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Chinese language cinema

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Chinese language cinema
From Andy Lau to John Woo, from Jiang Wen to Tsai Ming-liang to Sylvia Chang, and from triads to kung fu to hopping vampires to costume epics, this is the place to go for features, interviews and reviews about Chinese-language movies from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.
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Politics

Exclusive | CK Hutchison’s control of Panama ports ‘undermines’ sovereignty, lawyers say

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Science

China flexes military muscles with rare, large-scale missile test in Gobi Desert

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Europe

EU hits back at Trump’s trade war with US$28 billion in tariffs

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Donnie Yen in a still from Drunken Tai Chi (1984), his debut movie as a young actor. Photo: Dragons Group Film
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

What were Donnie Yen’s early movies like before Ip Man? 5 films revisited

Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen rose to super stardom with Ip Man, but some of his films as a young actor showcase his skills best.

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Hong Kong

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Last Dance (extended version): what the deleted scenes entail

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American cinema

Obituary | Tributes for martial artist and stuntman Richard Norton, who’s died aged 75

Tributes pour in for actor who starred opposite Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris and Sammo Hung and trained stars from Will Smith to Margot Robbie.

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Chuck Norris spars with Richard Norton on the beach in Cannes, France, to promote their movie The Octagon. Photo: Instagram/chucknorris
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

‘Could have been 3 movies’: Chang Cheh’s The Brave Archer crams in a lot

Hong Kong filmmaker Chang Cheh wanted to do justice to Louis Cha’s The Legend of the Condor Heroes. But his trilogy is dense and confusing.

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Cinema

Best movies to watch at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2025

The 2025 HKIFF boasts a line-up of nearly 200 films to be shown over 12 days. Here is our pick of unmissable movies and programmes.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Peg O’ My Heart: great visuals, awful story in Nick Cheung horror thriller

Andy Lau cameo can’t save Cheung’s film starring himself, Fala Chen and Terrance Lau that is heavy on style but lacks convincing backstories.

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Fala Chen and Nick Cheung in a still from Peg O’ My Heart (category: IIB, Cantonese). Directed by Nick Cheung and co-starring Terrence Lau.
American cinema

How The Wedding Banquet remake updates Ang Lee’s romcom

With Ang Lee’s blessing, Andrew Ahn has remade his comedy about same-sex couples with a cast including Bowen Yang and Kelly Marie Tran.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

What other films did A Chinese Ghost Story’s Tony Ching Siu-tung direct?

From a film starring Kelly Chen and Donnie Yen to an Indiana Jones rip-off with Jet Li, 4 of Tony Ching’s lesser-known productions.

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European cinema

John Rabe, film with a Western angle on the Nanking massacre

The film tells the story of the Japanese massacre of Chinese civilians through the eyes of ‘good’ Nazi John Rabe.

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Ulrich Tukur plays the title role in the 2009 film John Rabe, which recounts the Nanking massacre from a Western standpoint. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | In fencing-themed drama Pierce, Liu Hsiu-fu and Tsao Yu-ning are brothers

Singaporean filmmaker Nelicia Low’s feature film debut has some visual flourishes but is let down by glaring weaknesses in its narrative.

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Liu Hsiu-fu as high-school fencer Zijie in a still from Pierce (category IIB; Mandarin, Minnan, French) directed by Nelicia Low. Tsao Yu-ning and Ding Ning co-star.
Hong Kong society

Ne Zha 2 inspires John Lee to ‘overcome obstacles, forge path’ for Hong Kong

Hong Kong leader reveals on social media he and his wife have watched record-breaking animated film.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Riley Ip’s 3 best Hong Kong films, with stars such as Shu Qi and Eric Tsang

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Riley Ip made films featuring stars such as Takeshi Kaneshiro and Anthony Wong. Here are the 3 best.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Fala Chen started out as a beauty queen. Now she’s a Hollywood star

From a chance pageant win to starring in international blockbusters, Fala Chen’s journey is a testament to her talent and determination.

Fala Chen on the red carpet for the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in London in 2021. Photo: AP
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

From worst to best, 4 fantasy wuxia films with weird monsters

We recall a lurid mix of wuxia and witchcraft, Cheng Pei-pei in Dragon Swamp, and two films featuring a risible lizard and non-giant spider.

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Cheng Pei-pei (left) and Yueh Hua in a still from Dragon Swamp (1969).
China’s film industry

China’s Ne Zha 2 still flying high as highest-grossing animated movie of all time

Gone are the days when Chinese filmmakers were left scrambling to recreate the economic success of foreign offerings such as Kung Fu Panda.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | True Love, for Once in My Life: self-indulgent Hong Kong romance

A self-financed autobiographical story, this film about a wife’s devotion to a love-cheat ex-husband is melodramatic and ill-judged.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Broken Oath, starring Angela Mao, is a hidden gem of kung fu film

Angela Mao, all glammed up, plays an assassin in Broken Oath, a 1977 remake of a Japanese classic. It is one of her greatest performances.

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Angela Mao in a still from Broken Oath. Photo: Eureka Entertainment
DeepSeek

Ne Zha 2 and DeepSeek trailblazers inspire Chinese looking for brighter future

‘The AI leap was achieved under the chip export sanction of the US … It convinced me that diligent and smart Chinese people can make things happen’.

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What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this weekend Feb 28-Mar 2

The stars are aligned for a super weekend of outdoor and indoor fun. Get up close with wildlife, take your dog for brunch or hit the cinema.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Sam Hui, the ‘father of Cantopop’ whose music and film roles struck a chord

He popularised Cantopop and helped revive Hong Kong cinema after Bruce Lee died. We look at the enduring legacy of the ‘Elvis of The Orient’.

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Sam Hui performs in Hong Kong in December 2007. Photo: SCMP
China technology

Opinion | From Ne Zha to TikTok, it’s a Chinese story of triumph over adversity

The successes of Ne Zha, Wukong, TikTok and DeepSeek show the tides are shifting for Chinese tech and entertainment, long dismissed as derivative.

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A promotion for Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2, produced by Enlight Media, outside the production company’s headquarters in Beijing on February 11. Photo: AFP
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | In Salli, a dating scam leads Esther Liu to find her worth

Lien Chien-hung’s film follows a lonely chicken farmer who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after being scammed on a dating app.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Little Red Sweet: Stephy Tang, Simon Yam in Hong Kong family drama

A family and their dessert shop are turned upside down by illness in a film that chooses nostalgia over substance.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

10 of the best movies from the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival

Sex, love, spies, fame, family, trauma and plenty of politics were on the menu at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

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Marion Cotillard in a still from The Ice Tower, screened at the Berlin International Film Festival. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Hong Kong cinema had a terrible time in the early 2000s. Here’s why

Hong Kong’s film industry suffered a huge slump from 2000-2009, but did the mainland Chinese market and China co-productions save it?

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Louis Koo Tin-lok (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from Rob-B-Hood (2006).
European cinema

Coming-of-age drama, Chinese director win Berlin film festival awards

Dreams (Sex Love) by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud awarded Golden Bear, while Living the Land earns China’s Huo Meng director prize in Berlin.

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Chinese culture

Opinion | Why Ne Zha 2 is part of a broader Chinese cultural renaissance

The film’s strong box office performance marks a shift in how Chinese culture is perceived by young people in China and around the world.

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