2018 has been a rather interesting year for Korean cinema, which, despite the continuous turn towards Hollywood aesthetics and the non-stop production of crime-thrillers, managed to produce a number of interesting films, headed by the return of two of the contemporary greats, Kim Ki-duk and Lee Chang-dong.

The blockbusters were here once more, but the surprise came from independent productions, with a number of newcomers (Jeon Go-woon, Shin Dong-seok) and the return of some “older” directors (Baek Seung-bin, Kim Ui-seok) having large impact with their debuts, dealing with social issues, of which bullying was the most central one. Lastly, Lee Il-ha directed one of the best documentaries we have seen the latest years with “Counters” and Lee Byeong-heon directed one of the best comedy of the last years, with “What A Man Wants”.

Some films may have premiered in 2017, but since this occurred at the end of the year, I took the liberty of including them.

With a focus on diversity, here are the 10 best Korean films of 2017.

10. Man of Will (Lee Won-tae)

This list would not be complete without a historic drama, and Kim Gu, a Korean nationalist politician, and the last Premier of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, as much as a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Japanese Empire and a reunification activist after 1945, was long due a biopic.

The film begins in 1890, when the young Kim Chang-soo is sent to prison for his role in the murder of a Japanese man who took part in Empress Myeongseong’s assassination. While in there, he finds out that the majority of the imprisoned is impoverished, uneducated, and even wrongly convicted, and proceeds on having a real impact in their lives, even sacrificing himself in the process. The events that follow shape a truly significant man.

Lee Won-tae, in his feature debut, directs a film that functions much as a Hollywood production in terms of productions values (big budget, fast editing, grandiose music etc) and in its overall aesthetics, which results in a rather entertaining movie that takes full advantage of both the aforementioned, and Cho Jin-woong’s great performance as Kim Chang-soo.

The rest of the characters suffer somewhat from the focus on the main character, but the very interesting story actually carries the film until the end.

9. The Spy Gone North (Yoon Jong-bin)

Probably the best commercial film to come out from South Korea this year, “The Spy Gone North” deals with the true story of Park Chae-Seo, a South Korean spy with the code name of “Black Venus.”

The film tells his story from his recruitment from the NIS, to the assignment of infiltrating the highest North Korean echelons in order to learn about their nuclear program, his meeting with North Korean official Ri Myung-un in Beijing and the test he has to pass in the face of Jung Moo-taek in order to meet with Kim Jong-il.

Yoon Jong-bin directs a very entertaining spy thriller, which does not focus on action (as so many entries in the category) but on the build-up of the story and the subsequent tension.

The focus is on the entertainment aspect, and with the production values of a true blockbuster and another great performance by Hwang Jung-min, Yoon definitely succeeds in that aspect, while also managing to avoid the many clichés of the genre.

8. Microhabitat (Jeon Go-woon)

Miso works part-time as housekeeper but can barely make ends meet. She lives in a dingy little room with no heating. Her only solaces in life are her equally out-on-his-luck webtoon-artist boyfriend Han-sol, cigarettes and whisky. In fact, all her expenses are on meals, rent, whisky, cigarettes, tax and medicine for a condition that makes hair turn grey if the medicine is not consumed at regular intervals.

When her landlord increases her rent and the government imposes a ₩2,000 increase in cigarette prices, she knows decisions need to be made and some “luxuries” need to be cut. And so she does what any sane person would… and decides to cut out on her rent!

From here on, Miso begins a reflective, often hilarious journey asking favors of old band-mates from her university days to spend a few days with them in their homes, while she helps out cleaning their homes and cooking for them when she can. The journey, however, is not so smooth-sailing, as most of her friends have jobs and families of their own and are not quite as how Miso remembers them to be.

Jeon Go-woon in her feature debut directs a film about human relationships and particularly friendship, exploring, in a quite amusing and humorous way, the concept of “leeching,” of people who “take advantage” of their friends in order to “survive” in the contemporary society. The difference of these people, who consider friendship a concept above all, with the majority of the “normal” people, who consider friendship a concept with specific boundaries is explored to the fullest, and is actually the main source of the film’s subtle comedy.

Through this concept, Jeon also explores the difficulty youths experience in contemporary Korea, a setting where chasing one’s own dreams is perceived as lack of connection with reality.

7. What a Man Wants (Lee Byeong-heon)

In a rather strange setting in Jeju Island, current taxi driver and former roller coaster designer Seok-geun and his wife Dam-deok share a building to his sister Mi-young and her husband, Bong-soo, with the four being quite close, living next door to each other. Seok-geun however, is a habitual womanizer, and eventually tries to woo his brother-in-law in this kind of life. Bong-soo resists, but as his problems with his headstrong wife, and particularly her denial in turning their failing Italian restaurant to a Chinese one persist, he eventually succumbs to the appeal of Je-ni, a dance instructor who was initially courted by Seok-geun.

Things seem to go quite well for him after that, but as tragedy hits the family and Je-ni begins having more intense feelings for him, all members of the family are led into taking a good look at themselves and their relationships.

Lee Byeong-heon-I directs a character-driven, quirky comedy, which manages to carry the second aspect to the end, despite the fact that drama and a number of social comments are presented rather eloquently. Through this approach, Lee takes a thorough look at the concept of marriage, and particularly regarding couples who have been at it for some time.

His message of understanding and acceptance, which even extends to extramarital affairs, may seem a bit extreme, particularly in the eyes of conservatives, but his approach justifies even this message, through a story that seems to state that “everybody cheats” (and lies subsequently).

The protagonists represent four common archetypes. Seok-geun is the embodiment of the alpha-male whose appeal in the opposite sex is a given. Bong-soo is the exact opposite, a timid man afraid to jeopardize his marriage in any way. Mi-young is the bossy wife who knows what she wants and uses her husband to get it. Dam-deok is also timid, and content on being with a “prize husband” like Seok-geun, which, for her, is enough to keep her bitterness inside.

Lastly, Je-ni is the embodiment of the sex symbol, a woman every man desires, and one who thinks she can get whatever she wants due to her beauty. The way Lee presents all these characters and the layers that are hiding underneath is one of the film’s greatest aspects, which also carries to the end, through a number of plot twists, both dramatic and hilarious.

6. I Have a Date with Spring (Baek Seung-bin)

In rather unusual fashion, the film opens with a filmmaker sitting on a lake during his birthday, trying to complete a screenplay that has been standing for over a decade. Suddenly, he hears an explosion and four individuals appear from the woods behind the lake, with a middle-aged woman among them staying with him, stating she is his fan and wishing to hear about his new script.

The story then moves to other characters, probably the heroes of his script, who also have their birthdays, but whose arcs include the other three individuals that appeared before. These include a schoolgirl who is acquainted with a man in his forties, a romantic poetry professor who suffers from depression who meets a beautiful, but very sick woman, and a housewife, who meets a woman her age, who seems to be a fan of a book about female fighting she wrote back at the day. All three characters take a trip with their newfound “friends” both actually and metaphorically. All the while, the world seems to be ending.

Baek Seung-bin directs a film that unfolds in peculiar, but intriguing fashion, through which he manages to present a number of comments about individuals who represent a specific caste of society, while the “aliens” represent each of these caste’s needs. The filmmaker wants someone to appreciate him (a fan if you wish), the schoolgirl someone to interact with her (a friend or a parent) since her parents seem to neglect her. The professor is searching for love, for a woman who can dedicate his poems to, and the housewife a female friend, someone who will make her feel appreciated, and give her life a purpose outside her taking care of her household.

The aliens embody these needs to the fullest, offering satisfaction to the people they accompany initially, but Baek destroys this perspective completely, through the finale of each story, which is anything but a happy ending. This concept gives the film a nihilistic approach, but at the same time seems to suggest that the end of each person is not so significant if he has found what he wanted in his life, that even some moments of happiness can be more important than anything else.

At the same time, Baek seems to address the marginalized of society, since the main characters are social pariahs, thus presenting the main themes of the film, solitude and the melancholy deriving from it.

This has been quite an interesting year for Japanese cinema, for a number of reasons. To begin with, “One Cut of the Dead”, a small-budget. zombie film sent ripples across the whole world with its unexpected success, both in the festival circuit and commercially, having earned more than 3 billion yen, despite having a budget of just 3 million. At the same time, it spawned much controversy, particularly for the treatment of the cast and crew by the producers.

The return of Hirokazu Koreeda to the family drama genre was also a great success, with him earning top honors at Cannes, while equally successful was the new effort of Shinya Tsukamoto, who tackled the samurai genre this time.

Bullying continues to be a major theme for Japanese cinema, with Kensei Takahashi and Eisuke Naito presenting extreme, but fresh approaches to the concept, while a film shot in both Japan and Burma and one from an Indian director are also counted among the best of the year.

Kazuya Shiraishi continues his path to the top of the industry, having shot two great films, one about yakuza and one a social drama. Daisuke Miura managed to shoot a meaningful erotic drama in an industry where nudity borders on being forbidden.

Some films may have premiered in 2017, but since this occurred at the end of the year, I took the liberty of including them.

With a focus on diversity, here are the 10 best Japanese films of 2017.

10. Sea (Kensei Takahashi)

The story revolves around Hiroshi, a timid high school student, who is bullied by two classmates, Tatsuya and Kengo. Hiroshi dreams of getting to a university in order to leave his mundane coastal town and escape his torturing life, but his life changes forever, when his bullies instigate him to lure another classmate of theirs, Rie, into a boat shed in the beach where they proceed on raping her. The crime is never reported, but at a class reunion at their 20s, Hiroshi, who has become a newspaper delivery person and a complete loner in the meantime, snaps.

The narrative unfolds into two arcs, one in the past with the aforementioned events, and one in the present, 8 years after the graduation event. The comments presented in the two arcs differ, but in reality, the ones presented in the second are the consequences of the ones in the first. In that fashion, the first one deals with bullying and violence, and particularly the way it affects both victim and perpetrators.

The second one deals with guilt, punishment, and the way one can deal with both and move on with his life. A common one, on the other hand, is the concept of vigilante justice and its consequences, with Takahashi obviously stating that when the cycle of violence opens, it is very hard to close. On the other hand, Takahashi paints the villains in such dark colors, that the revenge exacted seems largely justified, although what follows succeeds in showing the toll such acts take, as no sign of relief is presented anywhere. The question “was it worth it?”, receives a rather obvious reply in that setting.

Subtlety is the main ingredient of Takahashi’s contextual and visual approach, with the majority of the violent acts being depicted in a fashion that mostly implies what is going on, with the exception of the scene of revenge, which is quite graphic. Furthermore, the suffering and the psychological situation each character experiences in any given time, also follows the same direction, not through words, but mostly through silent, but quite obvious sequences.

In that regard, the movie benefits the most by Haruka Ito’s cinematography, which succeeds in communicating both the events and what is occurring on the characters’ mind and psyche, in any given scene. Furthermore, the long shots featuring in the movie are quite captivating, particularly the ones in the beach, with this prowess also extending to the interior scenes, particularly the ones emitting a permeating claustrophobia, such as the revenge scene and the ones that Hiroshi is staying by himself.

In the end, I felt that some parts of the story, like the background of Tatsuya and Kengo could have been explored a bit more, but the taste the film leaves is great, particularly considering this is Takashi’s feature debut. Personally, I would really like to see what the future holds for the young director.

9. Passage of Life (Akio Fujimoto)

“Passage of Life” is based on a true story of a Burmese family living in Tokyo after immigrating to Japan with no visa.

Khine and her husband Issace, who works illegally in a restaurant, share a modest but happy home with their two children, 7-year-old Kaung and his 4-year-old brother Htet, both of which have been raised in Japan and speak almost no Burmese. The couple has applied for political asylum, stating that their lives were in danger in Burma; however, their application is rejected, as is usually the case in Japan, which is one of the largest donors to the UNHCR but accepts a very small number of refugees and asylum-seekers compared with other developed nations.

The rejection and the subsequent visits from immigration officials in the family’s house have a great toll to the already anxious Khine, who ends up being hospitalized, with the agony and wait for the second application making her health even worse. Eventually, she decides to take the children back to their home country, until Issace manages to find a solution.

The setting then is transferred to Burma, where Khine has to face additional problems as she tries to enter the children into a Japanese school, and at the same time finds herself psychologically and emotionally shattered due to the change of location, with the toll on the two kids being equally significant. And although the younger one is quite vocal about it, Kaung suffers silently and eventually decides to roam the streets of Burma by himself.

Akio Fujimoto directs a sensitive and quite toned-down film, which does not fail at all, though, to highlight the difficult circumstances of asylum-asking immigrants in Japan, through a particularly realistic depiction.

The way the authorities treat them (with politeness but a distinct tendency to disregard their situation) is one of the focal points of the first part, and through this, but also the father’s calm and patient attitude, Fujimoto succeeds in gaining sympathy for the family, from the very beginning. Despite their resolve though, the asylum application hangs like a Damoclean Sword over their heads, having dire consequences particularly on Khine, in the second focal point of the first part.

8. Call Boy (Daisuke Miura)

In a cinema as the Japanese, where erotic scenes seem almost forbidden (except from exploitation films, but that is a whole new other level of depiction), it feels quite reinvigorating to watch a movie that is fairly graphic in its portrayal of intercourse. “Call Boy” does just that, but probably its biggest trait is that it avoids becoming crude, almost completely.

The film revolves around Ryo, a university student who works part-time at a bar, trapped in an uneventful life, stripped of any kind of purpose. All these, however, change when his friend Tajima introduces him to Shizuka Mido, a woman who runs an escort service for women. Mido takes completely control of Ryo, first testing his abilities in the act by making him have intercourse with a Sakura, a deaf girl who seems to be under her protection, and actually evaluates his performance, giving him pointers to improve in bed.

Soon Ryo finds himself with a distinct sense of purpose, to satisfy even the most “extreme” women’s desires, while learning much about a gender he used to consider boring. By exploring their desires, he is eventually forced to take a look at his own, and consequently, himself as a whole.

Daisuke Miura has directed a film that includes a plethora of the most graphic intercourse scenes ever to appear in a mainstream film, that combine realism, both in image and sound, with a visual prowess very rarely witnessed in erotic films. This elaborateness benefits the most by Jam Eh I’s stylistic cinematography, which permeates the whole film, inducing it with a dreamy atmosphere that occasionally touches the borders of the noir.

This sense is also implemented by Zensuke Hori’s editing, that allows the film to proceed with a relatively slow pace, which seems to suit its general atmosphere in the best way. Hirokazu Kato’s sound is also a major factor in the realistic presentation of the erotic scenes, while the jazzy soundtrack by Yoshihiro Hanno heightens the overall aesthetics of the film even more.

None of the above however, means that the film is solely focused on intercourse. On the contrary, Daisuke Miura directs a movie that uses eroticism in order to present a number of comments, most of which revolve around desire and the true nature of women, with the film examining this topic in almost every age.

In that fashion, the movie explores a number of desires that could be easily considered as “fetishes” but in reality are quite more common than anyone would think, although they are usually buried under layers of pretentiousness and a need to appear “normal.” The sincerity and sensitivity Miura addresses these themes is one of the film’s biggest traits.

7. One Cut of the Dead (Shinichiro Ueda)

Making a zombie film that is different from the uncountable entries in the category is not an easy task. Shuichiro Ueda, however, has achieved just that, in a rather original movie that received a standing ovation that lasted for 5 minutes during its premiere in Far East Festival.

The movie’s narrative is quite unusual, as we are dealing with film about a film with zombies, that begins with the film and then goes to explain the path that led to the film, all the while mocking every concept associated with the film industry. In that fashion, in the beginning of “One Cut of the Dead”, we witness the preparations of a film, only to have zombies attack the set, since, Higurashi, the director has chosen to use an abandoned building where the Japanese conducted experiments during the war and has actually “invited” the undead in order to make his production more realistic.

After the ending titles fall on the screen, the script takes a leap backwards in time, where we watch how the director was given an impossible task, of shooting a zombie movie in one cut, which was to be screened live on TV. The second part focuses on his efforts to shoot this production against all odds and the plethora of obstacles that come his way.

As I stated in the previous paragraph, the film mocks every aspect of the entertainment industry, and this seems to be Ueda’s foremost purpose. In that fashion, “One Cut of the Dead” parodies the occasional strictness of the directors (the harsh behaviour usually associated with auteurs actually), having Higurashi yell “Action” at the most inappropriate times, not to mention the fact that he has used actual zombies in order to make his film more realistic.

The caprices of the movie stars also get their share of mocking, as do the ridiculous demands of the industry producers, along with the fact that the majority of people in the industry consider TV shows of low quality. Furthermore, the struggles of low budget productions are also presented and mocked, while one has to laugh with the concept of the drunken director of photography, who actually ends up playing the zombie. Lastly, the role of the scream queens, the self-defense lessons for women, and “The Method” also get their share.

The second great trait of the narrative is the fact that it manages to draw laughter from the exact same jokes in the second part, by actually explaining how the “weird” moments of the production (the one Higurashi was tasked with, not “One Cut of the Dead”) came to be.

Lastly, Ueda manages to show all the hardships but also the joys a film can bring to a crew in the end, with the finale highlighting the second aspect in delightful fashion.

6. Liverleaf (Eisuke Naito)

“Liverleaf” is a Japanese teen drama about bullying, based on the manga series “Misumisou” by Rensuke Oshikiri.

A newly admitted transfer student, Haruka, gets bullied at her new school. Her only friend is another transfer student, Mitsuru. One day they meet up to go and take photos of the snow-covered village. On their way back, Haruka discovers that her house is on fire, with tragic consequences for her whole family. In the aftermath, she decides to exact revenge in the most violent way.

Eisuke Naito takes the concept of “bullying the bully” to its most extreme, as eventually, vengeful violence takes over the narrative in the most shocking fashion, while the teen drama elements seem to move the narrative even further to this particular direction.

Through this extremity, Naito also seems to put the blame to the lack of guidance these youths experience, both from their parents and their teachers, both of which shine through their absence.

Hidetoshi Shinomiya’s cinematography is one of the biggest traits of the film, with the scenes in the snow being the ones that stand out, being both meaningful and quite artful.

The year 2017 has been quite a strange year for the Japanese movie industry after the rather successful previous one, which was shaped by the reintroduction of the Roman Porno series, the new Godzilla films, and “Your Name.” The industry is still dominated by manga adaptations and family/social dramas, but this does not mean that there are no unique or even hopeful films and creators out there.

In that fashion, a couple of new filmmakers filled with potential made their appearance; Takashi Miike continued to prove that he is the best director in adapting manga; Sion Sono returned to his exploitation roots once more with great results; and Sunao Katabuchi gave us a great anime, which seems to take a different approach to the medium, both technically and in theme.

Yoshihiro Nishimura continued his legacy in the Japanese splatter; Yoshitaka Mori gave us a great biopic; Kyoko Miyake shed light in the concept of “idols”; and Takahide Hori presented a great stop-motion spectacle.

Some films may have premiered in 2016, but since this occurred at the end of the year, I took the liberty of including them.

With a focus on diversity, here are the 10 best Japanese films of 2016.

10. BAMY (Jun Tanaka)

With a miniscule budget of 700,000 JPY (about $6,300), Jun Tanaka attempted to present a new take on the ghost (horror) story genre. The film premiered at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March.

The introductory scene immediately sets the rather unusual tone of the film. Fumiko Tashiro is going up on an exterior elevator when she witnesses a red umbrella flying outside the skyscraper she ascends. Some moments later, she is leaving the building and the same umbrella crashes in front of her on the street. The event alarms her and a passerby, who turns out to be Ryota Saeki, an old acquaintance from college.

The story then flashes forward a year later when the two of them are engaged and have started living together. However, Ryota has been hiding a secret from her all this time: he has the ability to see ghosts, in a trait he does not understand and has made him somewhat neurotic. As time passes, his psychological status worsens and jeopardizes both his upcoming marriage and his work (in a warehouse). At the same time, he meets another woman with the same ability, Sae Kimura, who is even more terrified than he is. One more unexpected event complicates his life even more.

Tanaka stated about the concept of the film: “The red thread of fate – an East Asian myth of a thread that ties destined lovers together – is nothing but a curse. We cannot will miracles to happen; they are forced upon us, abruptly and violently, by an unfathomably great power. One cannot escape it, one cannot resist it. The mythical thread then, if it exists, is surely something monstrous. Faced with such a force, man is always small and powerless. This miracle picks its targets arbitrarily, toys with them, and will not relent until its thread has drawn the fated pair together.”

This point is represented, visually, by the almost omnipresent red umbrella, who symbolizes the above red thread, the connection between Fumiko and Ryota, which seems impossible to cut. The presence of ghosts represents the second point, about the lack of control people have over their fate, and in essence, their lives.

In that fashion, Tanaka communicates a rather pessimistic comment, which has people as puppets of fate with little or none authority upon it. While the message is significant, the relationship between the two protagonists do not justify such a strong connection, since it seems like a usual, even uninteresting one, where the woman has the dominant role of the boss-mother and the man the one of the absent-minded man-child. Furthermore, the highly surrealistic ending sequence makes the message even more confusing and abstract, as the supernatural seems to give its place to the fantastic.

On the other hand, the aesthetics are almost without a fault, particularly when one considers the budget of the film. The cinematography is impressive, as the tints of grey that dominate the movie provide a very atmospheric setting, where horror, confusion and insecurity seem to thrive. In this background, the portrayal of the ghosts, whose faces are always in the shadows, never actually appearing on screen, become even more ominous, as it also justifies Ryota’s psychology, who seems to witness them everywhere.

This imaging highlights the use of lighting in the movie, which is on a very high level. The framing is also very accomplished, presenting some interesting perspectives of the action in connection to each setting.

9. Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High (Akira Nagai)

Evidently, Japanese cinema at the moment is swamped in manga/anime adaptations, a number of which are of dubious quality, to say the least. However, among the plethora of similar productions, some manage to stand apart. “Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High” is one of those exceptions.

Based on a manga by Usamaru Furuya, the story takes place in the Showa era (1926-1989) and revolves around Teiichi, a high school student whose sole wish is just to play the piano, but after his father’s strict behaviour and a hit on the head, he decided to become the Prime Minister and eventually created an empire of his own. Having just been accepted to one of best schools in the country, with a cradle of politicians he starts paving the path to make his dream come true. With the help of his devoted (and in love with him) sidekick Komei, Teiichi unashamedly becomes the “dog” of Roland, the extremely blonde chief-candidate for high school president.

In his efforts, Teiichi has to face Kikuma, his rival since childhood, in a competition that has been going on since their father’s time; and Dan, a poor boy who tries to pay up his father’s debt and take care of his sibling, and has become quite popular in school due to his his adamant character and his prowess in sports. Roland’s leading opponent is Okuto, a shogi genius who wants to change the elections into a more democratic procedure, including all the students and not just the members of the council. As the race continues, intrigues, treacheries and the shifting of sides take place, as the student’s parents also get involved in the game.

“Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High” includes a number of the elements all manga adaptations seem to include, with the hyperbolic acting, the crude comedy, and the abundance of motley colours and absurd characters. However, what makes the film stand apart is the way it presents school politics, in a fashion that lingers between a parody of the actual political situation in the country and an intricate game that maintains the tension to the last moment.

At the same time, Akira Nagai analyzes his characters quite well, making a point of demonstrating that their father’s behaviour is the main reason for their scheming and corrupt behaviour. This element also symbolizes the fact that the issues with the current political system in Japan derive from the previous generation, who does not seem eager at all to let the new one “shine.”

8. Kodoku Meatball Machine (Yoshihiro Nishimura)

Yuji is a 50-year-old bill collector and he truly sucks at it, as he cannot get money from anyone, and occasionally he is even stripped from his own. Furthermore, he lives alone, and everyone in his life seems to try to take advantage of him. His boss; his mother, Kaoru; a girl from his bookstore he seems to like who introduces him to a cult; and the members of a sex club who initially draw him in order to comfort him, but at the end they beat him and leave him with an exuberant bill.

If that was not enough, he is diagnosed with cancer, with the doctor suggesting that he just has a few months to live. A bit later, he meets a strangely dressed woman who encourages him somehow, which makes him more confident and results in him finally managing to receive some money from the people he is supposed to collect from.

Alas, around that time, aliens invade the Earth, engulfing an area inside something that looks like a giant class, and they start invading human bodies, taking control of them and transforming them into NecroBorgs, a kind of biomechanical monster, and attacking anyone in their path. Yuji manages to survive the transformation process as his host is killed by his cancer, and sets on a path to fight the aliens in order to save Kaoru. A team of martial artist policemen, who had previously hunted him after he was blamed as a killer after a fight with Kaoru’s brother, help him in his mission.

Nishimura takes a totally unexpected approach to the film, as there is almost no gore for the first 20-25 minutes, with the aesthetics being very close to the ones implemented in Sion Sono’s movies. The scenes in the cult’s “church” and the one in the “massage parlor” are distinct samples of this tendency, although the references to “Tokyo Gore Police” are not missing.

In that fashion, he manages to analyze his main characters, Yuji and Kaoru, quite a bit for a splatter film. At the same time, he parodies many concepts and tendencies of contemporary Japanese society. The police and martial artists, who are presented as fanatic jingoists of shorts, with one of them mocking Jackie Chan’s style in both appearance and fighting style, where he uses two stools as weapons.

The cults, who just want to take money from the people they draw in; the massage parlors, who do the same in most obvious ways; the relationships between bosses and employees; the way the public misjudges what they witness, since people always assume the worst. Most of all, though, the sci-fi concept of aliens invading human bodies.

7. Tokyo Idols (Kyoko Miyake)

“Tokyo Idols” portrays the dream of nearly 10,000 teenage girls in Japan who consider themselves “idols” and perform to entertain their fans. The majority of their “fanbase” is composed of middle-aged people (mostly between 40-50 years old) and their obsessions for these teenage idols. The docu-drama tries to bring out the life and career of these idol girls through a completely different and complex sexual perspective, touching the socio- economic life in Japan in an introspective manner.

Rio is a teenage idol with number of fans and followers. She is 19 and approaching towards the end of her career as an idol, which ends as the girls mature or become “strong women.” She wants to pursue a career as recording artist. Rio’s best fan (as the film portrays) Koji spends thousands of dollars on her. Koji is 43 and attends most of her concerts and even takes part in the music videos, dancing beside Rio. He considers himself a hardcore fan of Rio or an “otaku” as is the term in Japan.

Koji attends all her promotional and handshake events as well. The handshake event is special event where the fans get an opportunity to meet and shake hands with their idols and can take photos with the girls after paying a specific amount for it. The narrative moves on as Rio launches her alternative career by creating “Rio Trans-Japan Campaign.” The film continues under the shadow of a platonic relationship between Rio and Koji, with a flair of a strange sexual feeling and a dream far from reality.

The journalistic approach of “Tokyo Idols” makes it more informative and questions the current socio-economic condition of Japan. It highlights the lifestyle and gap in the relationship between men and women, where older men do not intend to have steady relationships and continue to search for their lust in teen idols.

And strangely, the lust has no sexual connection, and even a handshake with the idols for a few seconds gives the fans a feeling of sexual satisfaction. It highlights a stressed out society failing to take on the burden of economic pressure (or something else?), who chase a dream that is nothing but an illusion in most cases. The idols mostly lose their fanbase as they cross the barrier of “teen” and strangely, their purity and acceptance lie on their virginity to all the fans and followers.

6. Blade of the Immortal (Takashi Miike)

“Blade of the Immortal” is based on Hiroaki Samura’s long and extremely popular homonymous manga saga. A short prologue in sharp black and white sets the mood and introduces us to Manji, a feudal Japan samurai who’s facing a horde of hundred rough bandits that threaten his little sister. When the hooligans cowardly kill the girl, Manji’s reaction is a carnage, and he kills them all. Desperate and critically wounded, the samurai seems to accept death as a benevolent relief, but a mysterious veiled Nan rescues him, inserting a handful of Sacred Bloodworms into his bloodstream.

These restorative worms will thrive in Manji’s veins and will give him the supernatural power of immortality. Fifty years later, we find the super Manji alive and kicking but not particularly pleased to be immortal, living like an outsider in an isolated hut. He is soon contacted by little Rin, the daughter of a local Kendo sensei who has been killed by the icy Anotsu, the head of the infamous Ittō-ryū gang. Manji learns from Rin that the Ittō-ryū is undergoing a sort of globalization project, inviting all the small schools and dojos to amalgamate into a massive mixed bag of a martial art institution.

The senseis have little choice, though, as they are mercilessly killed upon refusal. This had been Rin’s father’s fate and the girl is now out, looking for revenge and a mentor, and the resemblance to Manji’s little sister hits the samurai’s right button.
Therefore, this odd couple (comparisons with “Logan” are inevitable) embarks on a quest after Anotsu’s punishment and along the way, they meet a stream of colorful foes.

From this point onward, the narration turns into a bizarre mode, very adherent to the concept of a manga “series,” where each opponent is a chapter “per se,” almost a manga volume in its own right, in contrast with the usual manga-to-live-action adaptations where the script tries to merge the episodes into a whole narrative line. Interesting as it is, Takashi Miike’s experiment risks dragging the movie, and at two-and-a-half-hour runtime makes it a bit repetitive, though always fun and visually dazzling.

“Blade of the Immortal,” like “13 Assassins,” belongs to the collection of Miike’s calmer and more well-mannered movies, far from the wacky surreal ones. At the same time, don’t expect a traditional chanbara. The plot is spiced up and enriched by touches of supernatural and frequent comedy shots and the parade of challengers on our heroes’ path is a gaudy bunch of punks, totally oblivious of any historical consistency.

Evidently, two consecutive great years are quite uncommon, even for Korean cinema, particularly because films like “The Handmaiden” and “The Wailing” did not find their equals in 2017. This, however, does not mean that the level of quality fell much lower, since the country’s film industry seems to provide great films continuously, even despite their mainstream and Hollywood-like aesthetics, at least for the most part.

Furthermore, the international hype about Korean movies continued with productions like “A Taxi Driver” and “The Villainess.” Hong Sang-soo managed to shoot three films, with one of them standing out. Dae Hyung-lim shot a great indie film, while films like those on the rest on the list continued the legacy of the country in action/gangster thrillers.

Lastly, I took the liberty of including “The Truth Beneath,” which, although a 2016 film, I watched very late last year and did not manage to include in that list…

Here are the 10 best Korean films of 2017.

10. The Villainess (Jeong Byeong-gil)

The movie starts with an extremely impressive action scene, where we watch an unknown assailant attacking swarms of enemies in a building, butchering, maiming, breaking, kicking and punching everyone who enters the scene, in a style identical to the first-person shooters in video games. After awhile, the camera is pushed back and the character is revealed to be a woman, while the video game aesthetics remain, as a third-person action this time.

After the end of this scene, and a disorienting cut including a flashback, we watch the main heroine escape a room in which she was secluded. Some seemingly surrealist scenes occur where she has to pass through a room where women practice ballet, another where they act, and another where they put on their makeup. In this sequence, the film transforms into yet another video game, this time in the category of surviving horror.

Awhile later, we start to learn about the real story of Sook-hee, the wife of a criminal who trained her to be a killing machine and left her pregnant. Now, the girl has to work for the government’s secret service as an assassin for 10 years, in order to avoid them having her and her daughter killed.

Up to this point, the action is frantic in the most elaborate way. Violence, martial arts, street fighting, guns and knives, and an exceptional combination of Park Jung-hun’s cinematography, Heo Sung-mee’s editing, and Koo Ja-wan’s sound make for one of the best action sequences ever to appear in cinema. This greatness continues to the rest of the action scenes in the movie that include car, bus and motorcycle chases and fights, and scenes occurring in places that range from private clubs to the outside of the buildings.

All of these are presented through another great combination of films that seems to feature the aesthetics and tactics of “Chocolate” and “The Raid,” and the aesthetics of “A Bittersweet Life” and “I am a Cyborg, But That’s OK” at the same time, with the latter deriving from the way Kim Ok-bin plays Sook-hee in the action scenes.

However, and this is one big “however,” the film’s rhythm falls very low during the hour or so where we learn the true story of “The Villainess,” and the blights that still torment her life. Another combination of films, this time including “La Femme Nikita” (which will be forever mentioned when the theme of the female professional killer comes up) and “Kill Bill,” keeps the story interesting, although a bit extreme at times.

Jeong Byung-gil does not avoid the reefs of the heartbreaking romance and the melodrama, where the evident effort at sentimentalism makes the majority of the parts between the action scenes almost tiring. Evidently, if one wants to shoot a blockbuster in Korea, he has to include some doses of melodrama, but in this case, they seem completely misplaced compared to the rest of the production’s aesthetics.

On the other hand, Jeong has the wisdom to interrupt them with a few well-placed action scenes, some of which even border on the style of 70’s Japanese exploitation, with the scene in the private club being the highlight of this tendency.

9. A Special Lady (Lee An-gyu)

Hyung-jung, the number two in her crime syndicate, which “specializes” in extorting money and “favors” from people in power, dreams of retiring in order to spend the rest of her life with her son, whose existence is unknown to her colleagues. Sang-hoon is the main enforcer of the syndicate, a troubled man swamped in violence who is also in love with Hyun-jung. When Prosecutor Choi, who falls victim to the syndicate’s tactics, forms a plan to use Sang-hoon to exact revenge from Hyung-jung, all hell breaks loose.

Lee An-gyu directs another stylish gangster/crime thriller filled with impressive action, fast editing, great cinematography, and a protagonist (Kim Hye-soo) that combines sexiness with regality, only to have both of these shuttered as her enemies find their weak spots.

Nothing out of the ordinary here, but the movie is well directed, despite the somehow naive script, which fits, though, the general aesthetics of the film. Lee Sun-kyun is also great as Sang-hoon, a broken man struggling to decide where his loyalties lie, in a dog-eat-dog setting where everyone seems to have a weakness the rest of the world wants to exploit.

The film could be a bit higher on the list if only it was not so filled with cruel misogynism.

8. On the Beach at Night Alone (Hong Sang-soo)

Yeong-hee is an actress who has left Korea at the end of an affair with a married director for Hamburg, where an old friend, Ji-yeong, is living. The fact that the latter also found solace abroad after her divorce and ended up staying seems to provide a very strong connection between the two women, although their interactions mostly feature Yeong-hee talking about her psychological situation.

After a point, end credits fall on screen and the film seems to start again, this time in the coastal town of Gangneung, where Yeong-hee meets a number of her friends and has a number of conversations over soju.

As I mentioned before, all of Hong Sang-soo’s themes and motifs are here, with the drinking, the long conversations in lengthy one-shots, the presentation of the weakness of man in front of women, the sudden zoom-ins, the unexpected humor and the great framing. Regarding the visual aspect, Kim Hyung-koo and Park Hong-yeol have done a great job in all of the aforementioned aspects, with the scenes in both the interiors and the exteriors being impressive, and the various scenes on the beach being the highlight of this tendency.

The focus on Kim Min-hee is, once again, intense, with her actually being present in all of the scenes, although her performance definitely justifies this fact, as she gives one of the best ones of her career. The moody behaviour, the sadness due to the break-up, the need for human interaction and at the same time the need to be by herself and ponder on her situation are all depicted eloquently, in a very difficult role.

7. Merciless (Byun Sung-hyun)

The labyrinth-like story begins with Han Jae-ho (Sul Kyung-gu), the “leader” of a prison, meeting a new inmate, Jo Hyeon-soo (Im Si-wan), who impresses him with his fighting abilities and his cockiness. Han recruits the young man, with the latter becoming one of his most faithful henchmen, even standing by him when he loses the throne from a bigger gangster than him. The two of them continue their collaboration outside of the prison, with Han bringing the young man into his syndicate.

The organization is headed by Go Byeong-cheol (Lee Kyung-young), who runs fishing company as a front to smuggle drugs in cooperation with the Russians. Soon, a number of truths are revealed. Jo is actually an undercover cop whose loyalties are jeopardized the more he hangs out with Han, whose boss fears his rising power and actually wants to kill him. And this is only the beginning in a spiral of treacheries, switching loyalties, and secrets that threaten everyone.

The fact is that Byun Sung-Hyun penned and directed an elaborate story, which retains the agony for the whole 120 minutes of the film, with a number of shuttering plot twists that are presented in a very timely fashion. However, the timeline, with the almost constant flashbacks, makes the narrative unnecessary complicated, and the film a bit difficult to follow. Furthermore, I felt that the story went a bit overboard in a number of instances, particularly during the ending, although this aspect actually fits the general aesthetics, which are not based on realism, but on entertainment.

In that fashion, the movie features impressive fighting scenes in a fitting brawler style, humor in the most unexpected moments, a rock-like soundtrack, plenty of violence, and an obvious effort to draw from Im’s impressive looks, all in accordance with the rules of mainstream films. The slapping/fistfight in the prison and the scene where everybody is laughing are great samples of the aforementioned, and are among the most impressive sequences in the film.

6. Master (Jo Eui-seok)

Jo Eui-seok directs and pens (along Kim Hyeon-deok) a very entertaining film that incorporates, apart from the aforementioned elements, a plethora of elements of mainstream cinema. In that fashion, the basis of the movie may be an agonizing thriller with many plot twists, but there are also car chases, gunfights, a martial arts scene, drama (although brief and not at all melodramatic) and very beautiful protagonists (both men and women) in different styles of appearance.

The fast pace, implemented expertly by Shin Min-kyung’s editing — particularly in the action scenes — and the impressive cinematography by Yok Yoo also stresses this trait, as the latter wraps the film in an impressive visual package that makes the production even easier on the eyes. The elaborateness in the technical department extends to Park Elhen’s production design, which presents interiors filled with luxury or rundown buildings with the same artistry, and Cho Sang-kyung’s costumes, which have the protagonists looking as good as possible.

Some excessiveness in the script does appear, particularly in the second part where Jo Eui-seok seems to have gone a bit overboard with the concept of the characters and the story, but even that hyperbole fits the general commercial aesthetics of the film, much like with Hollywood action blockbusters.

Despite being the “smaller” name of the three main characters, Kim Woo-bin as Park Jang-goon is the main protagonist of the movie. His performance is quite good as a man caught amongst powers bigger than him, particularly when he realizes that he is better off as a subordinate rather than the main man. Gang Don-won as Kim Jae-myeong is as cool as ever in the role of the determined hero, which seems to suit him to the fullest. However, I felt that his part, as a kind of father figure to Park, is a bit hyperbolic, particularly since the former is 28 and the latter 36.

Once more, let us delve in the key word in the title a bit. What is controversial, in terms of cinema? The easy answer would entail films that have been banned from their country of origin, or even other countries. The ones that had their directors ostracized would be another, as would the ones that challenge “normality,” breaking taboos in the process. The latter could be considered controversial because no “normal” spectator would consider their quality, probable offended by the spectacle offered.

Films that present history in a way one of the sides involved considers false is another, as are the films that present society in a fashion no one wants to see. All of the following films fall under one of these categories, in yet another list that could have many more entries, particularly since each country has banned a number of different films.

20. Ebola Syndrome (Herman Yau, 1996, Hong Kong)

Probably one of the most offensive entries on the list, “Ebola Syndrome” revolves around Kai San, a fugitive who ends up in Johannesburg after killing his boss and his wife. While there, he finds work in a restaurant. The actual plot initiates when his boss travels with him to an Ebola-infected village to buy pork meat. While there, Kai rapes and kills a local woman and contracts the disease.

However, he appears to be immune to it and soon after, he embarks on a killing spree that begins with raping, killing and dismembering his boss and his wife, and serving them as hamburgers to customers, passing the virus onto them.

Herman Yau directs a film so despicable that it eventually becomes funny, although in a highly unconventional fashion. The racist notions, the constant brutality, and the graphic depictions of hideous actions dominate most of the movie, while the main character is one of the most preposterously evil ever depicted on screen.

However, behind all the extremity hides a surprisingly well made and paced film that excels in terms of narration, building the agony for the frenzied finale while retaining its theme for the whole of its duration. Lastly, Anthony Wong is great in the protagonist role, elaborately portraying a genuinely evil character.

19. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2002, South Korea)

The first part of the “Vengeance Trilogy” revolves around Ryu, a deaf-mute who works in a factory while he also has to take care of his sick sister, who is in desperate need of a kidney transplant.

His situation takes a turn for the even worse when the doctors inform him that he is not a suitable donor, and at the same time, he is fired from his job. Utterly desperate, he decides to search the black market for a kidney, and although he manages to find some people who can help him, they prove to be con men who eventually take all of his compensation and one of his own kidneys, and leave him injured and naked in an unknown building. Seeing Ryu in this situation, his anarchist girlfriend Yeong-mi suggests kidnapping the daughter of his boss, Dong-jin, who has laid off many workers from his factory.

Park Chan-wook presented the extremes an individual can reach when they find themselves in desperate situations. Revenge, the central theme of the film, results from the aforementioned situations and is presented in four axes.

Ryu wants to exact revenge from those who tricked him. Yeong-mi wants to exact revenge from the ‘Capital.’ Dong-jin wants to exact revenge from those who kidnapped his daughter. Yeong-mi’s fellow terrorists want to exact revenge for their comrade. In this fashion, Park wanted to present the futility of revenge, as all of the aforementioned succeed in their purpose but gain nothing from it.

The reason I consider the film controversial is the scene where four boys in a row have pressed their ears to the wall, imagining that the moans they hear from the apartment next door are sexual, and masturbating to them. They also try to retain their fantasy with different tactics as one has stuck a naked woman’s image on the head of the boy in front of him, and he, respectively, is touching the one in front of him with his hands.

As the camera moves from right to left to the next room, the actual reason for the moans is revealed, with Ryu’s sister struggling on the floor in extreme pain, and him, being deaf-mute, not hearing a thing, as he continues to eat his noodles.

18. Taboo Gohatto (Nagisa Oshima, 1999, Japan)

The Shinsengumi was a special police force organized by the Bakufu (military government) in order to protect the Shogunate, whose members have been repeatedly presented in popular culture as the last samurai. Oshima took, once more, a radical approach toward them, presenting the theme of homosexuality among their ranks.

The story revolves around Kano Sozaburo, a young and beautiful samurai who is admitted to their ranks. Kano is a skilled swordsman, but his appearance causes antagonism among the other samurais, who compete for his affections.

Nagisa Oshima directs an almost theatrical spectacle filled with eroticism, which revolves around a game of jealousy and hatred instigated by Kano’s girlish appeals. Furthermore, he did not shy away from the depiction of homosexual sex scenes, despite the fact that Ryuhei Matsuda, who plays Kano, was 16 years old at the time.

The film was a financial success in Japan, netted a number of local awards, and was nominated for a Palme d’Or.

17. Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999, Japan)

“Audition” is quite a historic production (at least for its cult following), since it was the film that established Takashi Miike as a prominent member of the category and Eihi Shiina as a “priestess” of the grotesque.

Based on the homonymous novel by Ryu Murakami, who actually wrote it as a reaction to a failed love affair, “Audition” tells the story of Shigeharu Aoyama, a middle-aged entrepreneur who has recently lost his wife and has been living a disinterested life ever since.

His 17-year-old son, Shigehiko, who worries about the turn his father’s life seem to have taken, prompts him to meet new women. Yoshikawa, a friend of Shigeharu and a film producer, proposes that he take part in a sham in order to meet women, an idea he agrees to.

According to the plan, actresses would supposedly audition for the role of Shigeharu’s wife in an imaginary film, although the actual purpose is for Shigeharu to find someone he can date. Many beautiful women audition, but there is only one who truly stirs his heart – a young woman named Asami Yamazaki.

She states that she is a former ballet dancer who was recently working for a music producer. Yoshikawa warns Shigeharu to be careful, since he was not able to cross-check Asami’s background, but he is already blinded by love.

What Miike does here is build the horror in a fashion that finds the audience in an almost completely unsuspecting state during the ending scene. This technique raises the shock element to unprecedented levels, heightening the sense of the finale even more and making the scene even more memorable.

16. The Isle (Kim Ki-duk, 2000, South Korea)

Hee-Jin is a young woman who rents floating platforms to anglers in a lake. Additionally, she provides them with prostitutes if they ask and occasionally prostitutes herself. Her life is miserable, though calm, until Hyun-Shik arrives, an unusual renter who seems to have issues with the police. Nevertheless, the two of them strike a peculiar love affair, tortured by egoism, fatal accidents and a ferociousness that leads to extreme measures by both of them.

Kim Ki-duk presents an ode to antithesis. The splendid scenery at the lake in contrast to the mundane life of the anglers; the wealth of the entrepreneur who finds the body in contrast to the couple’s poorness; the anger of both the protagonists in contrast to their unfathomable love; the graphic scenes of self-injury in contrast to the poetic, calm scenery.

His direction is characterized by utmost simplicity, since he has removed any kind of explanatory scenes. His protagonists’ motives are simple in that they are animalistic. They feel lust, jealousy, pain and fear and react accordingly.

The fact is that “Pieta” and “Moebius” are further gruesome altogether. However, “The Isle” incorporates the two foremost grisly scenes in Kim’s filmography – the suicide attempts with hooks. Furthermore, it entails violent scenes with animals that Kim stated were real.

At its screening at the Sundance Film Festival, a large share of the audience walked out, while at the Venice Film Festival a few even fainted.

15. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000, Japan)

Kinji Fukasaku’s swan song was a domestic and international success and was released in 22 countries worldwide, thus becoming one of the most famous contemporary Japanese films.

In the beginning of the new millennium, unemployment has reached 15 percent with 10 million people left without a job, while school violence has reached unprecedented levels. In order to control the youth, the desperate government votes in the “Battle Royale” law, which states that each year, students from a randomly chosen class will be transferred to a secluded island where they will have to fight to the last person standing.

The story, which is based on the homonymous novel by Takami Koushun, revolves around the latest chosen class.

Fukasaku took the school violence theme and transformed it into actual and grotesque brutality, as the students become monsters in order to avoid death. The dark and vicious atmosphere supplements this extreme film, which at times touches the borders of splatter.

However, beneath the violent action he hid harsh remarks regarding political correctness, reality shows and television in general, coating them with a great deal of irony and sarcasm.

The impact of Asian cinema in the international scene is a fact that cannot be doubted; either we are referring to filmmakers basing/copying/adapting/remaking films from the region, or adopting various elements of the style and aesthetics of the Asian masters of the medium. Evidently, the first that come to mind are the Japanese of the 50s and 60s, like Ozu and Kurosawa, but who could deny the influence of the likes of Satyajit Ray (Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, James Ivory, François Truffaut have stated his influence in their style) or John Woo or Park Chan-wook, and so many others.

This list, once more with a focus on diversity, will make an effort to present, by date, 25 of the most influential works of filmmakers like the aforementioned, acknowledging the fact that it could have a plethora of more entries. Nevertheless, one may add as many films as he or she likes, but the fact remains that the particular titles are as influential as any, either/or in their country of origin or internationally.

The reasons these films are so influential vary, and include, apart from the aforementioned, the introduction of styles and artists, the creation of trends, and even the impact at the box office.

25. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (Kim Ki-duk, 2003, South Korea)

This film is the most widely known feature from the South Korean auteur and is currently one of seven Asian movies to be listed on the 250 top ranking movies on the Internet Movie Database.

An old monk lives with his little apprentice in a small and secluded floating temple. The unwavering teacher guides, perturbs, and punishes the young student when his immaturity and childlike naivety lead him toward violent acts against nature. As the seasons pass, the young pupil becomes an adult, while further embracing the different aspects of Buddhism.

However, when temptation appears in the form of a girl seeking solace in the temple, the youth appears very vulnerable, eventually becoming a prey to his own lust.

Through the life of the young student during the ever-changing seasons, Kim Ki-duk presents the Buddhist notion that physical and emotional violence can be tempered through meditation, which eventually leads to true enlightenment. Furthermore, through the lyricism of nature, Buddhist dogma, and the violence resulting from real life, he manages to communicate to the viewer a sense of peace and calmness.

Lastly, the film entails magnificent images of sceneries that transform through the seasons and the ages.

24. Still Walking (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2008, Japan)

“Still Walking” is a distinct example of Japanese cinema, in both themes and technique, and is the one that established its director as the definite successor of Yasuhiro Ozu.

The son and daughter of the Yokoyama family return to their parents’ house in the country to commemorate the death of their brother, who accidentally drowned 15 years ago. The son, Ryota, has recently married a widow with a young son and has brought them along; the daughter, Chinami, has come along with her husband and their children. However, tensions that preexisted now move to the foreground.

Hirokazu Koreeda directs an ode to realism, a fact stressed by the tensions and the general feelings occurring between the members of the family, which are similar to the ones of every household. The camera use, which is situated extremely close to the set, makes the spectator feel as though he is present in the house where the movie occurs, participating in the discussions in the table and walking around with the protagonists.

Apart from the above, the pace is slow, the dialogues meaningful, the exaltation non-existent, the focus on detail great and the acting sublime, in a true Ozu fashion, however in contemporary terms. Hirokazu Koreeda’s style, which has been one of the most dominant ones in the Japanese scene for years now, finds its apogee in this film.

23. Spring in a Small Town (Fei Mu, 1948, China)

The story revolves around a damaged house in a provincial Chinese town in 1948, following the end of the war and the bombing of the area by the Japanese. The owner, Liyan, a depressed and hypochondriac man, cannot afford to repair it, while his deteriorating relationship with his wife, Yuwen, adds to his emotional status. In this context, the arrival of an old friend of his, Doctor Zhan, feels like a great event, with Liyan welcoming the visitor warmly.

However, he does not know that the doctor used to have an affair with Yuwen, with his wife appearing to retain her feelings for him. However, as the two cannot entertain their passion, they start discussing a potential marriage between the doctor and Yuwen’s kid sister Xiu, with the rest of the story revolving around this quadrangle.

The film was only able to find its audience and had a resurgence in popularity after the China Film Archive made a new print in the early 1980s. Today it is considered one of the most significant Chinese classics, while in 2005, the Hong Kong Film Awards Association named it the greatest Chinese film ever made.

22. Pyaasa (Guru Dutt, 1957, India)

Guru Dutt directed and starred in the film as Vijay, an unemployed young man with artistic aspirations who runs away from his home due to his brothers’ lack of understanding. As he tries to become a poet, he is met with continuous rejections, and has to constantly face the harsh realities of the world. In his misery, a woman, Gulab, provides the only support in the life of a man who desperately seeks love and respect.

Dutt is outstanding in both his capacities, with “Pyaasa” being one of the most memorable movies of his career. In 2002, the film was ranked at No. 160 on the Sight & Sound critics’ and directors’ poll of all-time greatest films. In 2005, “Pyaasa” was rated as one of the 100 best films of all time by Time magazine, which called it “the soulfully romantic of the lot.” Indiatimes Movies ranks the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. On the occasion of Valentine’s Day 2011, Time magazine has declared it as one of the top 10 romantic movies of all time.

21. The Housemaid (Kim Ki-young, 1960, South Korea)

Dong-sik is a middle-aged composer struggling to take care of his pregnant wife and two kids. Eventually, he hires a housemaid to help him in the house, but the strange and sultry woman proves a true femme fatale, and immediately shows her will to seduce him. As her attitude is more than evident, the showdown with his wife becomes inevitable, with the two women using every trick in the book to gain the upper hand toward the unsuspecting lover.

Kim Ki-young directs a domestic noir that borders on becoming a thriller, as sexual obsession, manipulation and extreme ways become the centers of a game that eventually unravels a family.

The film’s script and ingenious narrative are still shocking more than a half a century later, with Koreanfilm.org referring to the film as a “consensus pick as one of the top three Korean films of all time.”

20. Project A (Jackie Chan, 1983, Hong Kong)

Dragon Ma is a member of the coast guard in Hong Kong, whose purpose is to neutralize the pirates’ activity in the area, which infest the seas. During preparations for a large expedition for this cause, the pirates succeed in detonating the majority of the coast guard’s ships, thus canceling the entire operation. Subsequently, the coast guard is dismantled and their members are forced to join the police, who were their rivals up to that point. Major Tzu is assigned the leadership of the project.

A bit later, Dragon picks up information from a former friend of his, Fey, a minor crook, concerning the treachery that aborted the expedition against the pirates, and the two of them proceed to solve the mystery in order to reinstate the coast guard.

All of the “Three Brothers,” Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung (who also co-directed), and Yuen Biao star in “Project A.” The inclusion of Dick Wei, as the leader of the pirates, makes obvious that the crème de la crème of Hong Kong action was present here.

Every action scene in “Project A” is sublime; the initial scene in the restaurant and the fight between the coast guard and the police, the one in the private club, the unrelenting chases through the streets of Hong Kong and the final battle are scenes worth watching again and again. Chan exhibited his best performance within the excellent action choreography.

“Project A” was an enormous success in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, with the emperor of Japan insisting that Chan shoot a second part, a request that was eventually met.

Finally, this was the first time in a Jackie Chan movie that the shooting of the various stunts was shown in the conclusion of the film, a practice that accompanied him, from then on, in all of his movies.

19. A Better Tomorrow (John Woo, 1986)

This particular title is one of the foremost significant films of this industry, primarily for getting off the ground the careers of two of its most distinguished members, John Woo and Chow Yun-fat, and reinstating Lung Ti, whose career was in shambles after his departure from the Shaw Brothers. Also of note is the fact that it was one of the initial films of Tsui Hark’s newly created production company, and he insisted in the presence of the aforementioned.

The script revolves around the relationship of Tse Ho, a top triad member, with his adopted brother from the organization, Mark “Gor” Lee and his actual brother, Tse Kit, who has just graduated from the Police Academy.

Being evidently low budget, the film nevertheless entails a plethora of impressive shooting scenes, the majority of whom additionally encompass a vivid sense of humor, chiefly presented by Chow Yun-fat, who plays Lee. Despite the fact that the protagonist is Lung Ti as Ho, who definitely shows his talent, the aforementioned is the one who upstages the rest of the cast, with his smooth, humorous and enchanting style of acting.

“A Better Tomorrow” was a colossal box office success, additionally netting a plethora of awards from all over Asia. Furthermore, it was the one that established the gangster subgenre in Hong Kong.

18. A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 1989, Taiwan)

The script describes the life of Lin family during the turbulent period from 1945, when the Japanese army withdrew from Taiwan after 51 years, to 1949 and the secession from China. The eldest brother, Wen Heung, returns from the war and opens a restaurant he names “Little Shanghai” to honor the reunification with China. The second brother, Wen Leung, became insane during his tour of duty, and is being treated at the local hospital.

Eventually he is released, but due to the lack of job offers, he ends up in organized crime. The third brother, Wen Shun, was stationed in the Philippines but is currently missing in action. The youngest brother, Wen Ching, was excluded from recruiting because he is deaf-mute, and is running a photography studio. These are the central characters among a plethora of others, whose lives change radically after the 2-26 incident.

The film began Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s tendency to deal with a lack of communication, in all its forms. Accordingly, “A City of Sadness” portrays the chasm in communication between the Taiwanese, who yearn for their independence, and the Chinese, who consider them revolutionaries and arrest them.

It shows the cultural chasm between those who live on the mainland and those on the islands, which is intensified by the difference in language. Lastly, it shows the social chasm between the deaf-mute and the girl he likes. In essence, “A City of Sadness” is a social film, presented through the prism of the country’s history.

Tony Leung, who plays the youngest brother, is magnificent as a man who despite his inability, is the most intelligent, and the only one who truly understands the political situation.

It was Hou’s first work to find distribution in Europe, particularly due to its screening at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Golden Lion, the Ciak d’Oro (audience award) and the Unesco Award.

I realize this is a huge generalization, but one of the things Asian cinema is known for is the abundance of disturbing films, even in decades where other regions were ruled by the strains of conservatism and were shocked by even the smallest amount of nudity on cinema. This element applies particularly to Southeast Asia, with Japan and Hong Kong producing an abundance of films that broke any kind of taboos human ever conceived.

What is even more impressive is that most of these productions are actually good films, although their quality is a bit difficult to discern under the scores of violence, gore and shocking elements. Here are the 20 most disturbing films Asian films of all time by date, in a list that, once more, could have included many more films.

20. Harakiri (Masaki Kobayashi, 1962, Japan)

In feudal Japan in the 17th century, the ongoing peace has brought the samurai caste to its knees, as they have no work and no money. In their despair to find a noble way of dying, many of them resort to requesting permission from their lords to commit hara-kiri.

Chijiiwa Motome arrives in front of Saito, the Daimyo’s senior counselor, and states that he wants to commit seppuku. As this request is part of a series of identical “fake” requests, the three most senior samurai of the clan persuade Saito to order Motome to fulfill his request. However, as Motome’s request was not real, he did not carry with him a katana, but rather a bamboo blade. This fact enrages all of the bystanders and finally, Saito orders him to proceed with the specific sword.

Masaki Kobayashi shot the aforementioned scene in the most grotesque fashion, as the fact that the sword is wooden makes the act slower and more agonizingly painful as Motome tries to desperately to penetrate his abdomen with the wooden blade. Furthermore, the order is deeply humiliating, further heightening the shock the scene produces.

The film also features a number of magnificent action scenes, but Kobayashi’s actual purpose was to depict the futility of the ancient ritual, and at the same time to portray samurai, who are still considered noble, as despicable, cunning, vindictive individuals.

19. Horrors of Malformed Men (Teruo Ishii, 1969, Japan)

This film stands out in the vast filmography of Teruo Ishii because it was the only one banned from screening, a rather peculiar practice since his other films were exploitation and ero-guro themed productions. The cause of the film’s banishment seems to have been its mockery of deformities, a subject that prevents its screening in Japan even today. The film would have been lost if not for an American DVD release, almost 40 years after its original shooting.

Hirosuke Hitomi is a patient at a mental institution who is obsessed with an unknown island and a disfigured individual, which he cannot justify if they are real or figments of his imagination.

Also in search for his father, he escapes the asylum only to be framed for the death of a circus girl. Eventually, he discovers that he has to resurrect a man that looks exactly like him and investigate Jogoro, a man trying to create a utopia on his own island, in order to uncover his past.

More like an absurd collage of several of Edogawa Rampo’s famous and weird stories than an actual film, “Horrors of Malformed Men” lingers between a disturbed nightmare and a surreal video clip. The spectacles of Jogoro dancing, who is actually played by the founder of Butoh, Hijikata Tatsumi, and the many malformed creatures make for an onerous film, which not even nudity could tone down.

18. Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Shuji Terayama, 1971, Japan)

Shuji Terayama, who was also a stage writer and a poet, is considered the leading representative of avant-garde in Japan. His works were always provocative and against all taboo, and “Emperor Tomato Ketchup” is a distinctive sample of the fact.

Set in a Japan where children have gained control, the film depicts a variety of scenes, unprecedented in their extremity at the time, including children’s nude and erotic scenes and offspring humiliating their parents.

Being evidently low budget, the movie is shot in black and white and entails an abstract narrative, thus making it tough to watch, especially in its unedited form that lasts 75 minutes.

However, underneath its extreme depictions and surrealism, Terayama hides a satire regarding politics and sex and the results of their interaction.

Due to heavy censorship in Japan, the film was initially released as a 27-minute short, with the original cut eventually screened in 1993, 13 years after Terayama’s death.

17. In the Realm of Senses (Nagisa Oshima, 1976, Japan)

“In the Realm of Senses” is one of the foremost controversial movies in the history of cinema, with critics and fans still debating if it is of high artistic value or just pornography.

Nagisa Oshima based the film on the true story of Sada Abe, a woman who in 1936 erotically asphyxiated her lover and subsequently proceeded to cut off his penis and testicles and carry them in her kimono. The movie describes the relationship between Abe and Kichizo Ishida, a hotel owner, through a plethora of erotically perverted scenes, up to its tragic conclusion. Furthermore, solely excluding the mutilation scene, the rest of the erotic scenes incorporated actual sex, including fellatio and an orgy with geisha using sex aids.

However, beyond its evident promiscuity, Oshima managed to present, inside a claustrophobic setting, an erotic affair of intense paroxysm, a manifestation of love that surpassed the borderline of the extreme.

Oshima was forced to transfer the shooting to France in order to complete his film, subsequently baptizing it a French-Japanese production to be able to release it. Nevertheless, after its first screenings, it was banned in the US, Canada, Germany, Japan and other countries, eventually having to reach the 90s in order to be screened in its full duration, which lasts 90 minutes. It is still forbidden in Ireland.

16. The Boxer’s Omen (Kuei Chih Hung, 1983, Hong Kong)

One of the most notorious Shaw Brothers’ films, the sequel to “Black Magic” is probably one of the most extreme takes on black magic.

There’s not much of a script here, but the basic idea is that Chung Hung travels to Thailand to avenge his brother, who became paralyzed after a boxing match. Once there, he ends up in a Buddhist monastery where he discovers that there is a curse on his family and that he is linked to a dead monk.

The production was very expensive, with scenes filmed in Hong Kong, Nepal and Thailand, and had a plethora of impressive special effects, but what Kuei Chi Hung eventually came up with is a succession of disgusting sequences (like the one where three wizards eat rotten food, vomit it and then pass it to each other) and magical duels with preposterous creatures.

However, the film’s almost total lack of coherence and the general craziness that permeates it, along with a number of actors that eventually became cult figures, like Bolo Yeung, have a secured a place for the film on the list with the most cult-trash productions ever made.

15. Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood (Hideshi Hino, 1985, Japan)

This is the second and most vicious part of a series of seven splatter video movies, whose violent scenes were realistic to the point that the producers were forced to prove to the authorities that none of the actors were literally traumatized or murdered.

A murderer, dressed as a samurai, kidnaps a girl and subsequently proceeds to torture and mutilate her, in order to create a flower of flesh and blood. Hideshi Hino directs a collage of beating, torture and other sadistic exercises, instead of an actual movie.

The particular segment gained notoriety for two reasons. First, Charlie Sheen, after watching the film, believed it was a snuff film and delivered it to the FBI to investigate it. Second, upon the research in serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki’s house, the police discovered a videotape of the movie that resulted in the public’s belief that he was inspired by it. However, it was later disclosed that it was, in fact, the sixth segment of the series.

Unavoidably, the Japanese authorities banned “Flower of Flesh and Blood” and no one could find a copy until its re-release by a German company in 2002, while a full edition was released in the US in 2005.

Evidently, the world of Japanese animation (anime) is dominated by mainstream productions, like the ones from Studio Ghibli, particularly when we are referring to movies and not series. However, inside this vast industry, some productions that could be easily characterized as cult could not be missing.

With a focus on diversity, as I tried to include titles that range from artistic to grotesque, here are the 15 I consider the best among them, in chronological order. Please note that movies that are part of an anime series were not included, since I consider them extended episodes rather than individual features, with the exception of “Fist of the North Star”, which I felt could not be missing from this list. Another exception has been made for “Violence Jack”, which, at 55 minutes, is barely considered a movie.

15. Belladonna of Sadness (Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973)

Mushi Productions, a company created and abandoned by Osamu Tezuka, (aka. “God of Manga”), produced the adult-themed anime “Belladonna of Sadness” in 1973. It was the final part of a trilogy named “Animerama”, a commercial failure that kept the title in anonymity for many years.

The script is based on Jules Michelet’s novel on the history of witchcraft, “La Sorciere”, which was published in 1862 in France.
The story revolves around a young couple named Jean and Jeanne, whose happiness ends during their wedding night, due to Droit du seigneur, a feudal law that allowed local lords to be the first to deflower the bride. That night, the local baron and possibly his lackeys rape Jeanne.

She and her husband try to forget what happened, but Jeanne is still tortured by the fact, which is personified as a demon of phallic form, who appears in her sleep. These memories have complicated results, since the demon does not only scare her, but also makes her feel pleasure. Furthermore, he encourages her to exact revenge from the baron, as he suggests that the only way to accomplish that is by making a deal with the Devil.

“Belladonna of Sadness” is the most serious and most avant-garde part of the trilogy, with the story unfolding chiefly through narration rather than dialogue, and with animation on top of static, panoramic paintings influenced by Art Nouveau artists such as Klimt and Beardsley, and Tarot illustrations.

The feast of colors becomes evident from the first second, as is the case with the attention to the detailed depiction of the characters and their surroundings. The overall design by Kuni Fukai is close to perfect, with each shot looking like an actual painting.

The animation by Gisaburo Sugii is of equal quality, as the movement seems like it flows from the static images, giving life to the paintings. His choices on what will remain static, when there will be motion, and how the outcome will remain natural are unmistakable.

14. Space Adventure Cobra (Osamu Dezaki, 1982)

Based on the manga “Cobra” by Buichi Terasawa, the title draws its cult status from the general aesthetics that permeate the film, which are much reminiscent of the pulp science fiction that used to be popular in previous decades.

Cobra is a supposedly dead adventurer, with the greatest bounty on its head, in a universe ruled by criminal syndicates and the Justice Federation of United Galaxies, which has actually placed the bounty. After two years in hiatus, Cobra re-emerges due to an encounter with Jane, a bounty hunter, and sets with her and his android companion, Lady, to save her two lost sisters. On their heels, though, is a notorious villain named Crystal Boy.

Filled with nudity, abuse and gruesome murders, not to mention some completely out-of-place sequences, like the ones with the giant talking space baby and the fire horses that fly, “Space Adventure Cobra” is filled with elements that give it a distinctly cult essence in 80’s sci-fi fashion, where reason was not a prerequisite for any story.

13. Golgo 13: The Professional (Osamu Dezaki, 1983)

Based on the homonymous manga that is currently the oldest title still in publication, the animated film features Duke Togo, aka. Golgo 13 as its protagonist, a mixture of James Bond and the heroes of the cult films of Seijun Suzuki.

Golgo 13 is an assassin for hire who charges $1M for a hit on anyone, including world leaders, Mafia bosses and whoever he is tasked with, and has never failed an assignment. This time he kills Robert, the son of oil mogul Leonard Dawson, whose father was ready to hand him command of his empire. Leonard gets obsessed with revenge and starts throwing money to whomever he thinks can kill his son’s assassin. Soon, Golgo finds himself hunted from the CIA and the FBI, to a number of psychopaths.

Set as a 60’s gangster noir, “Golgo 13” looks like a violent version of “Branded to Kill”, although its comic roots are quite evident in both the camera and the editing, though in very stylish fashion. Add to that lots of nudity and huge amounts of blood, and you have a truly cult title in your hands.

12. Angel’s Egg (1985, Mamoru Oshii)

“Angel’s Egg” stands apart from the rest of the anime titles on the list for a number of reasons. For starters, it was released in home format, without prior showing on television or in theatres (the term is OVA). Secondly, it was a collaboration between two highly significant individuals of Japanese entertainment, Yoshitaka Amano (designer of “Final Fantasy” games, “Gatchaman”, “Vampire Hunter D”) and Mamoru Oshii (creator of “Ghost in the Shell”).

Lastly, featuring very little dialogue and retaining a surrealistic essence, it was vastly different from the regular productions of the time, and it was very hard to describe.

The story starts at sunset and ends at sunrise, and between these periods, two characters, a girl holding an enormous egg and a man who tries to win her trust, wander through an empty world. The rest of the film is more of a collage of impressive images and animation than an actual movie.

11. Vampire Hunter D (Toyoo Ashida, 1985)

Based on the long-running, homonymous series of light novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, this anime takes place in 12,090 AD, when vampires rule the planet. Count Magnus Lee, a 10,000-year-old vampire, has set his eyes upon Doris, a beautiful girl who lives in a village, aspiring to make her his bride.

In order to save herself, Doris promises herself to a mysterious being called D, in exchange for the death of Count Magnus. However, before D can achieve his goal, the Count succeeds in kidnapping her, thus resulting in D invading his castle.

One of the first anime films released outside Japan, “Vampire Hunter D” capitalized on the new at the time OVA (straight to video) format, to incorporate the graphic violence and horror themes that could not have skipped censorship otherwise.

Furthermore, it entailed a mixture of Western, gothic horror, and post-apocalyptic elements, targeting in that fashion the male teenager/adult category instead of family audiences, which was the case with anime up to that point. With Yoshitaka Amano (the “Final Fantasy” games) acting as character designer and Toyoo Ashida (“Fist of the North Star”) as also the animation director, “Vampire Hunter D” resulted in an artistic masterpiece of the grotesque.

10. Fist of the North Star (Toyoo Ashida, 1986)

The movie adaptation of the series (anime and manga) took many liberties with the story, but retained all the violence of the manga, contrary to the series.

The story is as basic as possible. After losing his girlfriend, Julia, and almost his life to the Fist of the South Star, Ken is left alone in a dystopian version of Earth. As soon as he recovers, he sets out to find her.

Some subplots with other characters do exist, but their only purpose is to serve up the body-erupting action that seems to dominate the production. Mediocre design and an almost non-existent story, but tons of gore, with a hyperbole that borders on the ridiculous, result in a truly cult title, in glorious fashion. Just watch Ken tearing down skyscrapers with his fist and you will realize what I am talking about.

9. Wicked City (Yoshiaki Kawajiri, 1987)

The film that initiated the notorious career of Yoshiaki Kawajiri (since “Lensman” was much more tame) is an anime that features a number of the elements that deem a film cult.

The story is set in an alternate world in the 90s, where a treaty between the humans, and the beasts and demons that inhabit a parallel dimension, has kept the peace between the two for 500 years. The treaty is to be renewed, but a faction from the beast world wants to stop this from happening, and is willing to go to extremes to achieve it. The protagonist of the anime is Taki, a Black Guard whose job is to protect against rogue monsters that infiltrate the human world, occasionally disguised as humans.

“Wicked City” is filled with exploitation elements, since sex, violence and the combination of the two are omnipresent, in a disturbing fashion that touches the borders of hentai. These tactics finds their highlights in the conception and depiction of the various monsters, with the one of a woman turning her body into a giant vagina being the most grotesque of all.

When one considers Asian cult cinema, inevitably their mind will linger toward the Japanese, with the Pinku-exploitation films and directors like Wakamatsu, Miike, Sono etc.

However, with a more thorough look, one would realize that Hong Kong has its own share of cult productions, with a plethora of Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest productions considered cult at the moment, although their status was quite different at the time of their initial screening. Furthermore, CAT III, as it is filled with horror, splatter, and exploitation elements definitely falls under the same category.

Here are 25 of the most iconic cult Hong Kong films, by date.

25. One Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh, 1967)

Shaw Brothers is probably the studio with the most entries in the martial arts genre, and this particular movie was produced during their most dominant period in the 60s, when they controlled 35 companies, 130 cinemas, nine entertainment parks and three studios.
Furthermore, “One-Armed Swordsman” introduced the concept of the anti-hero, which additionally entailed intense swordplay, heavy bloodletting, and a level of violence that was unprecedented for its time.

Finally, the film was the first to reach the mark of HK $1 million at the local box office, singlehandedly making a star out of his protagonist, Jimmy Wang.

A rival clan attacks the Golden Sword School, and the one who manages to save the master is a servant who ends up mortally wounded. In order to honor his sacrifice, Master Qi Ru Feng takes his son, Fang Gang, as a student, in a very unusual gesture for the era.

Years pass and Fang Kang has become one of the top students in the school; however, he is the object of scorn by his classmates due to his low origins, thus resulting in him abandoning the institution.

Eventually, he confronts a gang headed by Master Qi’s daughter, Pei-Er, who in the following battle cunningly manages to cut off his arm. Later in the story, the injured Fang Kang is nursed by a farm girl, Hsia Man, who subsequently provides him with a kung fu manual with techniques for one-handed fighters.

Wang was evidently not of the same caliber as master fighters Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. Because of this, Cheng Chang’s biggest achievement in this film is that he managed to make him seem like a great martial artist, through a number of clever cinematic tricks and stunts.

Besides the impressive hacking and slashing action, the director also showed a number of social issues, including loyalty, forgiveness, and even a bit of romance.

24. Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee, 1972)

Tang Lung arrives in Rome from Hong Kong to help a friend who is having trouble with the local mafia, who wants to acquire her restaurant. Upon his arrival, the gangsters back off after Tang exhibits his martial arts prowess. However, their withdrawal is temporary and their boss orders them to kill Tang. As their efforts fail, he hires an international martial champion named Colt.

This film is Bruce Lee’s first and last attempt at writing and directing, and he did a great job with both, in genuine martial arts film style where the script and the direction exist solely to provide a background for the action. Furthermore, he included some humorous moments, particularly in the first part of the film.

The scene that made the film an international success, and currently a cult production, is the one where Lee duels with Chuck Norris, who plays Colt, in the Coliseum, in one of the greatest fighting sequences of both protagonists’ career.

23. Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (Chor Yuen, 1972)

In the vast filmography of both Shaw Brothers and Chor Yuen, “Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan” manages to stand out due to its disregard for the taboos of the era and its permeating eroticism, which occasionally reaches the borders of sleaziness.

The beautiful Ainu is abducted and sold to the infamous Four Seasons Brothel, who is run by the notorious Lady Chun. Ainu resists in the beginning, in a series of actions that lead her into being locked into a dungeon. Eventually, one of the people in the brothel tries to free her, but meets the rage of Lady Chun, who brutally kills him.

Ainu is tortured, but Lady Chun, who happens to be a lesbian, takes a liking to her, and tries to show her that life could be much more comfortable if she succumbed to her. Her feelings, however, do not obstruct her from pimping her out to a number of members of the aristocracy, who bid for her virginity, although they all take their turn with her, each indulging in his own unique fetish.

Eventually, Ainu succumbs to Lady Chun, becomes her mistress and even learns kung fu from her, including the secret technique named “Ghost Hands”. As she appears to enjoy her life in the brothel, a number of murders start occurring in the area, and the local police chief, the newly arrived Chi Te, suspects Ainu, as a deadly game of cat-and-mouse initiates, where love also seems to play a significant role.

Nudity, sex among lesbians and continuous raping is not one usually expects to watch in a Shaw Brothers film, but “Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan” does include them all, although not in very graphic fashion. However, the presence soft-core elements do not mean that the action is scarce or artless; on the contrary, the martial arts element is quite strong, through a number of impressive and very brutal fighting scenes, with the ending one being the most impressive, as it highlights Simon Chui’s work in the choreographies.

Add to that the aspect of unrequited love, which is presented in two different cases, a social comment regarding the corruption of the rich and the inability of the law, and the presence of two femme fatales, and you have the backbone of a truly cult film.

22. Black Magic (Ho Meng Hua, 1975)

The script starts with black magician Shan Chien Mi performing a ritual for a woman who wants her adulterer husband and his mistress dead. The spell succeeds but after awhile, the magician has to abandon the village where he lived, when a good magician destroys his house.

The story then changes its setting and we are introduced to the sultry Mrs. Zhou, the widow of a construction magnate, who is set on seducing one of her employees, Xu Nuo. He, however, is engaged, and being faithful and honest, resists her aggressive flirting. Mrs. Zhou also has a suitor, Liang Chia Chieh, a fortune hunter playboy who just wants her for her money. When the two of them have a fight, Liang learns from a friend that a black magician living in the forest can help him.

Liang eventually finds him, but soon discovers that he has received much more than he has bargained for, since the magician is Shan Chien Mi. Furthermore, when Mrs. Zhou learns of his powers, she also asks for his help in order to seduce Xu Nuo. With the help of black magic, she succeeds, but Xu Nuo’s bride, Wang Chu Ying, hires a white magician to help her against the combined powers of Mrs. Zhou and Shan Chien Mi.

Ho Meng Hua sets the tone from the first frame, which begins with philosopher Zhou Nan’s quote: “Excessive sex could have a similar result as being under spell.” The scene continues with Shan Chien Mi lactating a woman, since apparently this milk is essential for black magic, before he cuts some human meat and boils it along a human head. This scene is emblematic of the film’s style, as sleaziness, gore, nudity, violence, voodoo and sex seem to be everywhere.

21. Five Deadly Venoms (Chang Cheh, 1978)

The film that initiated the career of the five actors that would eventually become known as the “Venom Mob” is considered one of the most cult productions of both Chang Cheh and Shaw Brothers.

The dying master of the Poison clan sends Yang Tieh, his last disciple, on a mission to search five former students of his, each a master of one of the five styles: the Centipede, the Snake, the Lizard, the Toad and the Scorpion, who is the only one whose identity is not known by the others. The master is afraid that some of them are using his teachings in order to steal the fortune of another former colleague, Yun. Yang Tieh has to determine who can help him and who is against him.

The initial scene, where the five students are training in a lair wearing masks, is one of the most iconic of all time in martial arts films. Apart from that, the focus on the film lies mainly with the story and the intrigues and conspiracies that take place, although the abilities of the “Venom Mob” also find space to shine.

20. Game of Death (Robert Clouse, Bruce Lee, 1978)

Hai Tien is a retired champion of martial arts who is approached by the Korean mafia to lead a team into a pagoda, where something very valuable is hidden on the top floor. Guns are not allowed in the pagoda, and each level is guarded by a supreme martial artist.

The film is considered cult for a number of reasons. During filming, Bruce Lee received an offer to star in “Enter the Dragon”, and he temporarily abandoned “Game of Death” to do just that. Lee died before completing the film, although more than 100 minutes of footage was shot prior to his death. The remaining footage has been released with Lee’s original Cantonese and English dialogue, with John Little dubbing Lee’s Hai Tien character as part of the documentary entitled “Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey”. Most of the footage that was shot is from what was to be the centerpiece of the film.

After Lee’s death, “Enter the Dragon” director Robert Clouse was enlisted to finish the film using two stand-ins, which was released by Golden Harvest in 1978, five years after his death. Lastly, the final boss of the film is none other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

19. Hex (Kuei Chih-Hung, 1980)

In the 80s, Shaw Brothers realized that they could not operate just by releasing scores of kung fu films, and decided to turn towards the horror genre. One of their most successful productions was “Hex”, which even spawned a couple of sequels.

Chan Sau-ying is a woman facing terrible issues. She suffers from consumption and Chun-yu, her husband, is a despicable man who gambles, drinks and even beats his wife, at least when he is not torturing the servants, who eventually leave the house. Lady Chan is desperate for something that will change her life, and her wish comes true when a young girl named Yi-wah asks to work in the house.

After a series of violent episodes with her husband, the two of them manage to drown him into a large jar and drop his body into a pond. However, Madam Chan feels guilty, a sentiment that becomes even worse when the police start to investigate the murder, only to discover that there is no dead body in the pond. The story then becomes an amalgam of plot twists and supernatural phenomena.

Kuei Chih-Hung directed and penned (with Tan Chin-hua) a film that starts as an Asian variation of the French film “Les Diaboliques”, but eventually becomes a horror film in the distinct Hong Kong style, with exorcism, nudity, a plethora of ghosts attacking the living, and even forced tattoos. Add to that some gore, mainly addressed toward animals, some humor and you have the general frame of the film. The horror element is quite well presented, with many truly agonizing scenes, a sentiment that becomes even more heightened by Eddie Wang’s fitting music.

The exploitation element is not as intense as in CAT III films. However, it is definitely present and chiefly depicted through the almost constant violence toward women, who never seem to stop suffering. The nudity presented in the last part also moves in the same direction.

18. The Prodigal Son (Sammo Hung, 1981)

Considered one of the best traditional kung fu movies ever made, “The Prodigal Son” tells the story of historical Chinese Wing Chun practitioners, Leung Chang and Leung Yee Tai. The former is the privileged son of a wealthy entrepreneur in 19th century Foshan who studies kung fu, albeit unenthusiastically.

His lack of drive and his constant challenging of other fighters to duels have forced his father to pay those people to deliberately lose against him. Eventually, during a performance attended by Chang’s friends, a skirmish between them and a member of the troupe occur. The troupe member unveils himself as the renowned Wing Chun master Leung Yee Tai, before humiliating them in the ensuing fight.

Subsequently, Chang challenges him to a duel, but his father does not succeed in bribing him, thus resulting in his easy loss and the truth of what was really going on. The disillusioned Chang asks Tai to teach him Wing Chun.

Sammo Hung’s prowess in portraying Wing Chun found its apogee in this film, with quick and elaborately choreographed fight scenes that the actors execute to perfection without the use of wireworks or camera tricks.

Thus, the three protagonists (Yuen Biao, Lam Ching Ying and Sammo Hung) earned the Best Action Choreography award at the 1983 Hong Kong Film Awards.

Apart from the fight scenes, the rest of the film is a farcical comedy in the style established by Jackie Chan and Golden Harvest, which includes preposterous characters, lots of clowning (particularly by Hung) and slapstick humor.

Furthermore, Hung entailed scenes of the Chinese opera (the choreographies of the time were based on its rhythm) and an extra-violent scene where a mass murder occurs.

For at least a decade now, South Korea has taken the scepters from Japan and Hong Kong as the foremost Asian cinema, in quality, commerciality, and even bulk. Korean filmmakers, like Park Chan-wook, Kim Jee-woon, and Bong Joon-ho, have overcome the borders of their country, shooting films in Hollywood, while the former is one of the most recognizable figures of Asian cinema internationally. Kim, despite his recent stray from the quality of the past, remains one of the favorites of the festival circuit, as is the case with Hong Sang-soo.

Im Kwon-taek remains one of the most iconic figures of Korean cinema, having directed more than 100 movies, in a career that began in the 60s. Na Hong-jin gave us one of the best films of the decade with “The Wailing”, and Ryoo Seung-wan keeps directing huge blockbusters, as is the case with Lee Joon-ik’s Joseon films and Kang Je-gyu war productions.

Here are the 10 most important South Korean Directors of the 21st century, in a list which, once more, could include many other names and have completely different order. By most important, I actually mean the ones with the most impact in the industry today.

10. Kang Je-gyu

The director of “Shiri”, the movie that turned international interest towards South Korean cinema in 1999 and one of the movies responsible for the popularization of domestic films in the country, and of “My Way”, the most expensive production in Korean film history up to 2011, and the 10th on the list with the highest grossing films, could not be missing from this list.

After graduating from Chung Ang University, Kang received his first prize at the Korea Youth Film Festival and Korea Scenario Awards in 1991. His title as a pioneer of Hollywood-like blockbuster films initiated with “Shiri” continued with “Taegukgi” and found its apogee seven years later with “My Way”. Refraining from the “War of the Two Koreas” theme, Kang Je-gyu shot “Salut d’Amour” in 2015, a melodramatic romance dealing with senility, proving his prowess in other genres as well.

Proposed filmography: “Shiri”, “Taegukgi”, “My Way”, “Salut d’Amour”, “The Gingko Bed”

9. Lee Joon-ik

The director of the one of the just 14 films that have surpassed 10 million admissions in the country (“The King and the Clown”) and CEO of Cineworld Entertainment, Lee Joon-ik is one of the most significant individuals in the Korean movie industry today, through his work in filmmaking, acting, production, distribution and other film-related films. Through a number of his works, he has been acknowledged as one of the masters of the Joseon (sageuk) genre, with his latest film in the category, “The Throne”, being the South Korean selection for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

However, in 2016, he showed that his talent exceeded the big-budget production by shooting “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet”, a black-and-white biopic with mostly art-house aesthetics.

Proposed filmography: “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet”, “The King and the Clown”, “Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield”, “The Throne”, “Radio Star”

8. Ryoo Seung-wan

In an industry where most commercial directors take their time between their movies, Ryoo Seung-wan has proven relentless, having directed 10 films since 2000, a number of shorts, commercials, music videos, while he already has announced two films for the next two years.

Ryoo started from very low, having to support his family after his parents died when he was attending high school, but he managed to do that and finish a private film workshop. His acquaintance with Park Chan-wook in the 90s, when the latter was still unknown, helped him much, as he worked as his assistant in “Trio”. In 1998, his short film “Rumble” won him the Best Film award at the Busan Short Film Festival, and along with three more shorts, became the base for his feature debut, “Die Bad”, where he also starred, along with his brother, Ryoo Seung-bum.

His prowess in directing action films continued in the next years, while the drama “Crying Fist” highlighted his ability to direct in different genres with the same prowess. In 2010, “The Unjust” was his first work that combined great reviews with commercial success, being placed in the top ten of that year’s box office.

“The Berlin File” established him as a blockbuster director, a characterization that found its apogee in “Veteran”, the third all-time highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history. With his next titles being “The Battleship Island”, and the sequels to “The Berlin File” and “Veteran,” Ryoo is destined to reach the top of commercial filmmaking in the country.

Proposed filmography: “Die Bad”, “Arahan”, “The City of Violence”, “The Unjust”, “Veteran”

7. Hong Sang-soo

When we are talking about festival circuit favorites, Hong Sang-soo is the one who comes to mind immediately, as his films have been screening internationally since his debut, “The Day A Pig Fell Into A Well”, in 1995. Since then, his films have been gathering awards all from festivals and competition all over the world, while “Hahaha” received the Un Certain Regard Award in Cannes in 2010.

Hong studied at the University of Seoul and attended film courses in Los Angeles, Chicago and Paris. His films are characterized by unique cinematography and a distinct style of intelligence that regularly results in a somewhat strange but definitely laughter-producing sense of humor.

Despite the fact that his overwhelming majority of his films are produced outside of the regular production system, his visage lately have started to become a bit more approachable, in a tendency that has resulted in him becoming more popular, even outside the art-house/festival circuit. The depth and artistry, however, are always there.

Proposed filmography: “Right Now, Wrong Then”, “Hahaha”, “Our Sunhi”, “Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors”, “Yourself and Yours”, “On the Beach at Night Alone”, “Woman Is the Future of Man”

6. Na Hong-jin

A question that arises immediately is why a director with just three full features under his belt can be considered among the most influential in South Korea today. The answer derives from the “quality over quantity” concept, since all three of Na Hong-jin’s films are actually masterpieces, which garnered attention and awards from the moment they were released.

Na studied at the Hanyang University at the Department of Metal Design, and also graduated from the Korean National Academy of Arts. His first shorts brought him international acknowledgement, but it was with his feature debut, “The Chaser”, that his name was heard globally. The film got him the Best Director Award at the Grand Bell and Korean Film Awards. Since then, his films have become a permanent part of the biggest festivals in the world, screening in Cannes and Venice among a plethora of other ones.

His latest work, “The Wailing”, is his most successful to date, as his prowess in presenting multiple levels has found its apogee, along with his direction and script writing.

Proposed filmography: “The Chaser”, “The Yellow Sea”, “The Wailing”