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Asian Cinema

Asian Cinema

Cinema has been a part of Asian cultures for more than a century. We offer a selection of films from older classic titles (King Hu's THE FATE OF LEE KHAN) to more recent family dramas by the Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, along with films from Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

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Asian Cinema
  • Pushing Hands

    Having just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex (Ye-tong Wang). Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha (Deb Snyder), a writer who seems to blame him for...

  • Vive L'Amour

    Tsai Ming-liang's sophomore feature, VIVE L'AMOUR, follows three lonely souls sharing a Taipei apartment. Beautiful realtor May Lin (Yang Kuei-mei) brings her lover Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) to the vacant unit, unaware that it is secretly occupied by suicidal funeral salesman Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-...

  • Yanagawa

    Li Dong and Li Chun are brothers with completely different temperaments. Though they both live in Beijing, the two have been estranged for many years. One day, while reconnecting at a Japanese restaurant nestled within the busy streets of the city, they reminisce about their beloved childhood sw...

  • Looking for Lucky

    Struggling graduate student Zhang Guangsheng (Ding Xinhe) loses his professor’s dog and enlists his deadbeat dad (Yu Hai) to help retrieve the missing pooch before his careless mistake jeopardizes both his graduation and future career.

    The feature debut from Chinese writer/director Jiang Jiache...

  • They Say Nothings Stays the Same

    Toichi (Akira Emoto), an aging ferryman in a remote Meiji-era community, lives a peaceful, cyclical existence, given meaning by the essential role he plays in transporting people, livestock, and goods across the water, connecting villages and lives. When news arrives that a bridge is being built,...

  • Sunshine That Can Move Mountains

    Upon learning that his younger brother had an accident and has slipped into a vegetative state, Tibetan monk Tenzin Banjue leaves his monastery and embarks on the long walk back to his home village. Once there, he finds himself caught between faith and desire when his mother encourages him to sta...

  • Center Stage

    International superstar Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) embodies tragic screen siren Ruan Lingyu, known as the "Greta Garbo of China," in this unconventional biopic by Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan (Rouge). Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, w...

  • Abigail Harm

    Abigail Harm (Amanda Plummer) reads books to the blind and lives alone on the outskirts of the city. Keeping her eyes turned away from everyone, she secretly watches, listens and hopes. One day, Abigail recalls an old story about a woodcutter who saves the life of a mystical deer and is granted h...

  • A Balance

    Investigative filmmaker Yuko (Kumi Takiuchi) is putting together a piece about the bereaved families connected with a bullied schoolgirlʼs suicide. Determined to shed light on the truth, Yukoʼs uncompromising nature brings her in conflict with the conservative-minded management at her television ...

  • While the Women Are Sleeping

    While vacationing with his wife at a seaside resort, Kenji, a struggling writer (Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car), becomes fascinated with a mysterious couple he notices by the pool. Later, from outside their hotel room window, he witnesses the older man (Takeshi Kitano) methodically filming th...

  • 100 Yen Love

    32-year-old Ichiko (Sakura Ando, Shoplifters) lives at home in self-indulgent grunginess with her parents and recently divorced younger sister. One morning, after a particularly heated argument, Ichiko decides to leave for good. With few options to support herself, she finds a job at a 100 yen sh...

  • A Girl Missing

    Following his Cannes Jury Prize-winning drama HARMONIUM, director Koji Fukada returns with “another emotionally palpable tale of perception” (IONCINEMA). Ichiko (Mariko Tsutsui) is a private home nurse who has worked for the elderly matriarch of the Oisho family for years. Unexpectedly, her quiet...

  • Alpha: The Right to Kill

    Set against the backdrop of the Philippines government's crackdown on illegal drugs, a SWAT-led police force launches an operation to arrest Abel, one of the biggest drug lords in Manila. Police Officer Espino and Elijah, a small-time pusher turned informant, provide the intelligence for the oper...

  • The Road to Mandalay

    Burmese immigrants sneak into Thailand on a well-trafficked route across the Mekong River, down quiet country roads and past bribed police checkpoints. Along this treacherous path to Bangkok, Lianqing (Wu Ke-Xi) and Guo (Kai Ko) meet, and their fates become entwined. After finding work, the coupl...

  • After the Storm

    From acclaimed Japanese auteur and 2018 Palme D'Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (SHOPLIFTERS, LIKE FATHER LIKE SON) comes one of the most critically acclaimed dramas of 2017, earning a New York Times Critic's Pick and Village Voice Choice designation, and Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Dwelling ...

  • The Third Murder

    When high-powered attorney Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama) takes on the defense of murder-robbery suspect Misumi (Kōji Yakusho), he does so with reluctance, knowing that the man already provided a full confession and had been previously convicted of murder thirty years earlier. But as he digs deepe...

  • Harmonium

    Toshio (Kanji Furutachi) sees his seemingly ordinary life take an ominous turn when Yasaka (Tadanobu Asano), a mysterious friend from his past, arrives unexpectedly. Recently released from prison and in need of a helping hand, Toshio gives him a job and generously takes him in to live with his wi...

  • Ilo Ilo

    Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Ilo Ilo chronicles the day-to-day drama of the Lim family - troublesome grade-schooler Jiale and his overstressed parents, Heck and Leng. Comfortably middleclass and with another baby on the way, they hire Teresa, a Filipino immigrant, as a...

  • My Love, Don't Cross That River

    A blockbuster in its native Korea, where it would go on to become the country’s most successful documentary film of all time, MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER presents an unforgettable story of true love that transcends both generations and cultures. This Emmy-nominated documentary follows the “10...

  • The Wild Goose Lake

    When small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) accidentally kills a cop, a dead-or-alive bounty is placed on his head, forcing him on the lam from both the police as well as dangerous gangsters out for the reward. Hiding out at the Wild Goose Lake, Zhou becomes entangled with a beautiful, enigmat...