Asian movies I must see
by pierreluc-grosleau | created - 21 Jan 2012 | updated - 03 Feb 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Exiled (2006)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen - those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Nick Cheung, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Francis Ng, Simon Yam
Votes: 9,635 | Gross: $0.05M
2. Election (2005)
Unrated | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rival gang leaders are locked in a struggle to become the new chairman of Hong Kong's Triad society.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Louis Koo, Suet Lam, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Eddie Cheung
Votes: 11,358
3. Eureka (2000)
217 min | Drama
The traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.
Director: Shinji Aoyama | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yôichirô Saitô
Votes: 4,336 | Gross: $0.05M
4. Yi Yi (2000)
Not Rated | 173 min | Drama, Romance
Each member of a middle-class Taipei family seeks to reconcile past and present relationships within their daily lives.
Director: Edward Yang | Stars: Nien-Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issei Ogata, Kelly Lee
Votes: 28,335 | Gross: $1.14M
5. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
R | 103 min | Drama, Romance
A boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Kim Ki-duk, Oh Yeong-su, Jong-ho Kim, Kim Young-min
Votes: 86,747 | Gross: $2.38M
6. Chongqing Blues (2010)
110 min | Drama
Lin, a sea captain, returns from a 6 month journey when he is told that his 25-year-old son Lin Bo has been gunned down by the police. In his quest to understand what happened, he realizes ... See full summary »
Director: Xiaoshuai Wang | Stars: Xueqi Wang, Bingbing Fan, Hao Qin, Ziyi Wang
Votes: 300
7. Butchered (2009)
TV-MA | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A young man tries to make some money so he can marry his girlfriend. He takes a job for $2,000 and then realizes that this job involves killing a woman.
Director: Brillante Mendoza | Stars: Coco Martin, Maria Isabel Lopez, Julio Diaz, John Regala
Votes: 1,947
8. City of Life and Death (2009)
R | 133 min | Drama, History, War
In 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
Director: Chuan Lu | Stars: Ye Liu, Wei Fan, Hideo Nakaizumi, Yuanyuan Gao
Votes: 11,703 | Gross: $0.12M
9. Secret Sunshine (2007)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama
A woman moves to the town where her dead husband was born. As she tries to fit in, another tragic event overturns her life.
Director: Lee Chang-dong | Stars: Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho, Lee Dong-yong, Lee Hee-joon
Votes: 9,556
10. Confessions (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 42,018
11. Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (2006)
130 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When Matsuko dies of murder, her nephew Sho gets to progressively unveil many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't only a forgotten outcast but led a very interesting yet bizarre life.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Miki Nakatani, Eita Nagayama, Yûsuke Iseya, Mikako Ichikawa
Votes: 8,728
12. Last Train Home (2009)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Drama
A couple embarks on a journey home for Chinese new year along with 130 million other migrant workers, to reunite with their children and struggle for a future. Their unseen story plays out as China soars towards being a world superpower.
Director: Lixin Fan | Stars: Changhua Zhang, Yang Zhang, Suqin Chen, Qin Zhang
Votes: 3,714 | Gross: $0.29M
13. Poetry (2010)
TV-PG | 139 min | Drama
A sixty-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime and in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.
Director: Lee Chang-dong | Stars: Yun Jeong-hie, Lee Da-wit, Kim Hee-ra, Ahn Nae-sang
Votes: 13,518 | Gross: $0.36M
14. When We Leave (2010)
Unrated | 119 min | Drama
Umay is a young woman of Turkish descent, fighting for an independent and self-determined life in Germany against her family's resistance. Her struggle initiates a dynamic that results in a life-threatening situation.
Director: Feo Aladag | Stars: Sibel Kekilli, Nizam Schiller, Derya Alabora, Settar Tanriögen
Votes: 5,562 | Gross: $0.02M
15. My Sassy Girl (2001)
Not Rated | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man sees a drunk, cute woman standing too close to the tracks at a metro station in Seoul and pulls her back. She ends up getting him into trouble repeatedly after that, starting on the train.
Director: Jae-young Kwak | Stars: Cha Tae-hyun, Jun Ji-hyun, In-mun Kim, Song Wok-suk
Votes: 50,449
16. City on Fire (1987)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store.
Director: Ringo Lam | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Yueh Sun, Danny Lee, Carrie Ng
Votes: 7,256
17. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.
Director: Prachya Pinkaew | Stars: Tony Jaa, Phetthai Vongkumlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Suchao Pongwilai
Votes: 78,134 | Gross: $4.56M
18. Azumi (2003)
Not Rated | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Raised to deal in cold blooded death, the teenage assassin girl Azumi must defeat three evil warlords while also battling her own heart.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Aya Ueto, Kenji Kohashi, Hiroki Narimiya, Takatoshi Kaneko
Votes: 15,154
19. Family (II) (2001)
111 min | Action, Crime
When the mobster Iwaida Nishikawi is executed by the hit man Takeshi, his family chases the killer. Takeshi's brothers Takashi and Hideshi Miwa try to find Takeshi, who is hidden with the ... See full summary »
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ken'ichi Endô, Kôjirô Hongô, Naoko Inoue, Kôichi Iwaki
Votes: 298
20. Ikiru (1952)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama
A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka
Votes: 87,427 | Gross: $0.06M
21. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,439 | Gross: $0.27M
22. Running Out of Time (1999)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer-suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime Syndicates.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Andy Lau, Ching Wan Lau, YoYo Mung, Waise Lee
Votes: 6,529
23. House (1977)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ôba, Ai Matsubara
Votes: 33,660
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