In early 2020, following his win for best foreign-language film at the Golden Globes (amongst the many other awards won that year), Parasite director Bong Joon-ho stated that "Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films". As a lifelong fan of Asian cinema, I wholeheartedly agree. The creativity, originality, and pure genius of many Asian directors is something everyone should have the joy of experiencing. They're not afraid to break barriers and transcend conventional boundaries. If you're ready to take the plunge and expand your horizons into Asian cinema, then this guide is for you! To make this list expansive, I'll be presenting great beginner films from Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand. For each country, I will include 2 films for each of these genres: Action, Drama, Thriller/Horror, Romance, and Comedy. Hopefully, these films will kickstart a new Asian cinema addiction.
Japan
Action
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
The students of Suzuran High compete for the King of School title. An ex-graduate yakuza is sent to kill the son of a criminal group, but he can't make himself to do it as he reminds him of his youth.
Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo Kobayashi learns that his orchestra is disbanding. Daigo and his wife move back to his hometown in northern Japan, where he answers an ad for what he thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary. As he learns and carries out the rituals used in preparing the dead for their final rest, Daigo finds his true calling in life.
Preteen Akira Fukushima and his young siblings have been abandoned by their mother, Keiko. Keiko, who has moved in with a new lover, has left Akira in charge of his brother, two sisters and a whole apartment, with little money and food to see them through. Akira and the other children, who were never enrolled in school, struggle to survive without basic amenities as they cope with a strange, solitary existence in a Tokyo apartment building.
Thriller/Horror
42 9th graders are sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various weapons. An explosive collar is fitted around their neck. If they break a rule, the collar explodes. Their mission: kill each other and be the last one standing. The last survivor is allowed to leave the island. If there is more than one survivor, the collars explode and kill them all.
When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa sets out to investigate. Along with her ex-husband, Ryuji, Reiko finds the tape, watches it -- and promptly receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week. Determined to get to the bottom of the curse, Reiko and Ryuji discover the video's origin and attempt to solve an old murder that could break the spell.
Romance
When he hears the Beatles track of the film's title, Watanabe has a vivid flashback to his student days, evoking the period's sexual and political revolutions, but centres on his relationships with two women. He knew Naoko from high school and the two of them are bound together by a profound shared personal loss; Midori, meanwhile, is a free-spirited, flirty student he meets at university, but she too has her dark side.
Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
Comedy
One of the major concerns of most Japanese families today is the school entrance examination that children have to go through. Successful admission to a good high school often assures the student of subsequent entry into an 'Ivy League' university. A male tutor was recruited by an ordinary household. The student, whose brother has secured a place at a prestigious high school, changes as a result of the pressure along with other members of his family.
Supernatural comedy about an unlucky high school student who dies in a bus crash during a school trip only to be press-ganged into a demonic rock band in Hell. Daisuke wants to confess his crush to his would-be girlfriend Hiromi, only to die unexpectedly and find himself in Hell. There Daisuke encounters the flamboyant Killer K, the lead guitar and vocalist of the infernal rock band known as Hells, and together they embark on a hard-rocking tour of the Afterlife in an attempt to get Daisuke back to the Land of the Living and the girl he loves.
South Korea
Action
Dae-Su is an obnoxious drunk bailed from the police station yet again by a friend. However, he's abducted from the street and wakes up in a cell, where he remains for the next 15 years, drugged unconscious when human contact is unavoidable, otherwise with only the television as company. And then, suddenly released, he is invited to track down his jailor with a denouement that is simply stunning.
His only friend called him 'the man from nowhere'... Taesik, a former special agent becomes a loner after losing his wife in a miserable accident and lives a bitter life running a pawnshop. He only has a few customers and a friend named Somi, a little girl next door. As Taesik spends more and more time with Somi, he gets attached to her. Then Somi is kidnapped by a gang, and as Taesik tries to save Somi by becoming deeply associated with the gang, his mysterious past is revealed.
Drama
Korean grandmother Mija comes to terms with the early onset of Alzheimer's while dealing with the fallout from a brutal family crime. Her teenage grandson is linked to the violent death of a girl, and she finds herself caught up in a conspiracy to pay hush money to the dead girl's family. Mija's tendency to become lost in poetry, and the wonders of nature, causes her mind to wander at the wrong time, with unfortunate consequences.
Jong-soo runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighbourhood, and she asks him to watch her cat while she's out of town. When she returns, she introduces him to Ben, a man she met on the trip. Ben proceeds to tell Jong-soo about his hobby.
Thriller/Horror
When his abducted brother returns, seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the mysterious kidnapping.
A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.
Romance
A young couple's enduring love is tested when 27-year-old Su-jin is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.
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.
Comedy
Sang-man starts seeing four ghosts after a failed suicide attempt and, by carrying out their wishes, he rediscovers the pleasures of life.
A rebellious teen must care for an infant while his parents are away, no matter how much he wants to escape the responsibility.
China
Action
After a terrible tragedy, a martial artist retreats to a remote village to gain a new appreciation for the important things in life, but when he returns to the city to reconcile his past with the present, he gets caught up in a duel to the death defending China's honour.
Members of an international task force seek justice against the leader of an Asian drug cartel and his murderous henchmen.
Drama
A Chinese leukaemia patient smuggles cheap but untested pharmaceuticals from India to help hundreds of Chinese people suffering from cancer.
Thriller/Horror
After being kidnapped, a young woman awakens three months later on the side of a road with no memory of her abduction. Subsequently, she begins to experience psychological episodes that mirror her abductor's persona
Teenage Songlian, whose family has been devastated by the recent death of her father, becomes the third concubine of wealthy Master Chen . She soon discovers that behind the palatial luxury of life in the master's house, she and her fellow concubines, Zhuoyan and Meishan, are pitted against each other in a struggle for his affections. The situation inevitably leads to deception, jealous rages and the revelation of each other's darkest secrets.
Romance
Two strangers meet on a train and form a bond that evolves over the years. After a separation, they reconnect and reflect on their love for each other.
Romance blossoms again for a divorced jewel-thief couple as they try to rekindle the love they once had for each.
Comedy
After failing to become a cop, a mystery enthusiast goes to visit his hapless cousin in Thailand. One is a brainiac and the other a twitchy loser, but together they're going to solve a murder.
A middle-aged nobody who passes out drunk and magically travels back to his school days with the chance to fix his old mistakes.
Hong Kong
Action
An honest Hong Kong cop protecting a Triad boss's girlfriend-turned-informer, finds himself framed for the murder of a dirty cop and going on the run. The movie mixes slapstick with wild stunts and features some painful outtakes during the final credits.
A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.
Drama
Five shorts reveal a fictional Hong Kong in 2025, depicting a dystopian city where residents and activists face crackdowns under iron-fisted rule.
A film producer helps care for his family's lifelong servant after she suffers a stroke and must move into a nursing home.
Thriller/Horror
The film is the story of Cheng Lai-sheung who saves up money to buy her dream home. After the sellers decide to turn her down, she goes into a murderous frenzy.
Blind since the age of five, 20-year-old Hong Kong classical violinist Wong Kar Mun undergoes an eye cornea transplant after receiving a pair of new eyes from a donor. Initially, she is glad to have her sight restored but becomes troubled when she starts seeing mysterious figures that seem to foretell gruesome deaths.
Romance
Wah Dee, a young triad gangster, is the getaway driver in a jewellery store robbery. When the raid goes wrong, he takes a young woman named Jo Jo hostage. A senior member of Wah Dee's gang, Trumpet, demands that she be killed, but Wah Dee resists and saves her. They learn that love crosses all boundaries.
Every day, Cop 223 buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he'll get over his lost love. He's also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig, oblivious of the fact she's a drug dealer. Cop 663 is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup. But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local café, a waitress lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.
Comedy
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
A Buddhist disciple battles demons by using a book of nursery rhymes to appeal to their inherent goodness.
Wong, a mischievous young boy, learns a special form of martial arts from his alcoholic master in order to prevent an assassin from executing his goals.
The Philippines
Action
After surviving the slaughter of her entire squad in a drug raid compromised by dirty cops, anti-narcotics special operative Nina Manigan is eager to go head-to-head with the drug cartels that hold a bloody grip on Manila. But when her new mission in the city's most dangerous slum goes south, the angry civilians turn on her squad. Trapped between a brutal drug gang and hordes of bloodthirsty citizens, their only option is to fight their way out.
The life of a chauffeur takes a terrifying turn when -- by mistake -- his own young daughter is kidnapped instead of the child of the corrupt politician for whom he works.
Drama
An embittered law student commits a brutal double murder; a family man takes the fall and is forced into a harsh prison sentence; a mother and her two children wander the countryside looking for some kind of redemption.
Sarah leaves her son in the Philippines to reunite with her husband in London, where she struggles personally and professionally as a care-home worker.
Thriller/Horror
A Filipino couple working overseas return to their hometown to get married; however, a deadly curse follows the couple, based on the superstition that marriage should not take place within a year of the death of an immediate relative.
The film centres around a woman who's desperate to find the cure to her daughter's illness. She takes a job at a call centre, only to be haunted by the ghost in it.
Romance
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
Maxi, a boy on the cusp of his teens, is already comfortable with his homosexual feelings. He dresses in girls' clothing and wears makeup, with nothing but acceptance from his family. When Maxi is assaulted one evening, Victor, a police officer, comes to his aid. Maxi soon develops a crush on Victor, who shows a platonic affection for the young lad. The unorthodox friendship is strained when Victor's job leads him to Maxi's brothers and father.
Two adult workers form a screwy relationship as "cuddle partners" only to realize that they want something more.
Comedy
Shirley Templo is a ruthless woman. Many people deal with her strong attitude only for fear of her cold stare, or her outlash. She works as a librarian in a school, and lives in a compound that is owned by her ex-husband, Benito Salvacion. Many of the Salvacion family members that live near the compound, even including her eldest daughter, Dang, plead with her to sell it so they can make a profit, and she can move to a more suitable living area.
Thailand
Action
In Thailand, the impoverished village of Ban Nong Pradu has its most precious Buddha statue stolen from the temple. Luckily the small town also has a very skilled fighter in the form of Ting, who sets out on a quest to recover the cherished figure. His journey leads him to Bangkok, where he must wrangle the statue from Don, a volatile drug dealer. Meanwhile, the village is suffering a severe drought and needs the Buddha to restore vitality.
Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial skills, gets money to pay Zin's treatment, her sick mother, seeking out all the people who owe Zin money.
Drama
A genius level high school student makes money after developing elaborate methods to help other students cheat.
A group of soldiers in a small town on the Mekong River in northern Thailand are struck with a bizarre sleeping illness.
Thriller/Horror
A young photographer Thun and his girlfriend Jane discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after fleeing the scene of an accident. As they investigate the phenomenon, they find other photographs contain similar supernatural images, that Thun's best friends are being haunted as well, and Jane discovers that her boyfriend has not told her everything. It soon becomes clear that you can not escape your past.
Two projectionists discover a disturbing film featuring the lynching of a woman. Not only are they troubled by the content of the movie, but strange events befall them following the viewing.
Romance
The story follows a love triangle, set in World War II-era in Thailand, and depicts the star-crossed romance between Kobori, a Imperial Japanese Navy officer and Angsumalin, a Thai woman who is involved with the Free Thai resistance.
A hard-worker freelancer who falls in love with a doctor. While his life is getting worse every second. He must find the way to release his life to the beyond of everything.
Comedy
Desperate to go to the US to win back his girlfriend, Yim hires a tutor to teach him English, but things don't go according to plan.
A super standard girl in school is on a quest to win the love of a school senior heart-throbber with her new-found friend. The only secret is that she can discharge electricity when she gets excited.
Author
Ben