The Two Lives of Li Ermao [二毛] (2019)

This documentary (just Er Mao in Chinese) looks at the life of Li Ermao who came to Shenzhen as a teenager in 1997 and later began working as a cross-dressing entertainer. Gradually Ermao becomes a ladyboy (as she says at least in the English subtitles) and has breast surgery. She dreams of having full gender…

Paradise Lost [出花园] (2019)

Paradise Lost is an excellent short film by BFA graduate director Zhang Yutong (25 minutes). Set in Chaoshan, a Min-speaking area in east Guangdong, it tells the story of 15-year old Lok Wing Gau who is about to undergo the 'cok hue hng' ceremony which marks the passage of child to adult man. Gau and…

The Murder in Kairoutei [回廊亭] (2022) Episodes 1-4

This is the second recent crime series starring Deng Jiajia and Chongqing (first in terms of release date since it started on 15 June). This one is on Youku. Given the title and opening credits you might expect a standard crime/detective series (albeit, given that it's based on a book by Keigo Higashino, one with…

Babel [通天塔] (2022) Episodes 1-6

After her excellent role in Burning Ice back in 2017, we suddenly get Deng Jiajia in not one but two (broadly) crime series at the same time. This one is on YoYo and being released since 22 June 2022. A dead woman's body is pulled out of the river in a large concrete metropolis -…

The Swing Maker [搭秋千的人] (2019)

 Liu Huanrong [Jiang Shouzhi] (the eponymous swing maker) is an oil field worker in Shanxi province close to retirement age. He plays a paternal role with his fellow workers including Xiao Fan [Ji Lulu], one of the few women on the site. This includes building a swing for their entertainment. But the film suggests that…

Give Me a Ride [乘客] (2019)

An intriguing and allusive film from first-time feature director Xu Zhebhao. It seems to have slipped largely under the radar after its premier at the 2019 Hong Kong International Film Festival where Xu won best director. The English title is not very helpful, the Chinese is Passenger. Song Yajie [Liu Lu] has lived in Beijing…

Asphyxia [關係暴力] (2021)

Xuan [Aviis Zhong] and her husband De Xun [Jack Yao] have recently separated, apparently at her initiative. But he waits outside her apartment to talk to her when she returns one evening. After a short argument, she goes to the apartment only to find an intruder. Xuan messages her husband who comes to her aid…

Stay with Me [我是真的讨厌异地恋](2022)

This romantic drama is exemplary of the problems that young Chinese actors have in finding decent acting opportunities. Ren Min showed considerable promise in 2018's Cry me a Sad River, a film which sadly did not live up to its aspirations. Since then she has appeared in several films and TV series to no great…

Great Happiness [极乐点] (2020)

Odyssey: a Chinese cinema season A striking, if somewhat uneven and overlong, drama. Set in 2015 in Xining, capital of western Qinghai province with an urban population of 2 million. The film focuses on three friends: Sui Sheng [Zhou Sheng], You Li [Shen Jiajun], and Wang Xining (same as the city) [Yang Xiaohua], all only…

Drifted in Life [流水无尽] (2021)

Odyssey: a Chinese cinema season A low-key drama about a four generation family in Changzhou (a city of 3.6 million people less than 200 km from Shanghai). The grandfather has fallen in the public bath and is now paralysed from the neck down. The hospital want the family to take him home to die but…