Cinema has always portrayed female figures from a patriarchal perspective, promoting men's authority over women. Female fatales in film noir have already been the focus of feminist scholars' studies. Nevertheless, some movies demonstrate how the Chinese female is conventionally unable to escape the fatal tragedy, but they prove them wrong. Here we have the top ten Chinese movies portraying the true meaning of Feminism that society needs:
1. Ode To Joy
Release Date: 18 April 2016- 10 June 2017
Director: Kong Sheng, Jian Chuanhe
Cast: Liu Tao, Wang Ziwen, Yang Zi, Jiang Xin
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice-of-life
This series is on a novel with the same title by A Nai. The story is about five modern women with different personalities and lifestyles, coming from different backgrounds, living together on the 22nd floor of an apartment complex called "Ode to Joy" in Shanghai. Together they navigate their love lives and careers, solving problems and growing.
2. Nothing But Thirty
Release Date: 17 July 2020
Director: Zhang Xiaobo
Cast: Tong Yao, Jiang Shuying, Xiaotong Mao, Li Ze Feng, Edward Ma
Genre: Drama
The story revolves around the life of three women with different backgrounds and personalities. Wang Manni (Jiang Shuying) is a rebellious and confident woman at work and at home. Gu Jia (Tong Yao) is an intelligent, strong-willed woman and is a housewife and businesswoman. She helps her husband become the CEO. Zhong Xiaoqin (Mao Xiaotong) is an employee with an average life and is the wife of Chen Yu. They all face difficulties in their lives and the challenges of turning thirty.
3. Delicious Romance
Release Date: 26 November 2021- 17 December 2021
Director: Chen Zhengdao
Cast: Chun Li, Baby Zhnag
Genre: Romance, Drama, Slice of Life
Like many Chinese shows featuring female ensemble casts, the series nods at the diversity of women from different backgrounds. Liu Jin doesn't allow herself to be defeated even after being fired and refuses to settle down. Fang Xin doesn't stay silent in the face of harassment at her workplace and holds her head high even during a difficult divorce. That's not to say they are perfect. There are moments in the series where all three leads could probably qualify for scumbag status. Their offense is that they did not abide by society's rules. At the end of the series, the three women meet their younger selves in an imaginary dialogue. This dreamy sequence is well-portrayed, highlighting that they are not perfect and are not failures.
4. Twenty Your Life On
Release Date: 14 July 2020
Director: Li Zhi
Cast: Guan Xiao Tong, Bu Guan Jin, Li Geng Xi, Dong Si Yi, Jin Shi Jia
Genre: Romance, Drama
The story is about four girls who are about to graduate from college and faces life's complications as they enter adulthood.
5. The Bold, The Corrupt, And The Beautiful
Release Date: 15 October 2017
Director: Yang Ya-che
Cast: Kara Hui, Wu Ke-xi, Vicky Chen
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Madame Tang is an antique dealer and lives with her two daughters in a mansion. Their life gets disrupted when the family of their close friend gets murdered. Soon, the murder turns into a game of survival between those involved.
6. House Of Flying Daggers
Release Date: 16 July 2004
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
House of Flying Daggers is a secret organization that rises against the Chinese government during the Tang dynasty. Officer Jin investigates a young dancer named Mei who claims to have ties to the "Flying Daggers." Leo arrests Mei, but Jin frees her in an attempt to gain her trust and identify the new leader.
7. Egg And Stone
Release Date: 29 January 2012
Director: Huang Ji
Cast: Yao Hong-Gui, Yixiang Huang, Xiao Pin-Gao, Baiyu Yao
Genre: Drama
Set in rural Hunan province, "Egg and Stone" is a powerful autobiographical portrait of a teenage girl's attempts to come to terms with her emerging sexual maturity. Her parents moved to another city to work and left her forced to live with her aunt and uncle for seven years.
8. The Foolish Bird
Release Date: 12 February 2017
Director: Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka
Cast: Yao Hong- Gui, Yao Fang, Xiao Liqiao, Hunag Zifan
Genre: Drama
The teenage girl longs for love after their parents leave them behind. The woman sells stolen cellphones to unknown men. She has a cruel first sexual experience as she takes risks.
9. Ah Kam (The Stunt Woman)
Release Date: 10 October 1996
Director: Ann Hui
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Mang Hoi, Sammo Hung
Genre: Action Drama
The plot is into three sub-plot, a study of the career of Ah Kam or A Stunt Woman. The first plot is the behind-the-scenes of a stunt company. Ah Kam progresses from an extra to an action director with growing independence. In the second part, she falls in love with a playboy businessman. She gets downgraded into playing a club hostess and male adornment. Part three takes you to a wild triad.
10. The Blonde Fury
Release Date: 1989
Director: Mang Hoi
Cast: Cynthia Rothrock, Elizabeth Lee, Ronny Yu, Billy Chow
Genre: Action Drama, Comedy
Cindy, an American FBI agent, travels to Hong Kong to arrest Ronny Dak, a criminal newspaper editor who prints counterfeit money using the newspaper's press. While investigating, Cindy hooks up with her old friend, an undercover cop, and an intrepid journalist to battle his kung-fu henchmen.
