The spiritual world of modern (young) Chinese III
Douban Movie's list 126-250
This newsletter will cover the second half of the Douban top movies list. At the end of the list, there are statistics on the countries and ages of the movies, as well as some thoughts by your host.
126. Whisper of the Heart
1995, Japan
Whisper of the Heart is a typical Ghibli animated film that narrates the pure and sincere love story between young boys and girls who encourage each other to pursue their dreams. It is an encounter that unfolds over the library card that indicates the readers who have checked out before, making viewers nostalgic for the pre-digital media era and campus life.
127.The Terminal
2004, The United States
The Terminal tells the story of an Eastern European traveler who is unable to enter the United States due to political unrest in his home country and is trapped at JFK International Airport. During the Covid pandemic, many people had a taste of what Viktor went through, and were reminded how policy-making often doesn’t have people on the road in mind.
128.About Time
2013, The United Kingdom
British romantic comedies are one of the major acclaimed genres exported from British cinema in China in recent years. About Time, directed and written by Richard Curtis, is no exception, featuring British humor and an encouraging ending.
2010, The United States
How to Train Your Dragon is a computer-animated action-fantasy film franchise from DreamWorks Animation. The eponymous series consists of three feature films, becoming a big hit among Chinese audiences with advanced 3D technology no less than Avatar.
130.To the Forest of Firefly Lights
2011, Japan
To the Forest of Firefly Lights tells the almost-lover friendship between a schoolgirl and a spirit that will disappear if touched by a human. Their sincere feelings and tragic ending earn lots of tears from the Chinese audience.
131.Mary and Max
2009, Australia
Mary and Max is a stop-motion comedy-drama film following the lives and friendship of two pen-pals spanning over twenty years. Although the film adopts the clay-pinched characters and the frame-by-frame filming technique, which is rather rare and clumsy in the current animation industry, it deals with heavy topics including suicide, alcoholism, death, and mental illness.
132.Monsters, Inc.
2001, The United States
Pixar Animation's creativity never fails to impress Chinese audiences. Monsters, Inc. creates a monster power company that relies on the screams of babies to generate electricity. Such a wild and wandering plot design makes the audience can't help but praise Pixar's ingenuity as always while being in awe of Pixar's meticulous and exquisite production.
1990, The United States
The final episode of the Godfather Trilogy.
134.A Man Called Ove
2015, Sweden
The film tells the story of a man named Ove who, after the death of his wife Sonia, decides to commit suicide but remains unsuccessful in his interactions with his community neighbors. It is a tender sketch of Scandinavia in the view of Chinese audiences. The book on which this movie is based is also on the Douban top books list.
135.Big Fish
2003, The United States
Big Fish tells the story of a frustrated son who tries to distinguish fact from fiction in his dying father's life. Similar to Tim Burton's other film on this list, Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish presents a picture of magical realism, touching the real world in a surreal way.
136.Toy Story 3
2010, The United States
Toy Story is the first computer-animated franchise produced by Pixar Animation Studios in 1995, and Toy Story 3 makes a successful sequel which coalesces the joy and tears spanning 15 years. In a way, the Toy Story series accompanied Chinese millennials as they grew up.
137.Confessions
2010, Japan
Confessions is 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.
2005, The United Kingdom
In this film, the early nineteenth-century English rural life and social landscape in Jane Austen's writing are represented on the big screen.
139.Parasite
2019, South Korea
The film accurately portrays the fragile symbiotic relationship between a wealthy family and a destitute clan, threatened by greed and class discrimination. Parasite was the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Korean film's harvest of box office and accolades has sparked intense debate on Chinese social media platforms, analyzing the reasons for its success and what the Chinese film industry can learn from it.
140.Despicable Me
2010, The United States
The audience may forget the plot of Despicable Me, but will always remember the cute image of Minions. These tiny yellow men in the strappy pants have gained cult followings globally, spawning numerous games, videos, accessories, and other derivative works.
141.Train to Busan
2016, South Korea
Train to Busan is hailed as the first Asian zombie movie, but it is more of a disaster movie than a horror movie. Instead of using gore as the only selling point, it successfully adopts the zombie theme to reflect the ugliness of human nature and the social problems in South Korea.
142.Sunny
2011, South Korea
Sunny follows a middle-aged woman who tries to fulfill her friend's dying wish of reuniting their group of high school friends. This is a film that is not often seen, showing pure female friendship.
143.The Eagle Shooting Heroes（射雕英雄传之东成西就）
1993, Hong Kong, China
The film is a parody of Louis Cha(金庸)'s novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and a classic example of the mo lei tau(无厘头) comedy. The original novel is regarded as a classic of Chinese martial arts fiction, but the film takes a comical approach to deconstructing the otherwise decent and virtuous characters.
144.Perfect Blue
1997, Japan
Perfect Blue is a Japanese animated psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon. Like much of Kon's later works such as Paprika, the film deals with Kon's longstanding theme of the blurring of the line between fantasy and reality. Some analyses suggest that Perfect Blue is a critique of the consumer society of contemporary Japan.
145.Django Unchained
2012, The United States
The story follows a black slave who trains under a German bounty hunter, with the ultimate goal of reuniting with his long-lost wife. Quentin Tarantino is a director with a taste for violent aesthetics, and this film delivers a hard punch to ugly American racism.
146.The Terror Live
2013, South Korea
Unfolding within the narrow confines of a radio booth, The Terror Live creates a big picture that sends the whole country into a panic, keeping the audience on their toes every minute. The movie is worthy of the high level of South Korean action-thriller films.
147.Nezha Conquers the Dragon King（哪吒闹海）
1979, Mainland China
Produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1979, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King is among the best Chinese animated films. The film is an adaptation of a story in Chinese mythology (in particular, the epic fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods 封神演义) about the warrior deity Nezha. At the end of the film, Nezha tragically draws his sword and kills himself, returning his physical body to his parents and saving his hometown from flooding. In this way, Nezha is portrayed as a young hero who rebels against the feudal patriarchal system and the unjust power, implying the subject of human liberation. Since then, Nezha has been repeatedly portrayed on the silver screen, but it is difficult to surpass this forty-year-old animation in terms of conception. It was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival and has been highly acclaimed both at home and abroad.
Nezha is one of the best-known deities in Chinese mythology. He makes frequent guest appearances in all sorts of literature such as Journey to the West.
148.I Am Sam
2001, The United States
Involving the topic of disabled people's custody of their own children in a tear-jerker way, the film received positive reviews on Douban, despite receiving negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. It seems that sensational family films always reap a good reputation in the Chinese market, perhaps because traditional East Asian families are used to repressing emotional expressions and need emotional compensation from fictional works.
149.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005, The United Kingdom
The fourth installment of the Harry Potter film series.
150.Hacksaw Ridge
2016, Australia
Based on the incredible true story of a conscientious objector in World War II, Hacksaw Ridge is seen as a model for war films. Douban gave a superb review: "a good war film does not glorify the battlefield, does not whitewash death, does not dwarf the enemy, does not ignore common sense, and most importantly, does not promote war."
151.Ready Player One
2018, The United States
With its collage of the Shining, Ghostbusters, Gundam, Godzilla, Yakira, Street Fighter, Iron Giant, King Kong, and Kamehameha, plus disco music and various games, Ready Player One is no doubt a global chronicle of pop culture. The popularity of this movie in the Chinese market can prove the similar affinity of Chinese audiences and foreign fans for these imported pop culture symbols. The movie also predicted the advent of VR and the concept of the metaverse.
152.New World
2013, South Korea
On Douban, New World is regarded as the Korean version of Infernal Affairs(无间道, a 2002 Hong Kong gangster movie), a new milestone in the history of gangster movies.
2014, The United Kingdom
The Imitation Game is Alan Turing's biography film. The lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch is famous for playing several geeky geniuses and has a large fan base in China.
1993, Taiwan, China
It is the second installment of The Father Knows Best Trilogy in the early 1990s. The most distinctive feature of the film is its treatment of homosexuality with the unique Chinese view of family ethics and the concept of the middle ground（中庸之道）, allowing this social problem that has plagued almost all families to be resolved in the film in a comedic way. Yet the story takes place in the most prosperous and modern city, New York, where the classical and the modern meet, where old and new ideas clash and then embrace. In his unfolding story, Ang Lee conveys the confusion, helplessness, and tolerance of a traditional Chinese family facing modern ideas in modern society.
1954, Japan
The film tells the story of seven unknown samurai who fought for the peasants during the Warring States period in Japan with its impeccable structure, majestic momentum, breathtaking battle scenes and masculine spirit that overflows throughout the film. Since its release, Seven Samurai has consistently ranked highly in critics’ lists of the greatest films and director Akira Kurosawa is regarded as the undisputed master of cinema, who is known as having an important influence on some fanmous Chinese directors such as Jiang Wen and Chen Kaige.
156.In the Mood for Love（花样年华）
2000, Hong Kong, China
In the Mood for Love tells no more than an affair, but director Wong Kar-wai takes his iconic cinematic aesthetic to the extreme in the film, which has sparked a lasting wave of parodies on social media platforms. The well-known line "If there's an extra ticket, would you go with me?" is representative of the subtle lyricism of the Orient.
2003, The United States
The third installment in The Matrix film series. It has to be admitted that the Matrix series is an example of the perfect combination of commercial films with science fiction and philosophy. No wonder the whole series is on this Douban list.
158.Inside Out
2015, The United States
Inside Out is one of the six superb Pixar animated films on the list and has a close ranking on the IMDB list of top-rated films (161).
159.Saw
2004, The United States
Perhaps the bloodiest and scariest movie on this list. The film has gained a cult following and has been frequently credited as one of the most revolutionary horror films of all time.
160.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2017, The United States
Focusing on the atypical disadvantaged people in American society, the film conceals a call for conscience and justice underneath the expression of violence and cynicism. Many viewers of Douban were upset by the film's Best Picture defeat at the Oscars, believing that its loss to The Shape of Water was due to the pressure of American political correctness, which may have gone too far in the eyes of Chinese audiences.
161.Hotel Rwanda
2004, The United Kingdom
By telling the story of the horrific Rwandan genocide, the film was known as an African version of Schindler's List. The Western media generally views the genocide as the result of racial hatred and blames Western countries and the United Nations have failed to fulfill their obligations to the international community. As Chinese audiences have become more aware of this history, a recent popular narrative in Douban is to blame Western colonialism and the ill effects of the forced transplantation of Western civilization.
162.Your Name
2016, Japan
Your Name is a Japanese animated romantic fantasy film that depicts a high school boy in Tokyo and a high school girl in the Japanese countryside who suddenly and inexplicably begin to swap bodies. It is a new milestone for Japanese animated films and the first non-Ghibli animation to enter the ranking of 10 billion box office champions. Director Makoto Shinkai is also seen as the successor of Hayao Miyazaki. The beautiful graphics, gentle narrative, and exquisite soundtrack of the film captured the hearts of numerous Chinese audiences and created a craze on Chinese social media sites.
2013, The United States
Jared Leto's enchanting and captivating drag performance has stolen the limelight and wowed the crowd. The homosexual theme does not obscure the real thrust of the film, an exposé of the absurdity of the American pharmaceutical industry system. A Chinese version of the story, 我不是药神, is also featured in this list.
164.The Croods
2013, The United States
Dream Factory meets everyone's expectations. Family, love, friendship, none of them are missing in The Croods.
165.City of God
2002, Brazil
The city of God is the only Brazilian film on the list that depicts the growth of organized crime in the suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the film's closure depicting the war between the drug dealer and vigilante-turned-criminal.
2007, The United States
The Bourne Ultimatum is the third installment in the Jason Bourne film series and is acclaimed as the best one. One Douban, Jason Bourne is regarded as the agent who wins by intelligence and garnered more praise than James Bond because of his devotion to Marie, his girlfriend from the first Bourne movie. Another two installments in the series are also on this list, ranking 233 and 237.
1986, Hong Kong, China
A Better Tomorrow had a profound influence on Hong Kong action cinema and has been recognized as a landmark film credited with setting the template for the heroic bloodshed genre, with considerable influence on both the Hong Kong film industry and Hollywood. Chow Yun-fat's character Mark Lee, who attaches great importance to righteousness and is always willing to stand up for his brother, has been imitated by many fans even decades after the film's release.
168.Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
1984, Japan
Taking place in a future post-apocalyptic world, where human beings need to fight for survival against giant insects, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind initially manifests Hayao Miyazaki's pursuit of the theme of harmony and balance between man and nature in a series of subsequent films.
1994, Hong Kong, China
Hail the Judge has a pungent mockery of bureaucracy, and also contains the inspirational sentiment of the underclass. As the master of comedy Stephen Chow, people will always remember the humorous but upright low-level official Bao Longxing. The movie's lines about corruption and integrity are often quoted on social media even today.
170.Psycho
1960, The United States
Alfred Hitchcock is a master worshipped by many film lovers in China. Psycho is not only one of Hitchcock's most skillful works but also the pioneering work of psychological horror thrillers. The value of this film lies first and foremost in the fact that it opened up a genre of cinema in which crimes caused by mental problems have since become the subject of films. As opposed to horror films that merely frighten the audience, Psycho's analysis of the human psyche down to the spiritual level makes it a classic.
171.The Coffin in the Mountain（心迷宫）
2014, Mainland China
The Coffin in the Mountain is an encouraging small-budget debut film that tells an interlocking crime story in a remote rural area of China. With an outstanding script and subtle characterization, Chinese suspense films are on the rise and gaining popularity.
1991, Hong Kong, China
Once a Thief is director John Woo's masterpiece, continuing the genre of Hong Kong heroic films he started. John Woo is also a pioneer of the gun-fu (a portmanteau of gun and kung fu) genre in Hong Kong action cinema.
2015, Japan
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, one of the best-known contemporary Japanese directors in China, the film tells the story of three sisters who take in their half-sister to live together after the death of their father. With the warmth of family and delicate female emotions, the movie has attracted many Douban users who yearn for rural life.
174.Echoes Of The Rainbow（岁月神偷）
2010, Hong Kong, China
Echoes Of The Rainbow tells the story of an ordinary family of four that took place in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong from 1967 to 1977. A couple at the bottom of the social ladder experiences the highs and lows and learns that the passing of time is the most crucial uncertainty in life.
175.Memento
2000, The United States
Director Christopher Nolan used an unprecedented reverse order to create a fragmented atmosphere, restoring the process of an amnesiac patient tracking information he cannot remember. Nolan has accumulated a large number of fans in China who watch, analyze and study his film techniques.
1987, Japan
A story of a faithful Akita dog, Hachikō, who lived in Japan in the 1920s. The 2009 American adaption ranks 10th in this list, much higher than the original one. As some reviews in Douban read, the Japanese version is not as good as the American version in terms of storytelling; the latter is moving, while the former is poignant.
177.Wild Tales
2014, Argentina
As the only Argentine film on the list, Wild Tales is composed of six standalone shorts with a common theme of catharsis, violence, and vengeance. To many Chinese film fans, Wild Tales is an exotic version of A Touch Of Sin (2013), directed by Jia Zhangke, consisting of four shorts based on social security incidents in China; the former concentrates more on the anger of the people, while the latter emphasizes more reflections on the flaws of the system.
178.Before Midnight
2013, The United States
The sequel to Before Sunset and the third installment in the Before trilogy. The entire series all makes the list, by virtue of aimless but romantic dialogues that seem out of step with this fast-paced, utilitarian society.
179.The Green Mile
1999, The United States
Based on Stephen King's namesake novel, The Green Mile stars Tom Hanks as a death row prison guard during the Great Depression who witnesses supernatural events following the arrival of an enigmatic convict at his facility. The movie has prompted a discussion on the existence or abolition of the death penalty in Douban.
2007, Taiwan,China
Lust, Caution is a 2007 erotic espionage period film directed by Ang Lee, based on the 1979 novella by famous Chinese writer Eileen Chang（张爱玲）. Lust, Caution is set in Hong Kong in 1938 and in Shanghai in 1942, when the city was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and ruled by the puppet government led by Wang Jingwei. The film depicts a group of Chinese university students from The University of Hong Kong who plot to assassinate a high-ranking special agent and recruiter working for the puppet government to lure him into a honey trap. Initially, the erotic scenes in the movie were not accepted by the relatively conservative mainland Chinese audience. The lead actress Tang Wei faced the embarrassing situation of being hidden from the public while she was a big hit. However, in recent years, the value of the film has been recognized again by Chinese film lovers, and the film's rating and ranking on Douban are gradually rising.
181.Whiplash
2014, The United States
The movie tells the story of a teenager who, under the supervision of a strict teacher, challenges his limits by unconventional means and pursues his dream of becoming a jazz drummer. The movie subverts the old tune that hard work will lead to success and reveals the harsh truth behind the traditional inspiration.
182.Shoplifters
2018, Japan
Shoplifters is about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty. Hirokazu Koreeda revisits the relationship between responsibility and blood ties in an East Asian society that always puts family first.
2008, The United Kingdom
In Douban, a formula of this film writes, Slumdog Millionaire = City of God + Trainspotting + Forrest Gump + Quiz Show. Based on an Indian novel, the film embodies India from the British perspective. However, reception in India and among the Indian diaspora was mixed, and the film was the subject of controversy over its depiction of poverty in India and other issues.
184.Wreck-It Ralph
2012, The United States
In Wreck-It Ralph Disney came up with enough creativity and sincerity, breaking through its original fairy tale framework, far better than Brave produced by Pixar in the same year. There are comments in Douban that Disney and Pixar took the wrong script this time.
185.Love Actually
2003, The United Kingdom
Love Actually and its theme song All I Want for Christmas Is You have been deeply tied to Christmas. To Chinese audiences, it's like a star-studded Spring Festival gala that exists more for the ceremony than the content.
1994, Hong Kong, China
Ashes of Time is praised as an alternative peak of Chinese martial arts movies. Inspired by characters from Louis Cha（金庸）'s martial arts novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Wong Kar-wai adopts the post-modernist and poetic approach to incorporate an allegory of modern urban emotions, and responds to the question of where to go as Hong Kong people's confusion on where to go by the approach of 1997 with the theme of "Coming Home".
2006, Mainland China
Fighting over jade instead of drugs, Crazy Stone is likened in Douban to a Chinese version of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Crazy Stone is uncommon in that the entire movie is spoken in a mishmash of varieties of Chinese, with Chongqing, Henan dialect, and various Hong Kong (Cantonese) idioms used to great comedic effect.
188.Ice Age
2002, The United States
Set during the days of the Pleistocene ice age, the film centers around three prehistoric animals that come across a human baby and work together to return it to its tribe. Thanks to the sophisticated computer animation technology, the animal characters in the film left a deep impression on the Chinese audience, especially the squirrel holding the acorn.
1952, The United States
Singin' in the Rain is one of the best song and dance films in the history of cinema. The film is the highest level of Hollywood film in the genre of song and dance and is also a masterpiece about the secrets and hardships of the Hollywood film industry.
190.The Teahouse（茶馆）
1982, Mainland China
The film is adapted from a play of the same name written by Lao She（老舍） and is set against the backdrop of the rise and fall of the Yutai Teahouse in old Beijing, telling the story of the suffering and gradual collapse of life experienced by ordinary Chinese people from the early 20th century to the eve of liberation. The film retains the important plot and essence of the stage play intact and is not inferior to the stage play in all aspects of art.
191.You are Omasou
2010, Japan
Adapted from the namesake comic, the movie mainly tells the story of the prehistoric alternative father-son relationship between the carnivore Tyrannosaurus Rex and the herbivore Little Herbosaurus. Even adults can not stand to reject the cute and gentle image of dinosaurs in this film.
192.Black Swan
2010, The United States
Black Swan is amusingly translated as Farewell My Swan（霸王别鹅） on Douban, because Chinese audiences see the ballerina played by Natalie Portman as being very similar to the Peking Opera actor played by Leslie Cheung in Farewell My Concubine 1993（霸王别姬）: they are both caught in a dual personality dilemma, unable to distinguish between their roles and their own personalities in the pursuit of pure art.
193.Triangle
2009, The United Kingdom
Triangle is a Sisyphus-style tragic film about serial murders and reincarnation horror on a mysterious cruise ship. The concept of the film is clear and every detail is intriguing.
1968, The United Kingdom
Since its release in 1968, 2001 A Space Odyssey has never lost its crown as the best science fiction movie. This long, obscure, and even a bit boring, but at the same time extremely bright and shocking film, in fact, has been out of the category of science fiction films, and become a classic exploration of life and the universe.
1989, Japan
According to Miyazaki, the movie portrays the gulf between independence and reliance of teenage Japanese girls.
196.Rain Man
1988, The United States
The film displays a sincere back-to-basics brotherhood and cares for an autistic savant known as "rain man".It is also acclaimed as the best film in Tom Cruise's 30 years of cinema.
197.The Notebook
2004, The United States
The Notebook is narrated in a reminiscent way, driving the audience's emotions back to the days when couples met to separate and reunite, and also evoking personal memories of love, especially in this fickle era, this classical romantic love seems more precious.
198.The Bucket List
2007, The United States
The Bucket List follows two terminally ill men on their road trip with a wish list of things to do before they "kick the bucket". The film conveys a light-hearted view of life to Carpe Diem "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, which is rather new to Chinese audiences who are used to emphasizing a sense of responsibility.
199.City Lights
1931, The United States
The film "City Lights" was Chaplin's last silent film, but it also symbolizes the highest achievement of Chaplin's cinematic art. Through the encounter between a homeless man and a rich man, Chaplin skillfully expresses the inequality of American society. The film is hilarious and at the same time has a strong social and critical nature. It is the dedication and commitment of countless unknown people that create the brilliant city lights.
200.Kekexili: Mountain Patrol（可可西里）
2004, Mainland China
Kekexili: Mountain Patrol is a Chinese film directed by Lu Chuan that depicts rangers who fought tenaciously and even at the risk of their lives to protect the Tibetan antelope from poaching in the remote region of Kekexili, in Qinghai province. The film conveys the idea of protecting wildlife and the ecological environment, which is also pursued by the Chinese government in recent years. Partly thanks to this movie, the population of the Tibetan antelope has seen a revival in recent years, their protection level has been reduced from "endangered species" to "near-threatened species".
2017, Taiwan, China
The Great Buddha+ is a black comedy about a Buddha factory worker who accidentally discovers the secret of political and business collusion by peeking at his boss's car recorder, which triggers a series of chain reactions. The film separates the world of the rich and the poor, with the world of the rich represented in color and the world of the poor presented in black and white, which is a metaphor for class division. Although the title of the film includes the Buddha, the film relentlessly deconstructs faith and returns to the secular life of the underclass in Taiwan.
2003, Hong Kong, China
It is a prequel to the 2002 film Infernal Affairs.
1988, Japan
Set in the city of Kobe, Japan, Grave of the Fireflies tells the story of two siblings and their desperate struggle to survive during the final months of World War II. According to reviews on Douban, most Chinese viewers find the animation to have high artistic value, but still felt emotionally conflicted: admittedly, the Japanese civilians who suffered from the bombing are worthy of pity, but that does not mean the Japanese government can escape taking responsibility for the war. Ironically, as the aggressor in World War II, Japan seems to be more skilled at garnering sympathy than China, which has long suffered from Japanese invasion.
204.A Brighter Summer Day（牯岭街少年杀人事件）
1991, Taiwan, China
A Brighter Summer Day is a 1991 Taiwanese teen crime drama film directed by Edward Yang, associated with the "New Taiwanese Cinema." The English title is derived from the lyrics of Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?".Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the film centers on a boy from a middle-class home who veers into juvenile delinquency. from which we can get a glimpse of the spiritual world on the other side of the strait.
205.Back to Back, Face to Face（背对背，脸对脸）
1994, Mainland China
As a realistic film, "Back to Back, Face to Face" still has a strong social portrayal even today. The work unfolds as a subtle power struggle between grassroots cadres, showing the so-called "philosophy of dealing" between people in modern Chinese society with refined lines and superb group scenes. The title of the film pungently mocks the back-to-back conspiracies and face-to-face flattery of Chinese officialdom.
206.Don't Look Now...We're Being Shot At
1966, France
After being translated and re-dubbed by Shanghai Film Translation Factory, "Don't Look Now...We're Being Shot At" was first shown in China in 1982 and was warmly welcomed. The Chinese title of the film can be directly translated as "Escape from the tiger's mouth"(虎口脱险). To this day, the film remains among the favorite comedy films of Chinese audiences.
207.Source Code
2011, The United States
After "Moon", Duncan Jones once again offers a wonderful science fiction masterpiece. The story of the film "Source Code" permeates the viewers with the theory of parallel space at all times, making them curious and eager to watch.
208.Artificial Intelligence: AI
2001, The United States
Kubrick gradually realized during the preparation of "Artificial Intelligence" that the film was more suitable for Spielberg to direct. So we see a warm fairy tale instead of a Kubrickian cold adult fable. The emphasis on love may be corny but still struck a chord with most Chinese audiences.
209.First Love
2010, Thailand
One more point for campus romance movies, but with a Thai twist.
210.Joker
2019, The United States
Joker is not a superhero movie at all, but a crime film focusing on ordinary underclass citizens, and probably the most profound analysis of human nature in all Marvel DC movies over the years.
211.Tokyo Godfathers
2003, Japan
Unusually for a Satoshi Kon film, Tokyo Godfathers contains no fantasy elements nor does it explore themes of the lines between fiction and reality, instead being grounded more in realism. The motif of the film is "coincidence" and "family," and the rough plot is about three homeless characters who are not related by blood but live together as if they were a real family, and through a miraculous coincidence triggered by an abandoned baby, each of them recovers the connection with their original family that they have lost.
2016, The United States
Manchester by the Sea is a psychological drama film, centered around the themes of depression, guilt, grief, responsibility, dysfunctional families, and post-traumatic stress disorder that any modern person may face. The plot follows a depressed and grief-stricken man who was accidentally responsible for the deaths of his three children and must care for his teenage nephew after the death of his brother.
213.Rashomon
1950, Japan
"Rashomon"(罗生门) refers to the situation in which an event is given contradictory interpretations by the individuals involved, which is common in social disputes and is frequently referenced, particularly in news reports. Loosely based on the novel of famous Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, the film depicts the rape of a woman and the murder of her husband through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses in ancient Japan. Exposing the naked weakness and lies of human nature, Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon is a masterpiece that has earned him international fame.
214.Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991, The United States
Directed by the blockbuster maker James Cameron, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film makes it to be a definite classic action film in the eyes of Chinese audiences. It is rather rare that as the sequel to The Terminator (1984) and the second installment in the Terminator franchise, it can surpass the previous entry.
215.Green Snake（青蛇）
1993, Hong Kong, China
Green Snake is a 1993 Hong Kong fantasy film made by Tsui Hark（徐克）, telling the story of a Chinese folk tale Madame White Snake（白蛇传）from the perspective of Xiaoqing, the Green Snake, who normally plays a supporting role behind the main character Bai Suzhen, the White Snake. In the film, two snake spirits reform into two beauties and learn about love and suffering in human society; Monk Fahai, who determines to imprison the spirits, discovers his own weaknesses and finds that morality is not as simple as he had thought. With its charming images, enchanting soundtrack, and profound lines, Green Snake is regarded as Tsui Hark's best film.
2018, The United Kingdom
Queen is also well known in China with cult followings, and many Chinese audiences are watching the film to remember their rock 'n' roll years as teenagers.
217.Wonder
2017, The United States
The film may not be very good for professional critics, but it will definitely move the general audience. It is worth mentioning that the family and friendship in the film are enviable, no wonder why Douban review wrote that every American family inspirational film is a textbook of intimacy.
218.Twenty-Two （二十二）
2015, Mainland China
Twenty-Two is a 2017 documentary film on comfort women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. 22 women, the only Chinese comfort women who lived at the time, were documented in this movie. The documentary was initially unpopular at the box office due to its anti-commercial nature. However, after calls from celebrities, the Chinese public came to see the documentary in theaters as a way of remembering history, and Twenty-Two became the highest-grossing documentary ever released in mainland China.
2015, Australia
As the fourth installment of the Mad Max franchise, the film starts a crazy road adventure in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland where gasoline and water are scarce commodities. The viewing experience is like savoring a spicy delicacy, which makes Chinese audiences feel addicted to it.
220.New Dragon Gate Inn（新龙门客栈）
1992, Hong Kong, China
Directed by Raymond Lee and produced by Tsui Hark, New Dragon Gate Inn was shot as a standard wuxia action thriller, with fast-paced action including martial arts, sword fighting, and black comedy set in ancient China.
221.Room
2015, Ireland
Room follows a young woman who has been held captive for seven years with her five-year-old son born in captivity. Their escape allows the boy to experience the outside world for the first time. The film is a low-budget independent film, the scene is confined to a closed space, but the unique perspective and touching story have impressed many viewers.
2009, Germany
Director Quentin Tarantino extracted a lot of pop culture factors related to World War II from movies, novels, history, memoirs, photos, music, and paintings, and finally created an unprecedented war blockbuster.
223.Blood Diamond
2006, The United States
The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance conflicts, thereby profit warlords and diamond companies around the world. As an action-adventure film, "Blood Diamond" has its obvious didactic significance, with a shocking look at the inner workings of the diamond industry and the military security of African society.
224.Gattaca
1997, The United States
While the film explores the ethical issues of gene-editing technology, it also critiques genetic or birth determinism and affirms the unique value of each individual.
225.Waterloo Bridge
1940, The United States
Waterloo Bridge has unexpectedly struck a cross-cultural chord with both Eastern and Western audiences, with its tangled tragic plot, the delicate performances of its actors, and its touching emotional effects. After its release in China, Waterloo Bridge has moved so many moviegoers that it has aroused the amazement and curiosity of foreign scholars, calling it a uniquely Chinese phenomenon. In the study of Chinese scholars, some believe that Mara and Roy are a typical combination of a beautiful woman and a talented man and that Mara's understanding of chastity and the concept of the gentry in Western society are to a certain extent in line with values of Chinese audiences. The Chinese title of the film is 魂断蓝桥, which literally means heartbreak on the Blue Bridge, which refers to a story in Zhuangzi《庄子》 that an infatuated man jumps off the Blue Bridge to die after his lover breaks his promise.
226.Soul
2020, The United States
The movie fits the mentality of "lying flat"（躺平, reject rat race to enjoy common life） among the Chinese Generation Z.
227.Still Walking
2008, Japan
Japanese family films have reached the pinnacle of the world, and Hirokazu Koreeda's Still Walking makes it to be a masterpiece at the pinnacle.
2003, The United States
The second installment in The Matrix film series.
229.Coherence
2013, The United States
As a small-budget film, Coherence relies on the script and performance to support the complex content in a closed space. With $50,000, 5 nights, and 1 DV, the director refreshed the minimum cost required to make a quality science fiction film.
230.Ponyo
2008, Japan
Ponyo is the eighth and last animated movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki in the list of Douban Top 250 movies. Recently, the dialogue of two characters in the film, Ponyo and Sousuke, has become a popular short video clip on Tik Tok.
231.Lord of War
2005, France
A comment on Douban writes: arms dealers exist not because those small countries are at war but as a result of the game of the great powers.
232.La La Land
2016, The United States
Although the story is the usual formula, under the direction of Chazelle, who has superb control, a blend of jazz, swing and even surreal elements has revitalized the declining genre of cabaret films. The film's soundtrack has also become widely popular in China.
2004, United States
The second installment in the Jason Bourne film series.
1994, The United States
The classic of the American western film. A review on Douban reads that the characters in the film do not take their lives as human beings, they live like the majestic prairie of the vast ocean, like the picturesque autumn and unrestrained wildness, their ultimate romanticism is not bound by ethics or laws. One can not like the values of the film, but also can not deny the heart of this way of life's infinite fascination. dislike the values of the film, yet one cannot deny the infinite longing for such free life from the bottom of the heart.
1990, Hong Kong, China
Set in Hong Kong in the early 1960s, Days of Being Wild tells the story of the inner world and emotional entanglements of a lonely, rebellious young man, a true reproduction of the living environment and social conditions of ordinary young people in Hong Kong.
236.Thelma & Louise
1991, The United States
The film is considered to be a masterpiece of feminist cinema that protests against the patriarchal society. In recent years, feminism has received unprecedented attention and discussion on Chinese social media sites.
237.Oceans
2009, France
Oceans took five years and 50 million euros to make, using 12 crews, 70 ships, 50 locations around the world, over 100 species filmed, and over 500 hours of the underwater world and ocean-related footage, making it the largest investment documentary in history. All this investment makes it a perfect symphony of the ocean, a hymn to life.
238.Begin Again
2013, The United States
Begin Again is a typical musical film, as music not only change the lives of the people in the film but also makes the film more moving.
2002, The United States
The first installment in the Jason Bourne film series.
240.The Martian
2015, France
The Martian is a rare light-hearted science fiction film, intentionally weakening the most common fear of the future and the unknown universe of science fiction films, but optimistically talking about how technology can rescue mankind. The film's unique comedic elements and easy-to-understand knowledge introduction make the audience feel more intimate.
241.The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
2006, Japan
Japanese creators seem to have pinned too many superpowers on female high school students(known as JK), this time it's the ability to time travel. Time travel has been a clichéd, but rarely a movie like this one can retain a near-perfect dream of youth in the name of science fiction.
242.The Reader
2008, The United States
The indictment, depiction, and reflection of the Holocaust have already been made in great films such as Schindler's List and The Pianist. Yet, The Reader is still necessary for it has provided a perspective based entirely on the ordinary people in Nazi Germany and throughout the war and post-war period. Through the tragic love affair between a literary-loving female camp guard and a lawyer, the film reveals that people can sometimes betray their freedom to avoid shame.
243.Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2006, Germany
Set in 18th-century France, the film tells the story of an olfactory genius and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent. The top liked reviews in Douban writes: "Perfume is simply a history of the capitalism, born in the dirtiest and rotten place, but the pursuit of the purest beauty, through killing to get the power to confuse every person, even its rivals are willing to bow down, and finally, like a fable, it will disappear from the world one day ......"
2007, India
Produced and directed by Aamir Khan, Like Stars on Earth explores the life and imagination of an 8-year-old dyslexic child. Each of Aamir Khan's films, while moving the audience, has been able to spark a discussion on a certain issue in society at large, in this case, special education. In the eyes of Chinese audiences, he is a model of a socially responsible director.
2001, Japan
Directed by Satoshi Kon, the animated film tells the story of two documentary filmmakers investigating the life of a retired acting legend. As she tells them the story of her life, the difference between reality and cinema becomes blurred. Director Kon expresses left-wing and anti-war advocacy through the film, which is rarely mentioned by Western critics. In the interpretation of Chinese audiences, the pursuit of love is the most superficial layer, while the pursuit of reform, progress, and communism is the core part of this film.
246.Late Blossom
2011, South Korea
Late Blossom is a 2011 South Korean film about the love story of two elderly couples. The film has no flashy background or beautiful actors, but plain and sincere feelings. Along with the increase in the proportion of the aging population in Chinese society, the emotional needs of the elderly are given more and more attention.
2016, Italy
It's a successful low-budget film, perhaps the third on this list to unfold its plot in a confined space.
248.Mr. Donkey（驴得水）
2016, Mainland China
Based on a play of the same name, the film tells the story set in the period of the Republic of China, teachers from a remote school falsely claim a donkey as a teacher to receive salaries.
249.Spotlight
2015, The United States
Spotlight is based on a feature in the Boston Globe, set against the backdrop of the scandal of child rape and molestation by American clergy, and follows the difficult experience of several journalists to find out the truth. The whole film is like a good news report itself, stating the context, introducing the characters, finding evidence, and solving the difficulties, calmly and clearly organized.
250.The Wave
2008, Germany
The Wave tells the story of a high school teacher who leads his students through a classroom experiment to experience a fascist dictatorship.
Statistics:
1. Which countries are the listed movies from?
The United States 115 (46%)
Japan 33 (13.2%)
Hong Kong, China 20 (8%)
Mainland China 16 (6.4%)
The United Kingdom 15 (6%)
South Korea 11 (4.4%)
France 9 (3.6%)
Taiwan, China 6 (2.4%)
Italy 5 (2%)
Germany 5 (2%)
India 3 (1.2%)
Australia 3 (1.2%)
Lebanon, Spain, Iran, Denmark, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Ireland: 1 each (0.4%)
2.When were the listed movies premiered?
1930s: 3 (1.2%)
1940s: 1 (0.4%)
1950s: 6 (2.4%)
1960s: 4 (1.6%)
1970s: 4 (1.6%)
1980s: 14 (5.6%)
1990s: 56 (22.4%)
2000s: 81 (32.4%)
2010s: 80 (32%)
2020s: 1 (0.4%)
Some thoughts on the list.
There are many ways to look at this list, which serves as a unique window in understanding the collective psyche of the younger Chinese audience.
The most obvious fact is Hollywood’s dominance in the world of cinema, as it makes up nearly half of all movies on this list. Aside from the United States, Japanese movies also have a strong standing, reflecting the country’s successful influence on modern Chinese culture.
In total 19 countries appeared on this list, which in my personal opinion, reflects that the Chinese audience welcomes diversity in culture and art.
It’s slightly surprising to see no Russian/Soviet movies in this list, as the country heavily influenced Chinese art in the early PRC era.
The three Chinese regions of the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is also worth a closer look. Traditionally, Hong Kong has been a high ground for culture, exemplified by its 20 movies on this list. However, 16 of the listed Hong Kong movies were made in the 20th century, and only 1 was made in the 2010s. This suggests that Hong Kong is losing its luster as the most vibrant movie market in China.
Taiwan movies share a similar trend. Out of the 6 movies on this list, 3 were made in the 1990s, 2 in the 2000s, and 1 in the 2010s.
Contrary to Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Korea’s most celebrated movies are closer to the present. All but one South Korean film on this list are made in the 2010s.
The list also reflects many differences between the preference of Chinese audiences and Western audiences, which is better gauged by IMDB. Many high-ranking movies on this list actually received mixed or even negative reviews from Western critics. There are opposite examples, though those examples may not have been included in this list. In general, Chinese audiences demonstrated a preference for wholesome movies that celebrated romantic love or love between family members.
If there are any shortcomings in this list, it lacked representation of movies made prior to the 1990s, this is likely due to the relatively young age of Douban users.
Lu Jia’nan, an intern for Beijing Channel, contributed to this newsletter.