The best Chinese films for New Year.
Since the 1970s, films from China and Hong Kong have been big throughout Asia. And these days, they're more popular than ever. Full of martial arts, fantasy, historical drama and romance - sometimes all mixed together - it’s no surprise that the Chinese film industry is now one of the biggest in the world.
For the latest on the very best of what’s coming out of the People’s Republic, we turned to our favourite Chinese movie expert, blogger Norrabordee Saisoonthon (Ae). He says that mainland China has surpassed the Hong Kong film industry in recent years. But both remain very popular in Thailand, where stars like Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi and Jackie Chan are all household names.
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, S Weekly asked Ae to give us his pick of Chinese films and series to look out for this year.
Bleeding Steel (2017)
“This is the latest film from the king of martial arts, Jackie Chan. It came out in Thailand last month, so many will have already seen it. But for those that haven’t, Bleeding Steel is a very entertaining sci-fi thriller. Jackie Chan stars as a special agent trying to protect his daughter from mutants. He still does all the amazing stunts you’d expect, including one where he jumps off the Sydney Opera House. I’m a long-time fan of Jackie Chan. Maybe he’s getting a bit too old to do all these stunts, but Bleeding Steel is still worth checking out.”
Monster Hunt 2 (2018)
“This is the sequel to the 2015 fantasy adventure Monster Hunt, which was a massive hit. It became the highest-grossing Chinese movie of all time. So this sequel is highly anticipated. It’s basically a family film and has actors interacting with computer-animated monsters. The director Raman Hui spent several years at DreamWorks, working on features like Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2. So you can imagine how good he is. The movie opens in Thailand on Chinese New Year’s Day.”
The Monkey King 3 (2018)
“This is the third instalment of the The Monkey King film series. It’s based on the classic Chinese story Journey to the West. In this film, the Monkey King and his gang go to Women’s Country, an all-female kingdom. It features two superstars from different generations - Aaron Kwok plays the Monkey King, while Zhao Liying plays the ruler of Women’s Country. So it should appeal to both young and old fans.”
Princess Agents (2017)
“Princess Agents is a new TV series I’d recommend. It has actually been on air since December on Channel 9 and is based on a best-selling novel. It’s a fantasy set in wartime during the Xia Dynasty and tells the story of a brave slave woman named Chu Qiao. The series has been well-received both domestically and internationally and is currently the most-watched Chinese drama of all time.”
Lost Love in Times (2017)
“This is another hit Chinese series that has recently arrived on Thai TV. You can see it every weekday evening on Channel GMM25. It’s a romantic fantasy about a relationship between a prince and a sorceress who helps to protect the royal family. The court doesn’t trust her and is strongly against the relationship. I think lots of people will love this series because the lead actors, Cecilia Liu and William Chan, are really popular here. William Chan visited Thailand recently to shoot a TV commercial and there were huge numbers of Thai fans following him around - it was crazy.”
