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Asian cinema

Asian cinema
Views, news, and reviews of films from the continent's biggest movie production centres.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Donald Trump attends a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, in 2017. Photo: Reuters

Trump’s Beijing banquet: will it be Big Macs or Huaiyang cuisine in the Great Hall?

Discover how Huaiyang cuisine – China’s diplomatic delicacy – balances tradition and innovation to win over world leaders, from Nixon to Obama, in Beijing’s high-stakes banquet diplomacy.

Reading Time:9 minutes
Sumela Monastery, Trabzon province, Turkey. Photo: Getty Images

Rediscovering Turkey’s northeast: a journey from Trabzon to Erzurum

Reading Time:7 minutes
The Reverend Will Newman, chaplain of Hong Kong’s St John’s Cathedral and priest-in-charge of St Stephen’s Chapel, in Hong Kong's Stanley district. Photo: Alexander Mak

Meet the Reverend Will Newman, chaplain of Hong Kong’s St John’s Cathedral and Stanley Prison

Reading Time:5 minutes
The Hua Khao fishing village is populated by Muslims believed to be descended from Javanese settlers. Photo: Oliver Raw

Songkhla’s hidden charm: the town poised to put southern Thailand on the tourist map

Reading Time:7 minutes
Sichuan Verandah provides adjustable spice levels, from “baby spice” to “spice master”. Photo: courtesy Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from Stübli to Blanc de Noirs

Reading Time:2 minutes
Innocent and Chihiro Mutanga on the rooftop of Chungking Mansions, in Tsim Sha Tsui, the spot where they got engaged. Photo: Tracy Wong

The cross-cultural love story that forms the heart of the Africa Centre

Reading Time:6 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Jung Ho-yeon (front) and Hwang Jung-min in a still from Hope.
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Hope: director Na Hong-jin of The Wailing fame returns with a monster mess

A promising beginning and strong performances are not enough to save Hope from being a messy spectacle with woeful CGI monsters.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Alex Law and Mabel Cheung’s nostalgic films are among their finest

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Sheep in the Box: Hirokazu Koreeda tackles grief in sci-fi drama

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K-drama news

Profile | Who is Cha Eun-woo, K-pop idol starring in Netflix K-drama The Wonderfools?

Since his 2014 debut, the ‘Face Genius’ has embodied a fantasy figure in many roles. His latest hits screens as he performs military service.

Cha Eun-woo as Lee Un-jeong in a still from The Wonderfools. Photo: Netflix.
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Colony: Jun Ji-hyun returns in slick but empty zombie thriller

Jun Ji-hyun stars as a biotech professor battling bloodthirsty zombies in Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho’s new film.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | All of a Sudden: Ryusuke Hamaguchi wows with Paris-set drama

Starring Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, the three-hour movie on caregiving and capitalism is anchored by a profound bilingual conversation.

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European cinema

Review | Parallel Tales: Asghar Farhadi misfires with latest French excursion

This tale of voyeurism in Paris, starring Vincent Cassel, Virginie Efira and Isabelle Huppert, lacks any tension or romantic intrigue.

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Isabelle Huppert as Sylvie (left) and Adam Bessa as Adam in a still from Parallel Tales, directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Fashion

Lu’u Dan x Bruce Lee collab celebrates Asian masculinity

The collection’s launch on May 14 coincides with AAPI Heritage Month and the release of the brand’s fall/winter 2026 collection, All Bets Are Off.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Nagi Notes: Koji Fukada ponders the meaning of art in wartime

Featuring nuanced performances and beautiful camerawork, Nagi Notes asks what art should mean in the chaotic world we live in.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

How The King’s Warden sold 16 million tickets and saved the Korean box office

Producer Lim Eun-jung, director Jang Hang-jun and actor Yoo Hae-jin explain why the historical drama struck a chord with Korean audiences.

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Yoo Hae-jin in a still from The King’s Warden, which has revitalised a sluggish Korean film industry.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | A Man and a Woman: Hong Kong-set quarantine drama is a tough watch

Neighbouring hotel guests develop a relationship over the course of their 21-day quarantine in Hong Kong in Guan Hu’s pandemic-set drama.

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Ni Ni (left) and Huang Bo in a still from A Man and A Woman.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Lau Ching-wan’s best mid-1990s films, from Loving You to Big Bullet

Several of Lau’s mid-1990s roles strongly hinted at the greatness to come for the four-time best actor winner.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | ‘I don’t want to be a diva or a billionaire’: Kay Tse’s 20-year Cantopop legacy

Cantopop singer Kay Tse’s two-decade career has been built on authenticity, a commitment to social issues and her love of Hong Kong.

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Fame and celebrity

Ludi Lin – Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 2 – talks childhood and representation

Before he resumed his Mortal Kombat role, the actor worked on Power Rangers, Monster Hunt, DC’s Aquaman and Netflix’s Black Mirror.

Ludi Lin, the Chinese-Canadian actor, plays one of lead characters in Mortal Kombat 2. Style photographed him at East Hong Kong hotel. Sweater: Tod’s. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express is a riotous sci-fi anime ride

A 47-minute compilation of Yohei Kameyama’s animated series, Milky Subway provides more laughs and surprises than many feature-length films.

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A still from the animated film Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express (category IIA; Japanese), directed by Yohei Kameyama.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Angela Mao, aka ‘the new Bruce Lee’, was a better fighter than Michelle Yeoh

Angela Mao, star of hits like Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind, was billed as the ‘new Bruce Lee’ by Golden Harvest after his death.

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Hong Kong culture

Editorial | Hong Kong’s efforts to commemorate Bruce Lee should pack bigger punch

While the latest move to honour the late kung fu star is welcome, more must be done to acknowledge his standing as a pillar of Hong Kong heritage.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Cold War 1994: Hong Kong crime thriller prequel is a star-studded blast

Terrance Lau leads this unrealistic but fun 1990s-set actioner that’s stuffed with stars including Aaron Kwok, Chow Yun-fat and Louis Koo.

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Louise Wong and Terrance Lau in a still from Cold War 1994 (category: IIB, Cantonese, English), directed by Longman Leung and co-starring Daniel Wu and Tse Kwan-ho.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Hong Kong crime films have adapted in the national security law era

From Donnie Yen’s The Prosecutor to Cold War 1994, recent Hong Kong police thrillers are navigating tightened censorship in ingenious ways.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The bloody legacy of The One-Armed Swordsman film sequels

The two follow-ups to The One-Armed Swordsman are somewhat different to the original hit film but plenty of blood runs through all three.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | The wild journey behind Tony Leung Ka-fai’s Hong Kong Film Awards record

Tony Leung Ka-fai’s fifth HKFA best actor win cements his legendary cinema status amid years of resilience, reinvention and cultural impact.

Tony Leung Ka-fai poses on the red carpet during the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016. His fifth best actor win at the HKFA cements his legendary Hong Kong cinema status. Photo: SCMP
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How a Hong Kong indie film uses tea to bridge the city’s ethnic minority divide

Brian Hung’s Let’s Have a Cup of Doodh Patti Chai looks at Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities and how tea brings together people of many cultures.

Chris (Kenneth Cheung, left) befriends Singh (Inderjeet Singh) in a still from Let’s Have a Cup of Doodh Patti Chai. Photo: Brian Hung
Hong Kong entertainment

Hong Kong Film Awards: Ciao UFO wins top prizes as Sons of the Neon Night glows

Sci‑fi drama Ciao UFO named best film while crime thriller Sons of the Neon Night wins eight prizes.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why these 1980s Hong Kong crime movies produced by Tsui Hark are hidden gems

The Big Heat and Gunmen, both released in 1988, are brutal action thrillers full of violence, brotherhood drama and intrigue.

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American cinema

How M. Butterfly subverted Western fantasies of Chinese femininity

David Cronenberg’s 1993 movie starring John Lone as a cross-dresser who woos Jeremy Irons’ diplomat was an interesting but failed experiment.

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John Lone in a still from M. Butterfly. David Cronenberg’s Beijing-set romance featuring Lone as a spy who disguises himself as a woman to seduce Jeremy Irons’ French diplomat was an interesting experiment, even if it failed to convince audiences.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Who will win at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2026? Our predictions

SCMP film editor Edmund Lee forecasts the best film, director, screenplay, actors and supporting actors at this weekend’s 44th HKFA.

Louis Koo in a still from Back to the Past.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

What A Foggy Tale taught Will Or and 9m88 about Taiwan’s White Terror era

Will Or and Joanne Tang (9m88) reveal how their characters in A Foggy Tale inspired and moved them in different ways.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why these 3 Hong Kong comedies from the 1970s and 80s became local favourites

Itchy Fingers, Pom Pom and Where’s Officer Tuba? were mainstream films that shone amid the proliferation of kung fu and action comedies.

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