Article: Top 11 Chinese Movies That Should Be Banned

The most common themes in films that got banned from release are religion, politics, sexual content, and violence. All publicity is indeed good publicity, and some gained increased interest after the ban - after all, people always crave what they cannot have. Others, however, have been critically under-watched. Here are Ten Movies that either are banned or should be banned :

1. Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998)

This film is a historical drama that was the first film banned in China and went on to win Golden Horse Film Festival. The film was banned for sexual content and for not having permits before shooting in Tibet. The film plot is during the Cultural Revolution. A young girl is sent to a remote corner of the Sichuan steps for manual labor and gets deceived into selling her body to a string of men.

2. Spring Fever (2009)

Spring Fever got filmed in defiance of a five-year ban on Lou Ye. The movie is about the lives of Chinese gap people and features full-frontal nudity and explicit sexual scenes. Like Lou Ye's Summer Palace, this film got screened without the government's approval.

3. Beijing Bicycle (2001)

This film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2001 but got subsequently banned in China. The ban got lifted in 2004. The film explored the theme of youth and social issues of class, theft, youth delinquency, and rural-urban divisions and change.

4. Shinjuku Incident (2009)

The film was supposed to be released in September 2008 but was delayed and premiered at the 2009 Hong Kong International Film Festival. The film got banned for being too violent, but rumors swirled around saying the government wasn't too happy about the depiction of the Chinese seeking better life in Japan.

5. Ten Years (2015)

This film offers a vision of 2025, with human rights and freedoms gradually diminishing as the government exerts its influence over them. Although produced on budget, this film was surprisingly a big hit. Due to the film's sensitive political themes, the Chinese authorities censored it.

6. Trivisa (2016)

The film is a fictional story of three notorious mobsters. In Buddhism, Trivisa is the term for three poisons- greed, anger, and delusion- that give rise to suffering. Trivisa got banned in China, and Cheung Wai-Cheun, the owner of the film's company, was arrested for possessing counterfeit used in the movie.

7. Mad World (2016)

Mad World touches on the topic of Hong Kong society with bare hands. It criticized the urban and welfare policies of the government, treatment of those with mental disorders, and even questioned the existence of God. The part about God caused the most controversy.

8. Revolution Of Our Times (2021)

It is a Hong Kong documentary film showing the footage of the frontline protest scenes in 2019-2020. The name comes from a well-known slogan- "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times." The documentary debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021 as a special screening and won the award for Best Documentary in 2021.

9. Lost In The Fumes (2017)

Lost in the Fumes is a biographical documentary based on the life of Edward Leung, a political activist. The film won the award at the Taiwan International Festival but got banned from commercial cinemas having only a handful of cultural screens willing to screen the documentary.

10. To Live (1994)

To Live is an epic film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring famous actors Gong Li and Ge You. The movie got banned in mainland China for criticizing various policies of the Chinese government.

11. Lost in Beijing (2007)

Lost in Beijing is a Chinese film starring Fan Bingbing and Tong Dawei. There were sex scenes, prostitution, blackmail, and rape, revealing the dark side of Beijing.