Article: Top 10 Chinese Movies To Know Chinese Culture

China is historically involved in many events internationally and has developed the existence of its culture and the mainland. We can claim that the dominance of Chinese culture is noticeable. Festivals like the Lantern Festival and Chinese New Year, and Sports like martial arts and shadow boxing, the Mandarin language, and many others are part of the valuable Chinese culture. Chinese culture saw a period of New Cultural Movement in the 1910s and 1920s and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong in 1966. Chinese movies besides have a different vibe. Some movies struggle with censorship and get banned because of social issues or sociopolitical aspects, but the same films celebrate awards internationally. The mentioned top list will portray the Chinese culture within them.

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- 2000

Crouching Tiger has received the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Movie by Ang Lee, the director who won two Academy Awards for Best Directing for his other hits. The movie is set during the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century and talks about a lot of ancient social and cultural Chinese aspects, especially the culture of martial arts.

Directed By:  Ang Lee

 

2. Raise The Red Lantern- 1991

The film is thought-provoking, set against the backdrop of the 1920’s Chinese period. Songlian is 19 years old young forced to marry a wealthy but old lord or master of a family. He already has three wives living in competition to win the affection of their only husband. The name depicts the tradition of the lord who lights up the lantern in the name of the wife with whom he decides to spend his night. The film portrays elements like the ancient tradition of concubines, marriages, and politics here.

Directed By:  Yi-Mou Zhang

 

3. Beijing Bicycle- 2001

This movie has projected some social class and race differences in China. The plot revolves around a boy from the countryside who comes to Beijing to have a job in this big developing city. He works as a courier boy with his bicycle, but soon his bike gets stolen from the market and is found with a poor city boy who has recently bought it. He is unaware of the situation.

Directed By:  Wang Xiaoshuai

 

4. Last Train Home

Last train home is a Canadian documentary that shows the struggle of migrant workers, as annually, one Hundred and Thirty workers from China return to their hometowns in spring break. These workers come to the main cities to make money but visit their hometowns only once a year during the New Year's holidays. This documentary includes a particular worker family and their struggle to meet their daughter back home.

Directed By:  Lixin fan

 

5. To Live- 1994

Yi-Mou Zhang set the fire mode by releasing Raise The Lantern in 1991 and then released, To Live in 1994. It shows a couple living through a Chinese civil war and Cultural Revolution in China. Even though this movie shows the struggle of the couple to live their life without losing hope, it also portrays Chinese culture throughout this movie. It’s just one example of one family out of thousands who went through this era.

Directed By:  Yi-Mou Zhang

 

6. In The Heat Of The Sun- 1994

This movie, written and directed by Jiang Wen, was released in 1994 and is based on the novel Wild Beast. This movie is set in the early 1970 and uses the cultural revolution in china as a reference. This story is about a teenage boy who befriends a rowdy street group and falls in love with an older girl. It's not a love story but rather a good watch if you like a mixture of gangster movies.

Directed By:  Directed By:  Jiang Wen

 

7. Red Sorghum- 1987

Yi-Mou Zhang, after the 1994 film To Live, released Red Sorghum. Set against the backdrop of 1920s Northeast China, Jiu'er, an 18 years old girl, is married to a wealthy man who owns a distillery for sorghum liquor. After his death, Gong Li continues the business, but the Sino-Japanese War turns the tables. This film is an adaptation of the novel written by Mo Yan. Gong Li is starring Jiu'er, who is a well-known actress for roles in Memoirs Of A Geisha and Mulan.

Directed By:  Yi-Mou Zhang

 

8. Not One Less- 1999

Again a mindblowing creation by Yi-Mou Zhang, Not one Less, depicts the school system of China’s rural towns. It’s a story of a 13 years old girl, appointed in replacement of an elementary teacher. She gets warned not to let any student be less than the number it usually has. Her struggle begins to bring back one child/student who gets forced to leave the village. It touches somewhat on the rural culture system in China.

Directed By:  Yi-Mou Zhang

 

9. The Last Emperor-1987

The last emperor is the story of the last emperor of China, Pu Yi. This movie shows the life of Pu Yi, how he imprisons, and his ascent to the throne. It also presents the political rehabilitation of the Chinese communist party. This movie won numerous awards at film festivals. Also, this movie revolves around Chinese culture.

Directed By:  Bernardo Bertolucci

 

10. Farewell My Concubine- 1993

Farewell, my concubine is a Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige in the early 90s. This movie sets in the early days of the Republic of China and the cultural revolution of China. This movie is about two opera stage artists and lifelong friends. After a point, it got banned in many cities for various reasons.

Directed By:  Directed By:  Chen Kaige