One could maybe marvel at its storytelling efficiency with a 90-minute narrative spanning decades of tumultuous modern Chinese history, but it doesn’t quite know whether to be epic or cheesy in its treatment.
Tag / Taiwan
Return to Burma (2011)
A promising debut from a gifted filmmaker whose raw, neorealist approach gives authenticity to the stories of the poor in Burma.
Nina Wu (2019)
A stylistic departure from his rural ‘border dramas’, Midi Z’s disconcerting meta-filmic response to the #MeToo movement features a stunning performance by co-writer Wu Ke-Xi.
Road to Mandalay, The (2016)
An excellent low-key drama about the perils of working in a foreign country as an illegal immigrant, directed with assurance and confident pacing by rising filmmaker Midi Z.
This Love of Mine (1986)
An utterly miserable work about a woman coming to terms with her cheating husband that is torturous to sit through.
Kuei Mei, a Woman (1985)
A solidly-acted story of one woman trying to raise her family despite all odds, in what could be Taiwan New Cinema director Chang Yi’s finest work.
Daughter of the Nile (1987)
Used to be one of Hou’s rarest films, but while it suggests a weaker grasp of his material, it is still worth a shot.
