East Asian Movies I must Watch
by mahdi-hsh94-608-148557 | created - 02 Mar 2023 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Night Comes for Us (2018)
TV-MA | 121 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Ito, a gangland enforcer, is caught amidst a treacherous and violent insurrection within his Triad crime family upon his return home from a stint abroad.
Director: Timo Tjahjanto | Stars: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Julie Estelle, Dian Sastrowardoyo
Votes: 29,246
2. Last Life in the Universe (2003)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.
Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Takashi Miike, Laila Boonyasak
Votes: 11,560 | Gross: $0.03M
3. Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007)
R | 126 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world in 1206.
Director: Sergei Bodrov | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Amadu Mamadakov, Khulan Chuluun, Honglei Sun
Votes: 49,193 | Gross: $5.70M
4. Bangkok Dangerous (2000)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story is of a deaf-mute hitman and his partner who are based in Bangkok. He is friends with his partner's girlfriend who is a stripper at a local club. They go about their assassination... See full summary »
Directors: Danny Pang, Oxide Chun Pang | Stars: Pawarith Monkolpisit, Premsinee Ratanasopha, Patharawarin Timkul, Pisek Intrakanchit
Votes: 3,779 | Gross: $0.02M
5. Blissfully Yours (2002)
125 min | Drama, Romance
The story of a love affair that begins during a picnic on the Thai-Burmese border.
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Stars: Kanokporn Tongaram, Min Oo, Jenjira Pongpas, Sa-gnad Chaiyapan
Votes: 2,694
6. Hom rong (2004)
103 min | Biography, Drama, History
Inspired by the life of Luang Pradit Pairoh the most revered traditional Thai music master who lived during the reigns of Kings Rama V to VIII.
Director: Itthisoontorn Vichailak | Stars: Anuchit Sapanpong, Adul Dulyarat, Pongpat Wachirabunjong, Narongrit Tosa-nga
Votes: 1,032 | Gross: $0.00M
7. Three Seasons (1999)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama
Although the hearts and goals and desires are different for everyone in a culturally-shifting Ho Chi Minh City, the stories of four separate individuals paint a vivid picture of the past, present, and future of a city eking into a new era.
Director: Tony Bui | Stars: Ngoc Hiep Nguyen, Ngoc Minh, Phat Trieu Hoang, Diem Kieu
Votes: 3,299 | Gross: $2.02M
8. When the Tenth Month Comes (1984)
95 min | Drama
Duyen faces a daily struggle to care for her young son and her weakened father-in-law, while keeping secret the fact that her husband died in a battle during the war.
Director: Dang Nhat Minh | Stars: Vân Lê, Luu Viet Bao Dang, Yen Hoang, Phu Cuong Lai
Votes: 480
9. The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama
With the brilliant Vietnamese summer as a setting Vertical Ray of the Sun is beautiful from beginning to end. The plot centres around three sisters, two of whom are happily married (or so ... See full summary »
Director: Anh Hung Tran | Stars: Nu Yên-Khê Tran, Quynh Nhu, Khanh Le, Quang Hai Ngo
Votes: 3,971 | Gross: $0.46M
10. 6ixtynin9 (1999)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A woman, fired from a financial coorporation during the Asia crisis, returns home with no money. However, she finds a box with a fortune in front of her door, and decides to keep it. ... See full summary »
Directors: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Tom Pen-Ek Ratanaruang | Stars: Tasanawalai Ongartittichai, Black Phomtong, Lalita Panyopas, Sirisin Siripornsmathikul
Votes: 2,411
11. Execution in Autumn (1972)
99 min | Drama
Peigang, his family's only son for three generations running, is to be executed on account of larceny, but not without the intervention of his grandmother.
Director: Hsing Lee | Stars: Hui-Lou Chen, Shao-Ching Chou, Bi-Hui Fu, Su Han
Votes: 283
12. The Great Buddha+ (2017)
102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
One day when Pickle and his friend Belly Bottom watch the dashcam recordings of Pickle's boss they stumble upon a secret.
Director: Hsin-yao Huang | Stars: Cres Chuang, Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen, Leon Dai, Shao-Huai Chang
Votes: 4,881
13. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994)
PG-13 | 102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A crime boss searching for the world's best fighters pursues a talented Japanese drifter and his American ex-classmate, while an Interpol agent and a US Army captain seek to bring him down.
Director: Gisaburô Sugii | Stars: Kôjiro Shimizu, Kenji Haga, Miki Fujitani, Masane Tsukayama
Votes: 9,901
14. Jack and the Beanstalk (1974)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young peasant boy named Jack climbs a giant beanstalk and stumbles upon a city in the clouds ruled by an evil queen.
Director: Gisaburô Sugii | Stars: Tonpei Hidari, Masachika Ichimura, Nobue Ichitani, Kazuo Kamimura
Votes: 1,026
15. Grandma and Her Ghosts (1998)
84 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
A 5 year old kid moves to live with his grandma in a small town at Taiwan. Soon after, he discovers that her grandma is not only a vendor, but also she is good at catching spectres. One day... See full summary »
Director: Shaudi Wang | Stars: Ta-Chi Chien, Chien-Yu Chuang, Dai-Wen Chuang, Po-Wen Chuang
Votes: 389
16. The Personals (1998)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An attractive and successful doctor places a personal ad in a newspaper to try to meet (and eventually marry) Mr. Right. A succession of blind dates ensues, featuring men who are lonely, desperate, dangerous and perverted.
Director: Kuo-Fu Chen | Stars: Rene Liu, Wu Bai, Chen Chao-jung, Pao-Ming Ku
Votes: 650 | Gross: $0.02M
17. Tropical Fish (1995)
107 min | Comedy, Drama
Young boy, Ah-Jiang, a school failure and day dreamer witnesses the kidnapping of a child. After being taken hostage by a corrupt family, he begins an unusual adventure away from home.
Director: Yu-Hsun Chen | Stars: Akio Chen, Yi-fan Chen, Hsiao-fan Fan, Pi-tung Lien
Votes: 602
18. The Puppetmaster (1993)
142 min | Biography, Drama, War
Puppeteer Li Tian-lu tells his life story, and through it, the story of Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tien-Lu Li, Giong Lim, Kuei-Chung Cheng, Chien-ru Huang
Votes: 2,072
19. Hill of No Return (1992)
165 min | Crime, Drama, History
Set in 1920s Taiwan under Japanese rule, two men join the Chiu-Fen gold rush hoping for riches, while a widow struggles and a prostitute yearns for freedom. A mine collapse traps miners as the widow leaves town.
Director: Toon Wang | Stars: Jen Chang-bin, Xianmei Chen, Pin-Yuan Huang, Chia-Chia Peng
Votes: 377
20. Growing Up (1983)
100 min | Drama
The story follows a young man as he changes from an intelligently aware youth, to a teenager with much less confidence than he once had, and finally, to a stable adult.
Director: Kun-Hou Chen | Stars: Chun-Fang Chang, Fu-Sheng Tsui, Doze Niu, Chuan-Wen Cheng
Votes: 404
21. Tjoet Nja' Dhien (1988)
150 min | Drama, War
Tjoet Nja' Dhien assumes the leadership when her husband Teuku Umar is killed in an ambush. Dhien's charismatic presence and power of survival motivate the locals to join and later continue their opposition to the Dutch in Aceh in 1896.
Director: Eros Djarot | Stars: Pitradjaya Burnama, Christine Hakim, Rudy Wowor, Slamet Rahardjo
Votes: 543
22. Tiga Dara (1956)
115 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A family's attempt at matchmaking their oldest daughter and the conflicts that follow.
Director: Usmar Ismail | Stars: Chitra Dewi, Indiati Iskak, Mieke Wijaya, Hassan Sanusi
Votes: 555
23. After the Curfew (1954)
101 min | Drama
A hero of revolution returns to civilian life to find the new society very different from the ideals he fought for.
Director: Usmar Ismail | Stars: A.N. Alcaff, Astaman, Awaludin, Wahid Chan
Votes: 783
24. Tropical Malady (2004)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A romance between a soldier and a country boy, wrapped around a Thai folk-tale involving a shaman with shape-shifting abilities.
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Stars: Banlop Lomnoi, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Huai Dessom, Sirivech Jareonchon
Votes: 6,317
25. Weighed But Found Wanting (1974)
Not Rated | 126 min | Drama
This landmark film is considered by many to be one of the most important in Philippine cinema. The son of a wealthy man, Junior has everything he could possibly want. But the emptiness of ... See full summary »
Director: Lino Brocka | Stars: Lolita Rodriguez, Lilia Dizon, Eddie Garcia, Hilda Koronel
Votes: 674
26. Metro Manila (2013)
Not Rated | 115 min | Crime, Drama
This riveting crime thriller follows Oscar, a recent emigrant to Manila who gets pulled into a harrowing world of corruption and violence when he takes a job as an armored car driver to support his family (in Tagalog w/ English subtitles).
Director: Sean Ellis | Stars: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega, Erin Panlilio
Votes: 9,202
27. Norte, the End of History (2013)
TV-MA | 250 min | Crime, Drama
An embittered law student commits a brutal double murder; a family man takes the fall and is forced into a harsh prison sentence; a mother and her two children wander the countryside looking for some kind of redemption.
Director: Lav Diaz | Stars: Sid Lucero, Angeli Bayani, Archie Alemania, Soliman Cruz
Votes: 2,289
28. The Woman Who Left (2016)
TV-MA | 226 min | Drama
After 30 years of wrongful imprisonment, a woman plans to take revenge on her former lover.
Director: Lav Diaz | Stars: Charo Santos-Concio, John Lloyd Cruz, Michael De Mesa, Nonie Buencamino
Votes: 1,626 | Gross: $0.00M
29. Virgin People (1984)
TV-MA | 120 min | Drama
In this story, three sisters are raised in a world where men are metaphorically and literally serpents of temptation by their God-fearing father. The girls are educated enough to read from the Bible.
Director: Celso Ad. Castillo | Stars: Janet Bordon, Myrna Castillo, Pepsi Paloma, Ernie Garcia
Votes: 498
30. Melancholia (2008)
Not Rated | 450 min | Drama
Three people engage in a strange therapy to get away from their agonies.
Director: Lav Diaz | Stars: Angeli Bayani, Perry Dizon, Roeder Camanag, Dante Perez
Votes: 555
31. Magnifico (2003)
TV-PG | 120 min | Drama
Even though he is not good in school and belongs to a poor and unfortunate family, Magnifico still has a big heart and a large amount of optimism that enabled him to help not only his family, but also the community.
Director: Maryo J. de los Reyes | Stars: Lorna Tolentino, Albert Martinez, Gloria Romero, Celia Rodriguez
Votes: 947
32. In the Wink of an Eye (1981)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A crime-drama-suspense genre film not often seen in Philippine cinema. A controlling patriarch loses it over his daughter's marriage and her attempts to escape from their incestuous household.
Director: Mike De Leon | Stars: Charo Santos-Concio, Jay Ilagan, Vic Silayan, Charito Solis
Votes: 718
33. Miracle (1982)
TV-14 | 124 min | Drama
Elsa saw the blessed Virgin Mary who had changed her life and caused a hysteria in a poor isolated village.
Director: Ishmael Bernal | Stars: Nora Aunor, Spanky Manikan, Gigi Dueñas, Laura Centeno
Votes: 902
34. Perfumed Nightmare (1977)
93 min | Comedy, Drama
A Filipino jeepney driver (Kidlat Tahimik) who idolizes America's space program comes to reject the rapid encroachment of technology.
Director: Kidlat Tahimik | Stars: Kidlat Tahimik, Mang Fely, Dolores Santamaria, Georgette Baudry
Votes: 886
35. Oro, Plata, Mata (1982)
TV-MA | 194 min | Drama, War
Two affluent families struggle and learn to survive during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.
Director: Peque Gallaga | Stars: Cherie Gil, Sandy Andolong, Liza Lorena, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
Votes: 658
36. Song of the Exile (1990)
100 min | Drama
After the Sino-Japanese War, Kwei Dz, one of the family members of Japanese soldiers accepted a Chinese officer's proposal and remained in China. Later they had a daughter named Ann. The ... See full summary »
Director: Ann Hui | Stars: Maggie Cheung, Siu-Kwong Chung, Tan Lang Jachi Tian, Waise Lee
Votes: 556
37. Green Snake (1993)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Two snake spirits become human and learn about love and suffering. A monk discovers his own weaknesses and finds that morality is not as simple as he had thought.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Joey Wang, Maggie Cheung, Wenzhuo Zhao, Hsing-Kuo Wu
Votes: 3,650
38. Syndromes and a Century (2006)
105 min | Drama
Story about director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's parents, who were both doctors, and the director's memories about growing up in the hospital environment.
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Stars: Nantarat Sawaddikul, Jaruchai Iamaram, Sophon Pukanok, Jenjira Pongpas
Votes: 4,600 | Gross: $0.02M
39. The Tin Mine (2005)
111 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Set in 1950 and based on the series of autobiographical short stories by Archin Panjabhan, the beginning finds Archin (Pijaya Vachajitpan) expelled from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University ... See full summary »
Director: Jira Maligool | Stars: Pijaya Vachajitpan, Donlaya Mudcha, Sonthaya Chitmanee, Anthony Howard Gould
Votes: 747
40. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy
Dying of kidney disease, a man spends his last, somber days with family, including the ghost of his wife and a forest spirit who used to be his son, on a rural northern Thailand farm.
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Stars: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Natthakarn Aphaiwonk
Votes: 17,396 | Gross: $0.18M
41. Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A man went back to Guizhou, found the tracks of a mysterious woman. He recalls the summer he spent with her twenty years ago.
Director: Bi Gan | Stars: Tang Wei, Jue Huang, Sylvia Chang, Hong-Chi Lee
Votes: 9,410 | Gross: $0.50M
42. An Elephant Sitting Still (2018)
230 min | Crime, Drama
Four people in a Chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect.
Director: Bo Hu | Stars: Yu Zhang, Yuchang Peng, Uvin Wang, Zi Xi
Votes: 7,999 | Gross: $0.03M
43. The Eel (1997)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Akira Emoto
Votes: 6,401 | Gross: $0.41M
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