China

The Criterion Shelf: 8 Films By Jia Zhangke

To hear Jia Zhangke's cinema described is to brace yourself for dry, dull lectures on the state of the world today, but to watch his work is to discover worlds as fascinating as anything the George Lucases of the industry can imagine.

To Live to Sing Review: Culture at a Crossroads

A song of resistance soars above the towering condominiums in Johnny Ma’s To Live to Sing. The film, Ma’s sophomore feature after Old Stone, is an evocative portrait of culture at a crossroads. To Live to Sing takes the gritty realism of Ma’s debut feature a step further. Inspired by a Sichuan opera company he […]

The Farewell Review

Lulu Wang’s funny, thoughtful, and life-affirming feature, The Farewell, is one of 2019's best movies.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Review

Pseudo-historical, slightly spooky, but infinitely kung fu (with choreography by the beloved Sammo Hung) do Detective Dee’s massive CGI set pieces and explosively absurd fight scenarios create any competition for our biggest 'busters back home? Namely Sherlock Holmes? Which I’m saying because I guess that’s the easiest reference point for a spectacle detective story?