The Best Films From Taiwan

Poet and author Xi Xi is one of Hong Kong's most treasured writers. Though also acclaimed in Taiwan and mainland China for seminal works like the essay Shops, her writings are firmly rooted in the spirit of Hong Kong. Leave it to Fruit Chan, another staunchly grassroots auteur, to make a documentary on Xi Xi's career. Chan sought out renowned critics and writers to discuss Xi Xi's works, starting with 1979's My City. He also juxtaposes photos of a changing Hong Kong with readings of her writings, and even playfully inserts characters from her stories into the film.

My City (2015)

Two poor teenage brothers hope to change their fate by changing basketball.

We Are Champions (2019)

Nezha: The Race 1 (2021)

Hospital (2020)

Set in Taiwan during the 'White Terror' period of martial law, a high school girl who awakens in an empty school, only to find that her entire community has been abandoned except for one other student. Soon they realize that they have entered a realm filled with vengeful spirits and hungry ghosts.

Detention (2019)

Set in 2032, a rich man, Mr Wang, riddled with cancer is found murdered in his mansion. He runs a company that has been conducting something called RNA operations, which involves the insertion of healthy proteins into a cancer patient’s brain in an attempt to destroy their brain cancer.

The Soul (2021)

Mouna Rudo was born and raised among the Seediq people, an indigenous tribe in Taiwan, and as he grew to be a man he became a member of the Seediq Bale, a courageous band of native warriors. However, Rudo's way of life is threatened under the yoke of occupying forces from Japan, who took over the nation in 1895. As Rudo sees the traditions and honor of his people stripped away, he realizes the time has come to fight back, and in 1930 he brings together a group of former Seediq Bale soldiers, many of whom have been reduced to infighting, and molds them into a revolutionary army. Rudo and his comrades make their stand when they confront Japanese occupation troops at a youth athletic event, leading to a violent confrontation between the Seediq forces and their oppressors. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 1: The Sun Flag is Part one of the two-part, four-hour Taiwanese edition of the film Warriors of the Rainbow.

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 1: The Sun Flag (2011)

Mouna Rudo was born and raised among the Seediq people, an indigenous tribe in Taiwan, and as he grew to be a man he became a member of the Seediq Bale, a courageous band of native warriors. However, Rudo's way of life is threatened under the yoke of occupying forces from Japan, who took over the nation in 1895. As Rudo sees the traditions and honor of his people stripped away, he realizes the time has come to fight back, and in 1930 he brings together a group of former Seediq Bale soldiers, many of whom have been reduced to infighting, and molds them into a revolutionary army. Rudo and his comrades make their stand when they confront Japanese occupation troops at a youth athletic event, leading to a violent confrontation between the Seediq forces and their oppressors. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 2: The Rainbow Bridge is Part two of the two-part, four-hour Taiwanese edition of the film Warriors of the Rainbow.

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 2: The Rainbow Bridge (2011)

Tired of her family constantly nagging her to get married, spoiled heiress Yeh Fenfen (Shu Qi) books a stay at a beautiful villa on the Penghu Islands, which are the subject of a classic song on a tape left for her by her mother. When she arrives at her destination, she's dismayed to find that the gorgeous villa is actually a rundown B&B owned by Wu (Richie Jen). It turns out that Wu's friends, hoping to drum up some business for the B&B, falsified a few details about the state of the property on the internet. Angered by the deception, Fenfen packs her bags and leaves the next day. But, when she loses all of her luggage on the boat ride, Fenfen has no choice but to head back to the island.

All You Need Is Love (2015)

Plurality (2021)

A lurid fantasy of wounded flesh and accursed lives that entwine and separate in a building run by a landlord (Simon Yam), who seeks to find a particular type of tenant for the property he inherits from his relatives. Driven by his desire of peeping into the darkest aspects of human nature, what he sees through the eyes of the omnipresent cameras ain’t pretty… but it gives him the wry, abject satisfaction of a dark god lording over and leering at the souls of the damned, his imagination hungering toward them.

The Tenants Downstairs (2016)

Sequel to the 2018 Taiwanese horror blockbuster.

The Rope Curse 2 (2020)