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Asian cinema

Asian cinema
Views, news, and reviews of films from the continent's biggest movie production centres.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Mentors and mentees mingle during Rosewood Foundation’s Rise to the Table programme in March. Photo: courtesy Rosewood Foundation

Rosewood throws its weight behind female empowerment in hospitality

Rosewood Hong Kong hosts a weeklong residency for female professionals to write a new chapter in hospitality.

Reading Time:3 minutes
Children play on an iron climbing frame in the new Wah Fu Estate, 1968. Photo: SCMP Archives

In pictures: Hong Kong’s groundbreaking Wah Fu public housing estate

Reading Time:1 minute
Stephen Buckle, from Aspect, a global landscape architecture company, says that the most successful way to strike a balance between commercial and design aspirations is to make ecologically minded greening the focal point of any project, including this, The Roof, a Shanghai lifestyle complex, designed in collaboration with French architect Jean Nouvel. Photo: Courtesy Aspect

From Hong Kong’s Taikoo Square to Seoul’s Gangnam forest and Chengdu’s Hyperlane, nature is reshaping Asia’s cities

Reading Time:7 minutes
Melissa Tedone, assistant professor of library and archives conservation at the University of Delaware, in the United States, holds a copy of Marmion, a Victorian-era book with a vibrant green, arsenic-based binding. Photo: Getty Images

Poison books: Hong Kong joins the search for Victorian-era arsenic-laced tomes

Reading Time:7 minutes
Innocent and Chihiro Mutanga on the rooftop of Chungking Mansions, in Tsim Sha Tsui, the spot where they got engaged. Photo: Tracy Wong

The cross-cultural love story that forms the heart of the Africa Centre

Reading Time:6 minutes
Enzo Cheng, CEO of Noc, in the Sheung Wan branch of his chain of cafes. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

The CEO of Noc on his live-slow philosophy for the weekends

Reading Time:3 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Tang Wei (left) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from Lust, Caution. Photo: Edko Films
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Lust, Caution made waves for its sex scenes but overdid the caution

Although beautifully staged, this Hong Kong-US-China production starring Tony Leung and Tang Wei had a muddled story and misguided messages.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Hong Kong’s Category III adult film industry laid bare in 2 films

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Profile | Adult film legend Amy Yip bares all about her soft porn career

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How the Erotic Ghost Story films shocked and seduced Hong Kong

The trio of 1990s adult movies with Hong Kong sex symbols like Amy Yip and Japanese adult-video actresses like Kudo Hitomi were a huge hit.

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(From left) Amy Yip, Man Siu and Kudo Hitomi in a still from Erotic Ghost Story.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The Hong Kong films released in 2024, ranked from worst to best

From We 12 to Papa, Fly Me to the Moon and The Last Dance, our ranking of the Hong Kong films that hit cinemas in the course of the year.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Chingmy Yau shocked Hong Kong and became one of its biggest sex symbols

Chingmy Yau’s transition from respectable actress to star of Category III adult films full of sex and violence like ‘Naked Killer’ was quite the revelation in Hong Kong in the 1990s.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

‘I’m second,’ says South Korean star Hyun Bin on life now he’s a dad

Hyun Bin says his son and his wife, Crash Landing on You co-star Son Ye-jin, are his priorities, and reveals the pressures of making Harbin.

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Korean actor Hyun Bin with his wife Son Ye-jin. The couple married in March 2022 and had their son in November the same year. Photo: Instagram/hyunbinactor
The Philippines

‘Bombas’: the Philippine sex films whose stars were household names

Cheaply made and with female characters who were either predators or victims, bombas thrived despite Catholic Church opposition; they also often represented the hardships of everyday life for Filipinos under the Marcos dictatorship.

Asian cinema: Korean films

5 career-defining roles for Hyun Bin – yes, one of them is Secret Garden

From Hyun Bin’s breakthrough in the 2005 drama My Lovely Sam Soon to huge hit Secret Garden to Netflix series Crash Landing on You, five of the Korean actor’s career-defining roles as he turns 41.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Is Simon Yam Hong Kong cinema’s hardest working actor?

Adults-only and mainstream crime films, sex films, and serious dramas with Alex Law and Ann Hui – Simon Yam has done them all. Good-looking and with an expressive face, he has a work ethic second to none.

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Simon Yam at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Awards presentation ceremony. Photo: Edward Wong
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | The wild journey behind Tony Leung Ka-fai’s Hong Kong Film Awards record

Tony Leung Ka-fai’s fifth HKFA best actor win cements his legendary cinema status amid years of resilience, reinvention and cultural impact.

Tony Leung Ka-fai poses on the red carpet during the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016. His fifth best actor win at the HKFA cements his legendary Hong Kong cinema status. Photo: SCMP
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How a Hong Kong indie film uses tea to bridge the city’s ethnic minority divide

Brian Hung’s Let’s Have a Cup of Doodh Patti Chai looks at Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities and how tea brings together people of many cultures.

Hong Kong entertainment

Hong Kong Film Awards: Ciao UFO wins top prizes as Sons of the Neon Night glows

Sci‑fi drama Ciao UFO named best film while crime thriller Sons of the Neon Night wins eight prizes.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why these 1980s Hong Kong crime movies produced by Tsui Hark are hidden gems

The Big Heat and Gunmen, both released in 1988, are brutal action thrillers full of violence, brotherhood drama and intrigue.

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Waise Lee Chi-hung in a still from The Big Heat (1988).
American cinema

How M. Butterfly subverted Western fantasies of Chinese femininity

David Cronenberg’s 1993 movie starring John Lone as a cross-dresser who woos Jeremy Irons’ diplomat was an interesting but failed experiment.

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John Lone in a still from M. Butterfly. David Cronenberg’s Beijing-set romance featuring Lone as a spy who disguises himself as a woman to seduce Jeremy Irons’ French diplomat was an interesting experiment, even if it failed to convince audiences.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Who will win at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2026? Our predictions

SCMP film editor Edmund Lee forecasts the best film, director, screenplay, actors and supporting actors at this weekend’s 44th HKFA.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

What A Foggy Tale taught Will Or and 9m88 about Taiwan’s White Terror era

Will Or and Joanne Tang (9m88) reveal how their characters in A Foggy Tale inspired and moved them in different ways.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why these 3 Hong Kong comedies from the 1970s and 80s became local favourites

Itchy Fingers, Pom Pom and Where’s Officer Tuba? were mainstream films that shone amid the proliferation of kung fu and action comedies.

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Jacky Cheung (left) and Sammo Hung in a still from Where’s Officer Tuba?, a popular Hong Kong comedy film from 1986.
Hong Kong society

Controversial Hong Kong documentary pulled from Italian film festival

Distributor Golden Scene says To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self will not feature at Far East Film Festival in Udine.

K-drama news

Profile | Who is Byeon Woo-seok, IU’s co-star in romance K-drama Perfect Crown?

Coming to prominence in shows like Record of Youth and Strong Girl Nam-soon, Byeon Woo-seok returns this weekend in a hotly anticipated role.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | ‘Not pretty enough’? Joey Yung became a top Cantopop star anyway

From rejected teen singer to Cantopop legend, Joey Yung’s grit, voice and unwavering work ethic have outlasted her critics.

Singer Joey Yung at Lee Garden Two in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, in 2006. The singer defied early career setbacks to become a Cantopop icon. Photo: Oliver Tsang
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Pegasus 3: Shen Teng roars back in Han Han’s blockbuster racing sequel

Shen Teng stars as a former rally champion who has fallen on hard times in Pegasus 3, which really takes off in its exhilarating third act.

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Shen Teng in a still from Pegasus 3 (category IIA, Mandarin), directed by Han Han. Andrew Yin and Huang Jingyu co-star.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

How Gingle Wang went from clueless novice to one of Taiwan’s top young actresses

Wang’s first-ever scene took 33 takes, but now she is a ‘box office guarantee’ in Taiwan and an increasingly familiar face internationally.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

What happened when Ann Hui adapted Eileen Chang’s classic stories?

Director Ann Hui has adapted three of Eileen Chang’s stories for the big screen. We look at two: Love in a Fallen City and Eighteen Springs.

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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong documentary pulled from cinemas 3 years ago to be screened in Italy

To My Nineteen-year-old Self will be shown at Far East Film Festival after withdrawal in 2023 over lack of consent from interviewees.

A still from Mabel Cheung’s documentary To My Nineteen-year-old Self. Photo: Golden Scene
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Why fierce mothers and violent monsters star in Joe Hsieh’s animations

Taiwanese director Hsieh reflects on the strength of women, preferring hand-drawn animation over AI, and using violence in film.

A still from Night Bus (2019).
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | We’re Nothing at All: Herman Yau’s grim social critique lacks all subtlety

A gripping drama, We’re Nothing at All explores societal apathy through a tragic bus blast – but its heavy-handed approach may deter viewers.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Humint: dynamic Korean spy thriller from Ryoo Seung-wan on Netflix

Starring Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min and Park Hae-joon, Humint rewards patient viewers with some of the best heroic bloodshed in recent times.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

3 Anthony Wong films from the early 90s that show his wide acting range

Before becoming stereotyped for extreme roles, Wong gave nuanced turns as a whiny gangster opposite Chow Yun-fat and as Veronica Yip’s tormentor.

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Anthony Wong in a still from Full Contact. The Hong Kong actor’s restrained turn as a cowardly gangster brought realism to the otherwise comic book-style 1992 action film.
Anthony Wong in a still from Full Contact. The Hong Kong actor’s restrained turn as a cowardly gangster brought realism to the otherwise comic book-style 1992 action film.
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Leslie Cheung broke all the rules to become a Hong Kong superstar

The music and cinema legend’s artistry, vulnerability and defiance in a conservative Asian society forever reshaped Hong Kong pop culture.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

The 10 most-watched Korean films of all time, including The King’s Warden

Can The King’s Warden overtake The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Extreme Job to become the most-viewed South Korean film of all time?

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How director Benny Chan bridged old-school stunts and modern action

2003’s Heroic Duo and 2007’s Invisible Target were full of the director’s flair for action, reckless stunts and literal explosive scenes.

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Nicholas Tse in a still from Invisible Target (2007), directed by Benny Chan, whose 2000s films were a blend of classic stunts and modern action.
United States

Action movie star Chuck Norris dies at 86

His epic fight with kung fu superstar Bruce Lee in ‘The Way of The Dragon’ helped turn Norris into an icon.

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Chuck Norris’ epic fight with the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee in “The Way of The Dragon” helped turn him into an icon on big and small screens alike. Photo: AFP
Chuck Norris’ epic fight with the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee in “The Way of The Dragon” helped turn him into an icon on big and small screens alike. Photo: AFP
American cinema

How the eye-catchingly sexist DOA: Dead or Alive survived chaotic China shoot

Filmed at Hengdian World Studios, DOA: Dead or Alive helped pioneer East-West cinema collaboration – even if it bombed at the box office.

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On Our Radar

Hong Kong International Film Festival brings out the big guns for its 50th year

The city’s flagship cinema event marks its Golden Jubilee with a global slate, major auteurs and a spotlight on Asian storytelling.

Locals' Guide

Insider’s guide to Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Derelict houses reborn as hip cafes and a showcase for local fashion talent are some of the draws in Johor’s capital, actress Debbie Goh reveals.

Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock