Beyond 'In the Mood for Love': 5 Movies to Delve Into Chinese Cinema, Ranked by IMDb

Chinese cinema is a vast universe that reaches far beyond its acknowledged masterpieces. If you were captivated by Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love, it's just the gateway to this world.

Chinese cinema offers a profound perspective on the complexity of human relationships, the burden of history, and sweeping social transformations.

5. 'Curse of the Golden Flower', 2006

IMDb Score: 7.0/10

The movie reveals the secrets of the Chinese court during the Late Tang Dynasty. While the emperor is away, the empress is having an affair with his son. The other sons are plotting intrigues and all family members are vying for power.

This film, the most expensive in Chinese cinema history, will satisfy even the most avid viewers' thirst for beauty and spectacle.

It features luxurious costumes, thousands of extras, high-society scandals, fight choreography, and life-size palaces – the grandeur of ancient Chinese history is depicted on a breathtaking scale.

4. 'Long Day's Journey Into Night', 2018

IMDb Score: 7.1/10

After the death of his father, Luo Hongwu returns to his hometown in southwest China. While investigating the mysterious life of a woman he once knew, Luo immerses himself in a dreamlike, nonlinear narrative that blurs the boundaries between past and present.

Long Day's Journey Into Night captivated cinephiles worldwide with its 59-minute seamless frame, dreamlike beauty, and surrealist aesthetic reminiscent of Marc Chagall's paintings.

Its mysterious noir atmosphere, sense of the elusiveness of time, and attempt to visually recreate the phenomenon of memory made the movie a breakthrough in cinema.

3. 'Black Dog', 2024

IMDb Score: 7.2/10

2008, after spending years in prison, stuntman Lang returns to his hometown, which is slowly dying. The mines have closed, people have left, and abandoned animals roam the streets.

Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, local authorities are trying to improve the town's image and have organized a team to catch stray dogs. Having just been released from prison with no other prospects, Lang joins the cleanup team.

One day, he encounters a black dog that is stubborn and wild, and a strange bond develops between them. Lang soon realizes that by helping this dog, he is actually trying to save himself.

2. 'So Long, My Son', 2019

IMDb Score: 7.7/10

The late 1970s. The Chinese government only allows each family to have one child. Xingxing, the young son of Yaojun and Liyun, drowned in a pond while his parents argued over a toy gun.

A few years later, the couple adopts a boy and names him after their deceased son. The "new" Xingxing grows up, becomes angry with his adoptive parents, and runs away from home.

This touching, epic movie about Chinese national politics, told through the personal story of one family, will leave no viewer indifferent, not even the most cynical.

1. 'City of Life and Death', 2009

IMDb Score: 7.7/10

The action takes place in Nanjing, the former capital of China, which Japanese troops captured in 1937. Amidst the general panic and retreat of the Chinese army, several Chinese and Japanese soldiers and civilians find themselves caught in the midst of the horrific Nanjing Massacre.

Shot in a gritty, documentary-style, this shocking, dynamic, and emotional black-and-white film offers multiple perspectives on the events.

Through personal and complex human stories, the movie recalls the horrors of war that bring suffering and grief to all.