Favorite 5

Woman Basketball Player No 5 (1957), directed by Xie Jin

"The first sports film in color, it gripped audiences with a vitality and speed unlike any other Chinese film that came before. The film gushes with the conventions that would become the staple of the sports movie genre: training montages, flashbacks and truly impressive (for the time) sports scenes. This was the first Chinese film I saw that I really fell in love with."

To Live (1994), directed by Zhang Yimou

"Zhang Yimou described To Live as his most personal film, based as it was on a period where all terrible facets of human nature were exposed. An amazingly powerful film."

The Goddess (1934), directed by Wu Yonggang

"In telling the archetypal 'hooker with a heart of gold' story, the Lianhua Film Company emphasized cinematography above over-the-top acting: Sweeping camera shots and sparse use of inter-titles enhance the highly-visual style of the sophisticated melodrama. Ruan Lingyu deserves all the plaudits that have been handed to her."

A World Without Thieves (2004), directed by Feng Xiaogang

"From a principally visual point of view, the hyper-stylized film excels when depicting its kungfu-like brand of pick-pocketing inside the train and the breathtaking Tibetan plateaus outside."

The Horse Thief (1986), directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang

"The film is visual poetry, the beauty of the images taking center stage over dialogue and narrative. By elaborately depicting Tibetan religious practices, Tian discusses the relationship between man and the gods, and also the fragile nature of life. It's just an amazing experience best viewed on the big screen."

China Daily

(China Daily 11/12/2010 page19)