Netflix also has a growing collection of original productions in Chinese, so there\u2019s a lot to check out.<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
For a video version of the top 10, I recommend watching this video, too:<\/p>\n
Chinese Title: <\/strong>\u4f8d\u795e\u4ee4 Admittedly, I watched this because I’m a\u00a0Chen Kun<\/a> fan!<\/p>\n This movie might be based on a Japanese RPG, but it also explores the Chinese concept of \u9634\u9633\u5e08 (y\u012bn y\u00e1ng sh\u012b)\u2014<\/em>yin-yang masters, who can divine the future and exorcise ghosts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Qingming is one such yin-yang master, and the kingdom where he lives is facing a looming demonic threat. When he’s summoned to the capital for a protection ceremony, he soon discovers a conspiracy that involves dark magic and multigenerational feuds.<\/p>\n This forces him to join an epic battle\u2014with the whole future of the world at stake.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Title: <\/strong>\u5468\u5904\u5904\u4e09\u5bb3 “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” is a fascinating movie that draws from ancient Chinese legends to tell the story of a vicious gangster.<\/p>\n Chen Guilin has got quite the criminal record: he’s ranked as the third most wanted, but he’s dissatisfied with this. Plagued by terminal illness and wanting to go out in a blaze of glory, he decides to eliminate the two criminals above him on the list.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese movies don’t usually feature an anti-hero as the main character, so it’s not surprising that this was a major hit in Mainland China.<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong> \u5492 Ronan, a documentary filmmaker, is investigating the rituals of a mysterious cult, but then she accidentally commits a religious taboo. This results in her and her loved ones getting cursed.<\/p>\n Years later, her daughter is targeted by the curse and becomes extremely sick. Ronan desperately tries to find a way to reverse the curse as she herself starts to experience breakdowns.<\/p>\n The movie is terrifying by itself, but the true story behind it is even more disturbing: six family members in Kaohsiung, Taiwan started to believe that they were possessed by deities and committed gruesome acts on each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u5b64\u5473 \u201cLittle Big Women\u201d shows just how complicated family can get.<\/p>\n Lin Shoying is celebrating her 70th birthday when she learns that her estranged husband has died. Despite his absence and infidelity, his death still brings in mixed emotions. Shoying and her three daughters, each dealing with their own personal struggles and unresolved feelings, must come together to arrange his funeral.<\/p>\n To make it even more complicated, the family uncovers hidden truths about his life, including a secret relationship.<\/p>\n If you want to delve deeper into how family relations work in Chinese culture, this movie gives a raw, realistic take on it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Title:\u00a0<\/strong>\u6211\u7684\u9ebb\u54094\u4e2a\u9b3c When you see the movie poster<\/a> for \u201cHello Ghost,\u201d you know right away that it\u2019s a comedy (even with the four ghosts hovering around).\u00a0<\/p>\n As a remake of the original 2010 Korean movie<\/a>, the flavor of the comedy here is more bittersweet. Ah Wei is a self-proclaimed loser who decides to kill himself, but he fails even at this. He ends up with four ghosts who keep haunting him until he helps them fulfill their last wishes.<\/p>\n One of my favorite lines here is \u5fc3\u53ea\u8981\u8fd8\u5728\u8df3\uff0c\u4e00\u5207\u90fd\u4f1a\u597d\u7684 (\u201cAs long as the heart is still beating, everything will be fine\u201d)\u2014as told to Ah Wei by the paramedic who saved his life.<\/p>\n Chinese Title: <\/strong>\u540e\u6765\u7684\u6211\u4eec \u201cUs and Them\u201d is a must-watch drama that shows a love story<\/a> spanning several years\u2014and how it finally ends.<\/p>\n Jianqing and Xiaoxiao accidentally meet on a train during the busy New Year period<\/a> in China. They eventually start dating and then living together in Beijing, where they\u2019ve decided to pursue their dreams. As time passes, though, differences in their career and personal goals start to strain their relationship.<\/p>\n Aside from being a heartfelt watch, this movie explores many aspects of modern Chinese culture, including the mass migration during \u6625\u8fd0 (Ch\u016bn y\u00f9n) <\/em>or\u00a0the Spring festival travel rush. \u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Name:<\/strong> \u75ab\u8d77 You might think that \u201cEye of the Storm\u201d is based on COVID. But it\u2019s actually about the SARS outbreak in Taiwan<\/a> back in 2003, when many doctors died and there was widespread panic.<\/p>\n The outbreak in the hospital starts when an emergency patient is brought in from a car accident. As the virus spreads around the hospital, medical staff have to decide whether they\u2019re willing to stay inside and risk their lives.<\/p>\n This triggers psychological crises too among many doctors and nurses, who find themselves questioning their values. In fact, I like how each major character (including a gossip media reporter) comes out of the experience changed.<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u5f53\u7537\u4eba\u604b\u7231\u65f6 \u201cMan in Love\u201d is a Taiwanese remake of the original 2014 Korean film<\/a>. The main characters here are an unlikely pair: A-cheng, a debt collector, falls in love with the daughter of one of his debtors\u2014Hao-ting. Instead of collecting her father\u2019s hefty debt, he asks her to date him instead.<\/p>\n A-cheng is very likeable as a character because he\u2019s far from what you would expect for a gangster.<\/p>\n Since it\u2019s a remake, there are also many charming details that are particularly Taiwanese. For example, you\u2019ll see A-cheng raging at a temple god, strolls through a wet market, and even the two main characters sharing bubble tea.<\/p>\n Chinese Title: <\/strong>\u65b0\u795e\u699c\uff1a\u54ea\u5412\u91cd\u751f This 3D animated film is an absolute visual treat, featuring a unique style of cyberpunk that you won’t see in Western films!<\/p>\n In classic superhero style, the main character (Yunxiang) seems like an ordinary delivery guy at first. He lives in a bustling city that\u2019s dominated by the De family, who are corrupt industrial moguls.<\/p>\n It turns out, though, that the soul of the legendary Chinese warrior, Nezha<\/a>, lives inside him. Since the De family saw Nezha as a major rival 3,000 years ago, now they must settle the feud\u2014with the fate of the city at stake.<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u5927\u8a71\u897f\u6e38 If you want to explore Hong Kong cinema, this is one of the first films that I’d recommend. It’s based on “Journey to the West,”<\/a> which is one of the four great\u00a0Chinese classical novels<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephen Chow stars as Joker, a gang leader who doesn’t know that he’s the Monkey King, a famous immortal being in Chinese mythology. A magical device allows him to travel back in time\u2014at first to find his lost love, but then ultimately to make peace with his true self.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of slapstick humor, and some scenes had me laughing so hard I had to hit pause. It\u2019s a three-part series, so check out Part II<\/a> and Part III<\/a> too.<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u6d41\u6d6a\u5730\u7403 This is a must-watch for sci-fans. After all, it\u2019s based on a novella by Liu Cixin, who wrote \u201cThe Three-Body Problem\u201d<\/a>\u2014the novel series that made Chinese sci-fi popular internationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n Set in a distant future where the sun is about to turn into a red giant and engulf the Earth, humanity comes up with a bold solution: move the Earth to a new star system. This means making massive thrusters across the globe.<\/p>\n The science here isn\u2019t completely accurate, but I couldn\u2019t stop watching because of how creative the plot is. The visuals are epic too, with an all-out budget.<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u8c01\u5148\u7231\u4e0a\u4ed6\u7684 Taiwan is well-known for being a pioneer in legalizing gay marriage in Asia, but this film gives a nuanced perspective on how gay relationships are actually viewed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ultimately, it’s a comedy: a woman (Liu Sanlian) and her dead husband\u2019s gay lover (Jay) fight over who gets the insurance money. The teenage son (Song Chengxi) gets involved and sides with his mother at first, but then surprisingly forms a connection with the male lover.<\/p>\n “Dear Ex” explores the perspectives of all three main characters, who are forced to change as they grapple with forgiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Title: <\/strong>\u5e78\u798f\u57ce\u5e02 In this movie, time goes in reverse. It starts with a striking scene: Dong-ling, a former police officer, kills himself by jumping out a window.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll then be thrown back to three different periods in his life\u2014first, as a middle-aged man struggling with a failing marriage and turns violent, then next as a young police officer who\u2019s already troubled. Finally, he\u2019s shown as a teenager, with striking revelations about what drove him to become the person he is.<\/p>\n The narration forms an intriguing psychological puzzle, and the movie’s Chinese title (\u5e78\u798f\u57ce\u5e02), literally meaning “Happy City,” adds to the irony.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u4e0d\u518d\u8ba9\u4f60\u5b64\u5355 Peiru is a materialistic and ambitious woman who works in a real estate office in Beijing. She leads a fairly reckless life, even dating her married boss.<\/p>\n But then after a night of drinking, she meets Zhendong, who rescues her from a fight. Zhendong is an honest, kind-hearted police officer from a small town.<\/p>\n Even though they\u2019re very different, they keep on running into each other, and then sparks start to fly. The lead actors have excellent chemistry, with Peiru changing for the better because of Zhendong. I didn\u2019t want it to end and wish there\u2019d been a sequel.<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u9633\u5149\u666e\u7167 This movie is an underrated gem. It’s absolutely brilliant, from the cinematography to the acting.<\/p>\n The Chen family seems normal from the outside. In reality, the older son, Hao, is a model student, but the younger son, Ho, has to go to juvenile detention because he committed a violent crime. Out of frustration, the father focuses all of his attention on the older son, while the mother tries to hold their family together. \u00a0<\/p>\n It portrays family expectations in Chinese culture very well, as well as the intense academic pressure that students go through as they attend \u8865\u4e60\u73ed (b\u01d4x\u00edb\u0101n)\u00a0<\/em>or cram school.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese Title:<\/strong>\u00a0\u523b\u5728\u4f60\u5fc3\u5e95\u7684\u540d\u5b57 \u201cYour Name Engraved Herein\u201d is the top-grossing Taiwanese LGBT film of all time. It’s beautiful and bittersweet, with compelling characters and a memorable theme song<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Two high school boys, Jia-han and Birdy, are close friends, but they secretly have feelings for each other. To complicate the situation, both of them study at a Catholic school.\u00a0<\/p>\n The film is set in the 1980s, when martial law had just ended<\/a> in Taiwan. Still, despite all of the progressive political changes, society was far from being accepting of same-sex relationships.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These Chinese-language films are all memorable and high-quality. Since Netflix constantly releases new Chinese shows, you might end up like me and get addicted to checking out new ones every month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course,\u00a0Chinese movies<\/a> are also one of the best ways to immerse in the language<\/a> and learn more about Chinese culture. FluentU helps you work up to watching full Chinese movies<\/a> by letting you practice with shorter clips first.\u00a0<\/p>\n FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n \r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n1. The Yin-Yang Master<\/a> (2021)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Fantasy
\nLead<\/strong> Actors: <\/strong>Chen Kun, Zhou Xun<\/p>\n2. The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon<\/a> (2024)\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\nGenre: <\/strong>Action
\nMain Actors:<\/strong> Ethan Juan, Ben Yuen, Chen Yi-wen<\/p>\n3. Incantation<\/strong><\/a> (2022)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Horror
\nMain Cast:<\/strong> Tsai Hsuan-yen, Huang Sin-ting, Kao Ying-hsuan<\/p>\n4. Little Big Women<\/strong><\/a> (2020)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Drama
\nLead Actors:<\/strong> Chen Shufang, Hsieh Ying-hsuan, Vivian Hsu<\/p>\n5. Hello Ghost<\/a> (2023)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Comedy
\nMain Actors:<\/strong> Tseng Jing-hua, Shao Yu-wei<\/p>\n6. Us and Them<\/a> (2018)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Romance
\nLead Actors:<\/strong> Jing Boran, Zhou Dongyu<\/p>\n7. Eye of the Storm<\/a> (2023)\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Thriller
\nMain Actors: <\/strong>Wang Bo-chieh, Tseng Jing-hua, Hsueh Shih-ling, Chloe Xiang<\/p>\n8. Man in Love<\/strong><\/a> (2021)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:\u00a0<\/strong>Romance
\nLead Actors:<\/strong> Roy Chiu, Tiffany Hsu<\/p>\n9. New Gods: Nezha Reborn<\/a> (2021)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Fantasy<\/p>\n10. A Chinese Odyssey: Part One<\/a> (1995)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Fantasy
\nLead Actors:<\/strong> Stephen Chow, Karena Law, Ng Man-Tat<\/p>\n11. The Wandering Earth<\/a> (2019)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Sci-Fi
\nLead<\/strong> Actors:<\/strong> Wu Jing, Qu Chuxiao, Li Guangjie\u00a0<\/p>\n12. Dear Ex<\/strong><\/a> (2018)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong> Comedy
\nLead<\/strong> Actors: <\/strong>Joseph Huang, Roy Chiu, Hsieh Ying-xuan<\/p>\n13. Cities of Last Things<\/strong><\/a> (2018)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong>\u00a0Comedy
\nLead<\/strong>\u00a0Actors:\u00a0<\/strong>Jack Kao, Lee Hong-chi, Louise Grinberg<\/p>\n14. A Beautiful Life<\/a>\u00a0(2011)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong>\u00a0Romance
\nLead Actors:<\/strong>\u00a0Shu Qi, Liu Ye<\/p>\n15. A Sun<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(2019)<\/h2>\n
\nGenre:<\/strong>\u00a0Drama
\nMain<\/strong>\u00a0Actors:\u00a0<\/strong>Wu Chien-ho, Greg Hsu, Chen Yi-wen, Samantha Ko<\/p>\n16. Your Name Engraved Herein<\/strong><\/a> (2020)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>Genre:<\/strong> Romance
\nMain Actors:<\/strong> Edward Chen, Tseng Jing-hua<\/p>\n
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