ne Zha 2 and Captain America: Brave New World at a cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP
Moviegoers walked past posters for 2025 blockbusters Ne Zha 2 and Captain America: Brave New World at a cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP
K-drama news

Profile | Who is Shin Hye-sun, star of Netflix K-drama The Art of Sarah?

Breaking out in 2016’s Five Enough, Shin Hye-sun has gone on to make her mark in series including Mr. Queen and Welcome to Samdal-ri.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Hong Kong actress Athena Chu escaped the sex symbol trap after early fame

Athena Chu navigated beyond her initial ‘sexy goddess’ image to become an acclaimed, gritty actress and devoted family woman.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Snowball on a Sunny Day: Mark Six miss turns into mayhem in family comedy

This witty Lunar New Year film follows a woman pretending to have won the Mark Six lottery after failing to buy the winning ticket.

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Chung Suet-ying (left) and Edan Lui in a still from The Snowball on a Sunny Day.
Hong Kong economy

Gundam, Godzilla to headline Asian IP festival Con-Con in Hong Kong

Two-day event will also showcase Japanese musicians including festival ambassador Cocomi, daughter of actor Takuya Kimura.

A Gundam exhibition will feature the anime franchise’s characters and mobile suits. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
A Gundam exhibition will feature the anime franchise’s characters and mobile suits. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

What is it like to win the lottery? These 10 Asian movies have the answers

Winning the lottery can change your life forever, for good or bad. These 10 films from across Asia explore luck, wealth and greed.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Sons of the Neon Night leads 2026 Hong Kong Film Awards nominations

Amid controversy over four titles removed from the ballot, Sons of the Neon Night and Back to the Past dominate the award nominations.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

A beginner’s guide to watching Hong Kong martial arts movies

Flying, ‘weightless’ leaps, unrealistic injuries and long fight scenes are all part and parcel of Hong Kong martial arts movies. Here’s why.

Jackie Chan in a still from The Young Master (1980). Hong Kong martial arts films blend myth and physical poetry, prioritising style over realism. Photo: Golden Harvest