China
While ‘Fifth Generation Chinese Cinema’ technically refers to the films produced by the fifth generation of graduates from the Beijing Film Academy following Mao Zedong’s ‘Cultural Revolution,’ the connotations of the phrase are far deeper in meaning than simply referring to a group of people.
Alex Lines reports on his time during 2018 The Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival, held in Australia, and the films he was able to see: Interval and Fist & Faith.
Set in the gritty underbelly of southern China, Have a Nice Day (Hao ji le) is a dark comedic commentary on greed and materialism and only a small peak into what director Jian Liu has to offer.
Dante Lam’s latest military rollercoaster ride, Operation Red Sea, is an unrelenting vehicle of authentic action entertainment, an extensive series of well-executed, thrilling combat sequences.
Chen Sicheng’s Detective Chinatown 2 is a manic pop-fuelled explosion of fast-paced crime-solving, fringe supernatural developments and a brash indulgence in outdated stereotypes.
Human Flow’s imagery is unspeakably powerful. The sequences captured on film do not shy away from the scale of the issue and the scope of the problem is showcased to truly heartbreaking effect.
Chinese-Australian co-production Guardians of the Tomb is one of the most cliched, dull and shamelessly corporate creature features you could possibly imagine.
While produced with sumptuous care, Youth’s Spielbergian desire to over-sentimentalise every scene makes it more frustrating than affecting.
Jackie Chan is in peak form in The Foreigner, and handily wins you over despite the film’s dated source material.
Call of Heroes is the latest from Benny Chan, and manages to both modernize and feel old-fashioned when compared to the martial arts genre.
Everything about The Great Wall should be fun and goofy, but it takes itself too seriously to be enjoyed for its silliness.
Revisiting Edward Yang’s A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, a complex and emotional film that explores the past and the present in its 4 hour runtime.
Kaili Blues is a debut feature that is inspired by many Chinese filmmakers that came before; yet it emerges as a unique and compelling film.
I Am Not Madame Bovary is highly critical of Chinese bureaucracy, both using the plot to highlight its inability to care about anything other than their job position, as well as poking fun at the workings of officialdom with the conversations between the officials themselves.
Color is an animated short film about a creature that looks a lot like a lima bean with legs. This little creature has a beautiful yellow color that it tries to hide to fit in with the creatures and the buildings in the town it lives in.