Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Movies
by zhaolewisliu | created - 28 Apr 2022 | updated - 29 Apr 2022 | PublicA list of Asian American & Pacific Islander films and documentaries.
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1. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
PG-13 | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
This contemporary romantic comedy based on a global bestseller follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.
Director: Jon M. Chu | Stars: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan
Votes: 190,125 | Gross: $174.53M
2. Searching (III) (2018)
PG-13 | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.
Director: Aneesh Chaganty | Stars: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee, Michelle La
Votes: 179,998 | Gross: $26.02M
3. The Cheat (1915)
Not Rated | 59 min | Drama, Romance
A venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Dean, James Neill
Votes: 2,763 | Gross: $0.21M
4. The Motel (2005)
Not Rated | 75 min | Comedy, Drama
Thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way. Misunderstood by his family and blindly careening into puberty, Ernest ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Kang | Stars: Jeffrey Chyau, Sung Kang, Jade Wu, Samantha Futerman
Votes: 1,424 | Gross: $0.05M
5. The Ugly Model (2019)
92 min | Documentary
From the outside, Philly based Korean American adoptee and fitness model Kevin Tae-jin Kreider seems to have it all, Looks, Muscles, Chutzpah, Confidence and Charisma. He has a popular ... See full summary »
Director: Doris Yeung | Star: Kevin Kreider
Votes: 37
6. The Slanted Screen (2006)
60 min | Documentary
From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle, the Slanted Screen examines the portrayal of East Asian men in film and television, and how new film-makers are ... See full summary »
Director: Jeff Adachi | Stars: Frank Chin, Daniel Dae Kim, Bobby Lee, Jason Scott Lee
Votes: 256
7. Chan Is Missing (1982)
Not Rated | 76 min | Drama, Mystery
Two cab drivers search San Francisco's Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi, Laureen Chew, Peter Wang
Votes: 1,854
8. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
R | 139 min | Drama
The life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin
Votes: 18,244 | Gross: $32.86M
9. Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)
82 min | Crime, Documentary
The film recounts the murder of a Chinese-American automotive engineer in a racially motivated hate crime, and how the murderer escaped justice in the court system.
Directors: Christine Choy, Renee Tajima-Pena | Stars: Lily Chin, Ronald Ebens, Starlene
Votes: 300
10. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
TV-14 | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A teenage girl's secret love letters are exposed and wreak havoc on her love life.
Director: Susan Johnson | Stars: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart
Votes: 123,867
11. Flower Drum Song (1961)
Approved | 133 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A young woman arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown from Hong Kong with the intention of marrying a rakish nightclub owner, unaware he is involved with one of his singers.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Benson Fong, Jack Soo
Votes: 3,709 | Gross: $10.90M
12. Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A group of over-achieving East Asian American high school seniors enjoy a power trip when they dip into extracurricular criminal activities.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Shirley Anderson
Votes: 10,452 | Gross: $3.80M
13. Mulan (1998)
G | 87 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
To save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.
Directors: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook | Stars: Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer
Votes: 316,603 | Gross: $120.62M
15. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Shang-Chi, the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ben Kingsley
Votes: 435,770 | Gross: $224.54M
16. Always Be My Maybe (2019)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
Everyone assumed that Sasha and Marcus would wind up together, except for Sasha and Marcus. Reconnecting after 15 years, the two start to wonder--maybe?
Director: Nahnatchka Khan | Stars: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito, Michelle Buteau
Votes: 62,687
17. Hustlers (2019)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
Director: Lorene Scafaria | Stars: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Mette Narrative
Votes: 107,632 | Gross: $104.96M
18. Saving Face (2004)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A gay Chinese-American and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
Director: Alice Wu | Stars: Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang
Votes: 13,437 | Gross: $1.19M
19. Pushing Hands (1991)
Not Rated | 105 min | Comedy, Drama
All the while, Master Chu tries to find his place in the foreign American world.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Sihung Lung, Lai Wang, Bozhao Wang, Deb Snyder
Votes: 4,820 | Gross: $0.15M
20. The Wedding Banquet (1993)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Winston Chao, May Chin, Ah-Lei Gua, Sihung Lung
Votes: 17,147 | Gross: $6.93M
21. The Namesake (2006)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama
American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Kal Penn, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Jacinda Barrett
Votes: 21,762 | Gross: $8.66M
22. American Desi (2001)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
College freshman Krishna Reddy, who has never cared for his Indian-American cultural heritage, looks forward to a new life on campus but is surprised to find that he has been assigned ... See full summary »
Director: Piyush Dinker Pandya | Stars: Deep Katdare, Ronobir Lahiri, Purva Bedi, Rizwan Manji
Votes: 1,669 | Gross: $0.90M
23. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
R | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy
A Korean-American office worker and his Indian-American stoner friend embark on a quest to satisfy their desire for White Castle burgers.
Director: Danny Leiner | Stars: John Cho, Kal Penn, Ethan Embry, Rob Tinkler
Votes: 206,163 | Gross: $18.23M
24. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
R | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy
After being mistaken for terrorists and thrown into Guantánamo Bay, stoners Harold and Kumar escape and return to the U.S., where they proceed to flee across the country with federal agents in hot pursuit.
Directors: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg | Stars: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Rob Corddry
Votes: 142,034 | Gross: $38.09M
25. Blue Bayou (2021)
R | 117 min | Drama
As a Korean-American man raised in the Louisiana bayou works hard to make a life for his family, he must confront the ghosts of his past as he discovers that he could be deported from the only country he has ever called home.
Director: Justin Chon | Stars: Justin Chon, Alicia Vikander, Mark O'Brien, Linh-Dan Pham
Votes: 10,466
26. Snakehead (2021)
Unrated | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Chinese immigrant get caught up in an international crime ring of human smuggling while attempting to make a better life for her family.
Director: Evan Jackson Leong | Stars: Sung Kang, Perry Yung, Shuya Chang, Amy Tsang
Votes: 855
27. Linsanity (2013)
PG | 89 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
The life story of basketball sensation, Jeremy Lin.
Director: Evan Jackson Leong | Stars: Jeremy Lin, Daniel Dae Kim, Candy Richardz, Yao Ming
Votes: 2,088 | Gross: $0.30M
28. Enter the Dragon (1973)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 113,019 | Gross: $25.00M
29. The Crimson Kimono (1959)
Approved | 82 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives seek a stripper's killer in the Japanese quarter of Los Angeles, but a love triangle threatens their friendship.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta, Anna Lee
Votes: 3,114
30. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)
Unrated | 83 min | Drama
A Chinese man travels to America to visit his daughter after her recent divorce. Though his trip starts off as a mission to see his daughter remarry, he sparks to an Iranian woman who, despite their language barrier, captures his heart.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Henry O, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Feihong Yu, Vida Ghahremani
Votes: 1,173 | Gross: $0.08M
31. The Grace Lee Project (2005)
68 min | Documentary
Is your name Grace Lee? Do you think you are the only Grace Lee? Did you know there are quite a few of you? Oh yes, it's true. There are many of you and they're all over. They are mostly ... See full summary »
Director: Grace Lee | Stars: Grace Lee Boggs, Grace Lee, Grace Lee, Aldo Velasco
Votes: 141 | Gross: $0.01M
32. Over the Moon (2020)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In this animated musical, a girl builds a rocket ship and blasts off, hoping to meet a mythical moon goddess.
Directors: Glen Keane, John Kahrs | Stars: Glen Keane, Brycen Hall, Ruthie Ann Miles, John Cho
Votes: 24,991
33. Shanghai Calling (2012)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New York attorney is sent to Shanghai on business, where he finds himself in a legal mess that threatens his career. With the help of a relocation specialist and her contacts, he soon learns to appreciate the wonders of Shanghai.
Director: Daniel Hsia | Stars: Le Geng, Daniel Henney, Sean Gallagher, Bill Marcus
Votes: 1,771 | Gross: $0.01M
34. Be Water (2020)
105 min | Documentary
Rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong to complete four films. Charting his struggles in two worlds, Be Water explores questions of identity and representation through rare archive, intimate interviews, and his writings.
Director: Bao Nguyen | Stars: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, Linda Lee Cadwell, James Garner
Votes: 2,049
35. An Autumn's Tale (1987)
98 min | Drama, Romance
Filmed in New York, story of naive young woman from Hong Kong who goes to New York to study. Street-wise cabbie cousin takes care of her in the big city.
Director: Mabel Cheung | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Cherie Chung, Danny Bak-Keung Chan, Gigi Suk Yee Wong
Votes: 2,348
36. Minari (2020)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama
A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
Director: Lee Isaac Chung | Stars: Steven Yeun, Han Yeri, Alan Kim, Noel Cho
Votes: 97,092
37. The Farewell (I) (2019)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies.
Director: Lulu Wang | Stars: Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Hong Lu
Votes: 71,154 | Gross: $16.88M
38. Gook (2017)
Unrated | 94 min | Drama
Two Korean-American brothers run a shoe store in L.A. county. Their friend, black eleven-year-old Kamilla, drops in and helps. On this day, the Rodney King verdict ignites the 1992 L.A. riots.
Director: Justin Chon | Stars: Simone Baker, Justin Chon, Curtiss Cook Jr., David So
Votes: 2,750 | Gross: $0.25M
39. Columbus (I) (2017)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
A Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma. The man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering addict, instead of pursuing her own dreams.
Director: Kogonada | Stars: John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, Parker Posey, Michelle Forbes
Votes: 20,974 | Gross: $1.02M
40. Mississippi Masala (1991)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
An ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore
Votes: 6,209 | Gross: $7.31M
41. Rumble in the Bronx (1995)
R | 87 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young man visiting and helping his uncle in New York City finds himself forced to fight a street gang and the mob with his martial art skills.
Director: Stanley Tong | Stars: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Françoise Yip, Bill Tung
Votes: 46,004 | Gross: $32.39M
42. Bitter Melon (2018)
110 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Bitter Melon is a "home for the holidays" dark comedy where a Filipino-American family plots to kill an abusive member.
Director: H.P. Mendoza | Stars: Jon Norman Schneider, Patrick Epino, Brian Rivera, L.A. Renigen
Votes: 196 | Gross: $0.01M
43. Hollywood Chinese (2007)
90 min | Documentary
Hollywood Chinese is a captivating look at cinema history through the lens of the Chinese American experience. Directed by triple Sundance award-winning filmmaker, Arthur Dong, this ... See full summary »
Director: Arthur Dong | Stars: Turhan Bey, Joan Chen, Tsai Chin, Stephen Gong
Votes: 229
44. First Vote (2020)
60 min | Documentary
From deep red to true blue, Asian Americans represent a spectrum of political identifications, and their varied voting habits inform the ongoing dialogue around race, whiteness, and voter ... See full summary »
Director: Yi Chen
Votes: 12
45. A Leading Man (2013)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama
When a young and talented Chinese American actor is fired from a starring role on a television show, he attempts to salvage his career by entering into a romantic relationship with a successful casting director.
Director: Steven J. Kung | Stars: Jack Yang, Heather Mazur, Pat Tsao, Bruno Oliver
Votes: 55
46. Children of Invention (2009)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama
Two young children living illegally in a model apartment outside Boston are left to fend for themselves when their hardworking mother disappears.
Director: Tze Chun | Stars: Cindy Cheung, Michael Chen, Crystal Chiu, Stephen Gevedon
Votes: 661 | Gross: $0.01M
47. The Debut (2000)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
A young man struggles with his desire to study art when his family thinks he's headed for premedical studies. Conflicts between Filipino traditions and expectations vs. personal dreams in the contemporary world erupt at his sister's debut.
Director: Gene Cajayon | Stars: Dante Basco, Eddie Garcia, Jayson Schaal, Brian Card
Votes: 693 | Gross: $1.74M
48. Tigertail (2020)
PG | 91 min | Drama
In this multigenerational drama, a Taiwanese factory worker leaves his homeland to seek opportunity in America, where he struggles to find connection while balancing family and new-found responsibilities.
Director: Alan Yang | Stars: Tzi Ma, Christine Ko, Hong-Chi Lee, Queenie Yu-Hsin Fang
Votes: 3,845
49. Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985)
PG | 84 min | Comedy, Drama
In San Francisco, an immigrant widow welcomes the new year with some unhappiness: she's sixty-two now, she wants to make a trip to China to pay last respects to her ancestors, a fortune ... See full summary »
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Laureen Chew, Kim Chew, Victor Wong, Ida F.O. Chung
Votes: 623
50. Minding the Gap (2018)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Sport
Filmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity.
Director: Bing Liu | Stars: Kent Abernathy, Mengyue Bolen, Nina Bowgren, Keire Johnson
Votes: 10,468 | Gross: $0.01M
51. The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
Approved | 126 min | Drama, Romance
A businessman moves to Hong Kong to pursue a career as an artist and falls in love with a prostitute he hires as a model.
Director: Richard Quine | Stars: William Holden, Nancy Kwan, Sylvia Syms, Michael Wilding
Votes: 2,757 | Gross: $7.30M
52. Shanghai Noon (2000)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A Chinese man travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped Princess. After teaming up with a train robber, the unlikely duo takes on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss.
Director: Tom Dey | Stars: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu, Brandon Merrill
Votes: 135,252 | Gross: $56.94M
53. Spa Night (2016)
Unrated | 93 min | Drama
A closeted Korean-American teenager takes a job at a Korean spa to help his struggling family, only to discover an underground world of gay sex at the spa that both scares and excites him.
Director: Andrew Ahn | Stars: Joe Seo, Youn Ho Cho, Haerry Kim, Topher Park
Votes: 1,355 | Gross: $0.04M
54. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
PG | 107 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.
Directors: Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Paul Briggs, John Ripa | Stars: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Izaac Wang
Votes: 171,869 | Gross: $54.72M
55. The Big Sick (2017)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
Director: Michael Showalter | Stars: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano
Votes: 143,612 | Gross: $42.87M
56. Moana (I) (2016)
PG | 107 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the demigod Maui reaches Moana's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out Maui to set things right.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker, Don Hall, Chris Williams | Stars: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison
Votes: 378,325 | Gross: $248.76M
57. Big Hero 6 (2014)
PG | 102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A special bond develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who together team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.
Directors: Don Hall, Chris Williams | Stars: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung, T.J. Miller
Votes: 502,329 | Gross: $222.53M
58. Yesterday (III) (2019)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Music
A struggling musician realizes he's the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate reality where they never existed.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino, Ellise Chappell
Votes: 167,801 | Gross: $73.29M
59. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
PG | 101 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
Director: Travis Knight | Stars: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes
Votes: 138,440 | Gross: $48.02M
60. The Donut King (2020)
90 min | Documentary, Animation
This documentary tells Ted Ngoy's story that is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption.
Director: Alice Gu | Stars: Ted Ngoy, Christie Suganthini, Chet Ngoy, Savy Ngoy
Votes: 1,144
61. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States' 2008 mortgage crisis.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Thomas Sung, Hwei Lin Sung, Cyrus Vance Jr., Matt Taibbi
Votes: 2,942 | Gross: $0.10M
62. Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded ... See full summary »
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong, Sau-Kei Lee
Votes: 835 | Gross: $0.23M
63. Love Hard (2021)
TV-MA | 104 min | Comedy, Romance
An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for the holidays, only to discover that she's been catfished. This lighthearted romantic comedy chronicles her attempt to reel in love.
Director: Hernán Jiménez | Stars: Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang, Darren Barnet, James Saito
Votes: 61,645
64. Last Christmas (2019)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas store is not good for the wannabe singer. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn--that seems too good to be true.
Director: Paul Feig | Stars: Madison Ingoldsby, Emma Thompson, Boris Isakovic, Lucy Miller
Votes: 90,501 | Gross: $35.15M
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