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Asian cinema

Asian cinema
Views, news, and reviews of films from the continent's biggest movie production centres.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
The setting-up of the night market at Drum Tower Square, in Kaifeng, Henan province. Photo: Getty Images

Making tracks through China’s past and present

High-speed rail may have modernised journeys through northern China, but centuries of urban history are still in evidence on a pilgrimage from the capital to the caves used by a strengthening Communist Party.

Reading Time:8 minutes
Tourists listen to a tour guide outside the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain. Photo: AP

How to be a good tourist; a guide for the modern traveller

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Potatoes dry in the sun in Peru’s Sacred Valley. Photo: Shutterstock

Revealed: the ancient Andean secrets behind Peru’s vibrant potato varieties

Reading Time:7 minutes
Futatsugame Beach, at the north end of Sado Island, Japan. Photo: Cameron Dueck

Sado Island’s cultural renaissance: a Japanese journey from exile to artistic haven

Reading Time:7 minutes
Crispy three-yellow chicken with scallion oil and mushroom sauce at Canto Jade. Photo: courtesy Canto Jade

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from Korean hotspot Yusang to the Song dynasty-inspired Canto Jade

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Liverpudlian Steve Vickers, founder and CEO of Steve Vickers & Associates, has spent his life fighting crime in Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

An ex-policeman recounts fighting triads, kidnappers and counterfeiters

Reading Time:4 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Josie Ho performs at Rockit Festival at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on October 22, 2004. Rather than following in the footsteps of her casino magnate father Stanley Ho, she has forged her own path in music and film, winning awards along the way. Photo: Martin Chan
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Josie Ho rejected her billionaire heiress destiny for indie filmmaking

Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho’s eighth child has built her own legacy as a musician, award-winning actress and movie producer.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Wakesurf Lovers: Jeffrey Ngai, Renci Yeung make a splash in uneven sports drama

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

The Chinese Mulholland Drive? Why ‘so bad it’s good’ film Niu Lai is special

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Ronny Yu and Jet Li made Fearless (2006) a martial arts masterpiece

Director Ronny Yu put Jet Li’s martial arts skills and acting chops to good use in this classic, blending superb fights and a human story.

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Jet Li in a still from Fearless, the acclaimed 2006 martial arts film directed by Ronny Yu. Photo: SCMP
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | A Mighty Adventure: wordless animation by McDull director is breezy if flawed

Hong Kong director Toe Yuen’s film about insects surviving the city is a visual marvel, though dialogue would have made it more expressive.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Dating Menu: a drifter chef looks to connect in wistful romantic drama

Lo Chun-yip plays a chef who tries out a dating app and cooks for four very different women as he tries to get over a previous relationship.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How ‘Siuyea’ Lo Chun-yip shed his indie director mindset to become a leading man

The ‘late bloomer’, who switched directing for acting in 2015, takes on his first main lead role with new film The Dating Menu.

Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Lo Chun-yip, also known as Siuyea, at an interview with the SCMP at the Golden Scene office in Jordan. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong
K-drama news

Profile | Who is Kim Hye-jun, star of K-dramas A Shop for Killers and My Bias, My Boss?

Kim Hye-jun, who started in advertisements and on Saturday Night Live Korea, first dreamed of being a designer or a nurse, not an actress.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | All Wishes Come True!: Chinese animation reinvents the Eight Immortals

This culturally authentic and wholly accessible origin story is a visually dazzling infusion of Chinese and Western storytelling conventions.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Alex To’s 40-year Cantopop legacy: R&B origins, comebacks, acting triumphs

The now 64-year-old Hong Kong-born singer and actor remains one of the industry’s most enduring and unpredictable figures.

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Alex To performs during the “2021 New Year Concert – Sailing in the Greater Bay Area” in Shenzhen in January 2021. Photo: Weibo
European cinema

How this British-Chinese filmmaker aims to build the Blumhouse of action

Inspired by John Woo and Chow Yun-fat, Chee Keong Cheung talks about his Action Xtreme studio and upcoming film Bad Day at the Office.

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Filmmaker Chee Keong Cheung on the set of one of his films. Cheung founded the UK’s first action-oriented film studio, Action Xtreme, while his new feature, Bad Day at the Office, will have its world premiere on August 13 at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
American cinema

How did Snow Flower and the Secret Fan become such an ambitious failure?

Wayne Wang’s 2011 film blends past and present, but despite its ambition and talent, it struggled to resonate with audiences.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Curry and Pepper showed Stephen Chow’s comedy genius before superstardom hit

The 1990 buddy cop film was released less than three months before All for the Winner turned Stephen Chow into a superstar in Hong Kong.

Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Number One: Parasite stars reunite for food-themed family drama

Choi Woo-sik and Jang Hye-jin star as a pampered son and his doting mother who always cooks for him until tragedy strikes their family.

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Jang Hye-jin (left) and Choi Woo-sik in a still from Number One.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Back to Love: the Teochew romance that led to smash hit Dear You

Exploring family dynamics and modernity in a heartfelt Teochew romance, Lan Hongchun’s Back to Love charms with its cultural themes.

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(From left) Lu Shan, Zheng Runqi and Zhong Shaoxian in a still from Back to Love.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

10 must-see movies and programmes at Hong Kong’s Summer IFF 2026

This year’s Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival boasts 37 features, from regional premieres to 4K restorations of Hong Kong classics.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

What makes the 1981 horror film The Imp such a terrifying cult classic?

Directed by Dennis Yu, The Imp blends elements of Western horror classics with Taoist beliefs to create a thoroughly modern shocker.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Daniel Wu is swapping ‘broken’ Hollywood for Hong Kong films

Wu discusses his coming films including Cold War 1995 and the Twilight of the Warriors sequel, and how Hollywood has ‘dropped diversity’.

Daniel Wu is pictured at the New York Asian Film Festival 2026. Wu is making his Hong Kong comeback as he loses optimism in a Hollywood system that feels as if it has “dropped diversity altogether”. Photo: Chris Kammerud
Art

Hong Kong artist channels Leslie Cheung film Farewell My Concubine for live show

Berlin-based Isaac Chong Wai’s all-male Hong Kong show An Intimate Surrender draws on the 1993 gender-fluid romance to explore vulnerability.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Jacob Cheung’s Cageman and Intimates became his most memorable films

In Cageman, Cheung leaned on social observations and light drama. In lesbian romance Intimates, he focused on romance, not sexual passion.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

The appeal of Ghibli: why films like Totoro continue to find fans

The US-based Studio Ghibli Fest began in 2017 and, as Ghibli films continue to attract new fans of all ages, it keeps growing.

A scene from the 1988 film My Neighbour Totoro. Studio Ghibli films like Totoro and Spirited Away continue to captivate audiences even today. In the US, the annual Ghibli Fest has been running since 2017. Photo: GKids via AP
Hong Kong entertainment

Screen legend Patrick Tse saved my brother from drowning, woman recalls

Social media user pays tribute to the late actor, reveals how he came to her younger brother’s rescue.

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Veteran actor Patrick Tse died on July 16 at the age of 89. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Korean films

My Sassy Girl at 25: how Jun Ji-hyun’s star turn changed South Korean cinema

Jun Ji-hyun’s role as a brash young woman in the 2001 romcom subverted gender stereotypes, today inspiring actresses like Park Eun-bin.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Maggie Cheung went from commercial film eye candy to art-house legend

After being cast for her looks early in her career, Cheung proved herself in serious roles, then stepped away from the industry altogether.

K-drama news

Profile | Who is Nam Joo-hyuk, star of Netflix K-drama The East Palace?

Returning to the screen after three years, model-turned-actor Nam Joo-hyuk has starred in a number of hit Korean dramas.

Korean actor Nam Joo-hyuk is currently starring in the Netflix K-drama series The East Palace. Photo: Instagram/skawngur
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How 94-year-old Bowie Woo became Hong Kong’s ultimate evergreen entertainer

Since becoming a film star in 1953, ‘Sau Gor’ has adapted to remain a feature of Hong Kong screens, and his recent concert set a world record.

Hong Kong actor and singer Bowie Woo with his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, on April 16, 2023. Woo set a Guinness World Record in June 2026 as the oldest Chinese artist to hold a solo concert at the age of 94. Photo: Dickson Lee
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Prolific Hong Kong director Andrew Lau looks back on his most iconic films

From the Young and Dangerous series to The Storm Riders and Infernal Affairs, Andrew Lau has captivated audiences for decades.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Classic Hong Kong cinema

In this feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry.

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