Yao-Chinese Folktales [中国奇谭] (2023)

A striking series of animated and updated folktales on Bililbili. produced in cooperation with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio  The collection consists of eight independent stories (of about 20 minutes each) rooted in and reimagining traditional Chinese culture. The first episode - Nobody - tells the story of a group of monsters as they plan…

Full River Red [满江红] (2023)

This is Zhang Yimou's latest historical epic, the longest (159 minutes!), and arguably weakest, of his recent films. It has, however, done very well at the Chinese box office, rivalling Wandering Earth II over the New Year holiday period. It is set in the Song dynasty (1146). An emissary from the rival Jin empire to…

Mr Zheng [叫我郑先生] (2022)

Mr Zheng lives alone (in the beautiful coastal city of Qingdao) after the death of his wife. His house (and the surrounding area) is about to be demolished and he plans to move to a retirement home with his friend Lao Liang. He is, presumably, in his late 50s or early 60s (like the actor…

Song of Spring [妈妈!] (2022)

Song of Spring (Mother! in Chinese) is the third in a loose trilogy by director (and writer) Yang Lina about women's lives. It follows on from Longing for the Rain which explored issues of sexuality in a younger woman and Spring Tide which looked at a somewhat toxic relationship between a middle-aged woman and her…

Xianpianchang shorts 2023

A quick look at a number of short films currently available on the Xinpianchang site. In Technician 7 [七号技师] (2022) a young woman in a massage centre has a drunken client. Fending off his request for ‘special services’, they begin to chat. It emerges that they are both from Anqing and, in fact, that they…

Little Blue [小藍] (2022)

A brilliant film about young women and sexuality by Taiwanese director (and screenwriter) Lee Yi-fang (her debut feature). Xiaolan [Wang Yu-xuan] is a quiet and studious high school student who is neither the centre of attention nor a loner. She has friends including Tuzi [Tiffany Anais Lin]. Her young and attractive mother Vivi [Helena Hsu]…

Three Body [三体] (2023) episodes 1-5

As readers may know, the book The Three Body Problem (or rather the trilogy officially known as Remembrance of Earth's Past) has been hugely popular in China (and indeed abroad). So this 30 part (45 minute per episode) drama adaptation from Tencent has attracted enormous attention. (A competing Netflix version is promised for later this…