In recent years, East Asian films have attracted more and more attention from all over the world, and compared with the foreseeable fixed tastes of mainstream films such as Hollywood, directors in Japan, South Korea, and China can break through the shackles of convention and shoot experimental masterpieces that break through the film conventions. These films are often filmed in local landscapes like landscape paintings, and the local architecture and poetic aesthetics of East Asian characteristics make the final visual effect of the film often intoxicating.
Here are a selection of the 10 most stunning East Asian films in film history, although they can not show the full picture of Asian films, but at least in the world film industry to establish a unique Asian style. Which of the films in the following list have you seen? Or if you have some of your own additions and ideas for this list, the webmaster welcomes you to recommend your own Asian films in the comment area.
1. Dolls (2002)
Director: Takeshi Kitano Country: Japan
Takeshi Kitano wanted the protagonists in the film to "feel like dolls with a sense of non-existent transparency," so he adopted two new-generation idols, Miho Kanno and Kyoko Fukada.
"Doll" is the most lyrical and sad of Kitano's films, it tells the poignant love story between three couples based on the seasons. The film opens with a bunraku puppet show, a traditional stage show that connects three plot twists and turns. In the unique solemn atmosphere of the theater, those fateful tragedies slowly unfolded.
In the often stagnant and even silent picture, the entanglement of love and fate tells the tragedy of the ultimate beauty.
The monotonous and stiff movements of the male protagonists like dolls bring a strong visual impact, and this arrangement also echoes the sense of involuntary fatalism. But the film is also full of vivid and vivid colors, which are in parallel with the melancholy of the characters in the film. Autumn leaves, sentimental petals, snow on snow-capped mountains, lifelike devil and panda masks, and the dark clothes of the male protagonists combine to create a unique aesthetic world of Kitano Takeshi.
2. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring (2003)
Director: Kim Ki-duk Country: South Korea
There was a time when Kim, tired of the pursuit of infinite violence, turned to a film that appealed to delicate emotions—a film that would impress his fiercest critics. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring is a parable about life and death, inner peace and chaos.
A child monk lives in a temple surrounded by lakes, and as his master gets older, he finds that his actions and everything around him subtly affect him. With the change of the four seasons of the year, these changes in themselves eventually led him to the path of inner meditation.
The scenery of the place where the temple is located is like an ink painting, and the subtle emotions of the characters slowly seep out of it. The changes in the seasons and weather in the film are vivid and full of emotion, with a hint of melancholy tones while not losing restraint and calmness, these changes reflect the subtle emotional changes in the characters' hearts. Another source of the film's visual power is religion and folklore, and the unique beauty of Kim Ki-duk's masterpiece is the unique beauty of Kim Ki-duk's masterpiece, with its very East Asian characteristics, the Chinese characters carved on the ground with ritual meanings, and the national costumes on the monks.
3. Fantasia (2000)
Director: Wong Kar Wai Region: Hong Kong
If I had one more ticket, would you come with me?
Each of Wong Kar-wai's films has an incredible charm. His fondness for saturated colors, old-fashioned tapestries, dim vintage lights, and the elegant attire of the actors makes his films have a strong visual appeal to the most insensitive audiences. It is worth mentioning that the magic of Wong Kar-wai's aesthetic world is largely due to his art director and costume designer, Zhang Shuping.
In this elegant and gorgeous film, there is a scene in which slow motion sweeps past Maggie Cheung and Liang Chaowei standing on the stairs, and Merlin Mao's moving music rings out from behind them. Memorable, soulful shots like this are all over the film. Maggie Cheung's ever-changing exquisite cheongsam and Liang Chaowei's handsome suit make them the most fashionable screen couple in film history, and the charming warm background and passionate colors freeze their love on the most wonderful picture.
4. Dreams (1990)
Director: Akira Kurosawa Country: Japan
After filming great films such as Rashomon and Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa has elevated the genre of period drama to unprecedented heights. He decided to challenge new directions, such as making films with more philosophical, social and political implications. "Dream" is one such film, which is based on a real dream that Akira Kurosawa himself has made. The ethereal atmosphere and harshness of detail make this film a dream at first glance, or it can be said to be a nightmare.
The film consists of several unrelated short stories, all of which unfold in a half-real, half-fictional environment. Akira Kurosawa uses natural scenery as his canvas, unleashing his wild imagination on it, and the result is that the film looks both watercolor and theatrical performance. Brilliant colors and still shots create an irresistiblely fascinating picture that is steeped in Japan's traditional culture, history, and unique folklore. The film involves natural gods, mythical ghosts, traditional festivals and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, all of which, like our own dreams, are fully incorporated into such a profound work.
5. The Best Of Times (2005)
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien Region: Taiwan
Like Takeshi Kitano's Doll, Hou Hyo-hyun's Best Time tells three moving love stories. He cleverly uses the heroine Shu Qi and the male protagonist Zhang Zhen to play all three stories, which make up Hou Xiaoxian's own reflections on time and coincidence, passion and sadness.
Hou Xiaoxian's royal photographer Li Pingbin made outstanding contributions to the visual performance of this film. The film's use of lighting is really a stroke of genius, as the lens is pushed in the interlacing of light and shade, the expression on the face of the characters constantly changes with the light and shadow. The art design of the film is also quite regional, and the background props and scene composition, as well as the characters' costumes with a sense of the times, convey to us in subtle details three decisively different zeitgeist spirits in Taiwan's history.
6. The Extraordinary Tree (1999)
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Country: Japan
Kurosawa is best known for his horror films, the most prominent of which are pure and rhythmic. But even his most loyal fans have rarely seen the film, a weird yet creative and imaginative ecological drama. Although the film is not a standard horror film, its unusual atmosphere is always reminiscent of Kurosawa Kiyoshi's personal business card horror films.
In the center of a forest with a strange tree called the "Tree of the Extraordinary Gods", a police officer is involved in a mysterious event that unfolds around the tree. He was surrounded by people who wanted to destroy the tree, people who wanted to protect the tree and who knew the secrets of the tree. The film can also be seen as a nature thriller, where the quirky natural landscapes give viewers a wonderful visual experience. At the end of the endless forest, the golden glow of sunrise and sunset is reflected in the green of all eyes. Although green, which represents life and vitality, is the color base of the film, dark tones that symbolize the opposite force also appear everywhere from time to time.
The smooth and extremely spanning lens delicately creates a calm atmosphere, and this unusual tranquility makes people unnaturally feel the ominous taste. In this wonderful atmosphere of extreme opposites, a strange story full of fables and symbols unfolds.
7. The Sweet Life (2005)
Director: Kim Ji-woon Country: South Korea
A killer known for his ruthlessness is a model member of a Korean gang, but when he refuses to carry out the order to kill a young woman, he has to face the fate of being hunted down by other gang members. This plot seems old-fashioned, but Kim Ji-woon's handling makes this film stand out from other Korean crime films.
The film's atmospheric lighting, unusual protagonists, and polished dark tones make this film an outstanding crime film. At the same time, as a genre film, the film does not lose extremely shocking violent scenes under the premise of breaking through the convention, which is rare in films of similar genres. Many of the shots in the film are like a delicate perfume advertisement, and both the male protagonist and the scene in which he is located look fashionable and chic. These gorgeous scenes are deliberately arranged by Jin Zhiyun to highlight the inner emptiness of the male protagonist and the cruel atrocities that are about to occur. This film is an excellent example of the development of the Korean film industry, and the development strategy and violent tendencies represented by Korean films are perfectly reflected in the film.
8. The Tale of the Rainy Moon (1953)
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi Country: Japan
"The Tale of the Rainy Moon" is another breakthrough contribution of Kenji Mizoguchi to Japanese period drama films. A couple and a naïve villager who dreamed of becoming samurai witnessed a sharp turn of fate, and when their village was looted by a group of stray soldiers, they found that all their dreams had been dashed.
The film has elements of a horror movie, an action movie and a love movie. Infectious scenes, meaningful close-ups, and fast-cut shots that change rhythms make up the film's unique visual aesthetic. From boats floating in a foggy lake to dream-like scenes of men seduced by a mysterious rich woman, Kenji Mizoguchi uses his poetic and charming lens to convey to us the subtle power that words cannot. The minimalist style of the film makes this masterpiece as impressive as an unforgettable painting, both breathtaking and powerful.
9. Old Boys (2003)
Director: Park Chan-wook Country: South Korea
Park Chan-wook's revenge series of films has become a classic that people can't avoid talking about Korean movies, and this movie is the work that makes Korean movies rush out of the local market. "Old Boys" is not only a film that is clever and ingenious in technology and narrative, it is also a visual feast for the eyeballs.
Of course, this film is a film full of violence, but its violence is also very park Zanyu's personal characteristics. From the contrasting costumes of Oh Dae-so and his enemy Lee You-jin to the film's saturated colors and charming neon lights, Park has proven himself able to conquer his audience in both visual performance and storyline. Paired with a mysterious atmosphere and Cao Yingwo's rhythmic soundtrack, Wu Daxiu's brilliant killing spree in the film looks like a set of carefully prepared video clips.
When it comes to the depressing years that Mr. Wu spent in a private prison, the unique perspective and clean camera editing turn his face into a mask of great pain. Another brilliant and lyrical scene in the film comes when Mr. Wu recalls the event he was destined to encounter, which left him imprisoned in a private prison for years. In the rhythmic editing and breathless rhythm, he remembers that his childhood had experiences similar to his own adulthood. The film deserves to be regarded as a masterpiece of contemporary cinema.
10. Cut (1962)
Director: Masaki Kobayashi Country: Japan
Masaki Kobayashi's films often have a strong dramatic character and can be seen to some extent as a contemporary echo of Greek tragedy. His cinematic shots are lyrical while at the same time with symmetrical compositional features, which makes them a visual rarity.
The film is a representative work of Masaki Kobayashi, and it is also one of his many masterpieces of period drama. The film tells the story of a fallen samurai who seeks to commit suicide by cutting his abdomen at the lord's house. The beautiful rural scenery in the film constructs a poetic and tense fight scene, and the interior of the house arranged according to geometric principles provides a minimalist stage for the development of the plot. The film's ingenious use of light makes the expressions on the characters' faces extremely dramatic, and their inner emotions jump off the screen. Masaki Kobayashi's fanatical pursuit of detail makes this film a model of visual masterpieces in samurai films.