“After the invention of movies, we live three times as long” because “movies give us twice what we get from daily life” a character says in Edward Yang’s film Yi yi: A one and a Two. Besides entertainment, you can also get some knowledge and inspiration from movies. To get ready to study in China, we’ve whittled down a list of 10 movies below for you to watch which will give you some insight into Chinese culture and get used to China more easily. 

1. Yi yi: A one and a Two (2000)

Director: Edward Yang

Length: 173 minutes

IMDb: tt0244316

The main character of Yi yi: A one and a Two is named NJ, who is a principled businessman. The movie shows the chaotic life of NJ, his wife, his daughter, his son and his mother in Tai Pei, China.

Yi yi: A one and a Two is the first Chinese movie of BBC’s 100 Best Films of the 21st century. There is a comment in Douban written: I saw a lifetime through this movie. Indeed, it paints a real picture of Chinese love, Chinese family and Chinese life that could make you have a deeper understanding of them. The magic of the movie is that after watching it, you’ll find yourself gain lots of insight into life.

2. The Last Emperor (1987)

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Length: 163 minutes

IMDb: tt0093389

The Last Emperor recounts the whole life of Pu Yi, who is the last emperor of Qing Dynasty in China.

The Last Emperor got the Best Movie prize at the 60^th Oscar Golden Statuettes. The movie narrates a piece of Chinese history from an Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci perspective, which is calmer and more objective than Chinese’s perspective. You get to know more about Chinese history while enjoying the epic work. By the way, all the characters in the movies speak English, making it easier for you to watch.

3.Dying to Survive (2018)

Director: Muye Wen

Length: 117 minutes

IMDb: tt7362036

Dying to Survive is adapted from the real story of Lu Yong, a patient with chronic leukemia, who bought anti-cancer drugs for other not well-off patients’ behalf.

Dying to Survive earned 3.1 billions yuan at the box office, forming a good public praise among the audience. The movie is based on a true story, which makes the movie plot more touching and heartshaking. You can comprehend Chinese society and Chinese attitude towards life through this movie. It’s a realistic work, but it won’t make you feel heavy, it shows life in a humorous way.

4. Ne Zha (2019)

Director: Yu Yang

Length: 110 minutes

IMDb: tt10627720

Ne Zha tells a story about the growth of Ne Zha, who is mischievous and troublesome with a hero’s heart.

Ne Zha is the top of the list of Chinese animated films, earning 5 billions yuan in the box office, even more than Dying to Survive. Ne Zha is an important figure in Chinese mythology, it can be found in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels of ancient China. Although the character setting of Ne Zha in the movie is quite different from the mythology, watching Ne Zha can still help you to get a general knowledge of Chinese mythology. Through the movie, you will feel the affection between family members and experience growth in laughter. 

5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Director: Ang Lee

Length: 120 minutes

IMDb: tt0190332

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon tells the love and hatred between ancient characters Li Mubai, Yu Jiaolong and Yu Xiulian.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film, it’s the first and the only Chinese movie which won the Academy Award. If you enjoy martial arts, or you are planning to visit some places of interest in China that are famous for their martial arts history, then this movie is especially recommended for you.

6. Farewell My Concubine (1993)

Director: Kaige Chen

Length: 171 minutes

IMDb: tt0106332

Farewell My Concubine is about a same-sex relationship between Duan Xiaolou and Cheng Dieyi, the former knows drama is not life well, as the latter is irrespective of drama and life.

Farewell My Concubine was named “Best Mainland Chinese Film” by Time Out China in 2013, and it’s the first Chinese movie which won the Palme ‘d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. You can know about 20^th century Chinese history through the rise and fall of Cheng Dieyi. 

7. In the Mood for Love (2000)

Director: Kar Wai Wong

Length: 98 minutes

IMDb: tt0118694

In the Mood for Love is set in Hong Kong in the 1960s, you will sense the restrained but romantic romance between newspaper editor Zhou Muyun and his neighbor Su Lizhen.

By In the Mood for Love, Kar Wai Wang crafts a dreamily melancholic tale of love and loneliness that weaves in and out of Hong Kong’s cramped apartments and neon-lit back streets. One of the protagonist Tony Leung won the award for Best Actor at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for this movie.

8. Mr. Six (2015)

Director: Hu Guan

Length: 137 minutes

IMDb: tt4701702

Mr. Six tells a story of Mr. Six, an aging neighborhood kingpin in Beijing who gets into a turf war with a young gang of street punks.

The father and son feeling in Mr. Six is tolerant but tender, there’s no doubt that you’ll be moved by it. The movie was filmed on location around Houhai Lake, the Drum and Bell Towers and the Summer Palace, offering a good introduction to some of Beijing’s most famous popular landmarks.

9. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman (1994)

Director: Ang Lee

Length: 124 minutes

IMDb: tt0111797

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman will help you to truly get a taste of Chinese cooking, its intricacies, complexities, and inextricable ties to expression and emotion. 

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman is a Taiwanese film following the lives of a retired widower chef and his three daughters. It also examines connections between food, love, and desire, and takes on issues of transitioning from tradition to modernity, as well as the influences of East and West.

10. I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016)

Director: Xiaogang Feng

Length: 140 minutes

IMDb: tt5918090

I Am Not Madame Bovary gives viewers a satirical peek into the ineffectuality and confusion of Chinese bureaucracy.

I Am Not Madame Bovary balances absurdism and realism, you’ll get the sense of humor when you get the sense of helplessness. Parts of the film use circular composition as other movies are rectangular as customary, it brings a unique beauty to the movie. 

2022 is upon us, wish you have a happy new year. If you’re planning to study in China for 2022, why not get a glimpse of Chinese culture and enjoy one of the movies above? What’s more, don’t forget to get in touch with us at (info@uniedu.org), we’re here to help you apply :)