Blue Gate Crossing (Taiwan, 2002)

Best friends Meng and Yuezhen share everything with each other. One day, Yuezhen wants Meng to give a message to the boy she likes and tell him she's interested. Things don't go according to plan and Meng finds herself in a confusing situation where her sexuality is questioned. 

A simple but warm coming-of-age drama about teen angst, lazy school days and relationships. 

Genre: Drama/Romance

The Bad Sleep Well (Japan, 1960)

In Kurosawa's HAMLET-like story of corporate scandal in post-war Japan, a young man attempts to use his position at the heart of a corrupt company to expose the men responsible for his father's death.

A revenge drama set in post-war corporate Japan, signed by Akira Kurosawa. The director wanted to make 'a movie with some social significance', so he chose the culture of corruption as the films enemy because he thought that was the worst crime there is.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller

Happy Together (Hong Kong, 1997)

Yiu-Fai and Po-Wing arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong and take to the road for a holiday. Something is wrong and their relationship goes adrift. A disillusioned Yiu-Fai starts working at a tango bar to save up for his trip home. When a beaten and bruised Po-Wing reappears, Yiu-Fai is empathetic but is unable to enter a more intimate relationship. After all, Po-Wing is not ready to settle down. Yiu-Fai now works in a Chinese restaurant and meets the youthful Chang from Taiwan. Yiu-Fai's life takes on a new spin, while Po-Wing's life shatters continually in contrast.

Great film that centers around the themes of loneliness and jealousy. Happy Together I think did for LGBT-cinema what Brokeback Mountain (2005) got praised for doing almost ten years later, which was a rememberable, beautiful and troubled portrayal of a homosexual relationship without it feeling fake or artificial. Directed by one of my favorites, Wong Kar-wai (Fallen Angels), who uses a lot of stylish and innovative cinematography and makes every scene ten times more interesting. He's also a master of bringing out the very best in his performers, sometimes by basically do so many takes that the actors eventually transforms into their characters. Highly recommended.

Genre: Drama/Romance

Lust, Caution (China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, 2007)

Teen Wong Chia Chi, a shy college freshman finds her calling in a drama society devoted to patriotic plays. But the troupe's leader, Kuang Yu Min, isn't just a theater maven -- he's a revolutionary as well, and he's devoted to carrying out a bold plan to assassinate top Japanese collaborator Mr. Yee. Wong puts herself in a dangerous position as Mrs. Mak; she befriends Mr. Yee's wife, and slowly gains trust before tempting him into an affair.

Lust, Caution is a tight, well-directed espionage film with fantastic actors, Tony Leung (Chungking Express) among others. Director Ang Lee has created a beautiful portrayal of 1930-40's Hong Kong and Shanghai and fills it with a thrilling assassination story. 

Genre: Drama/Romance/Thriller

Eat Drink Man Woman (Taiwan, 1994)

Senior Master Chef Chu lives in a large house in Taipei with his three unmarried daughters, Jia-Jen, a chemistry teacher converted to Christianity, Jia-Chien, an airline executive, and Jia-Ning, a student who also works in a fast food restaurant. Life in the house revolves around the ritual of an elaborate dinner each Sunday, and the love lives of all the family members.

A mouth-watering mix of cooking and romance, Eat Drink Man Woman is an exquisite drama that will captivate every type of audience. We follow the three daughters and their very different and changing lives, but they all comes in contact with love in some way or another. I could watch Master Chef Chu cook all day long, it's somehow extremely stimulating and makes you drool and wish that you could eat just about all of it. The word food-porn comes to mind. Directed by Ang Lee who also made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) but this time he works his magic within the boundaries of a plate full of delicious food, and captures life with all its beautiful and bitter ingredients.

Genre: Drama/Romance

Ikiru (Japan, 1952)

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for thirty years. His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him, seem to care mainly about Watanabe's pension and their future inheritance. After learning he has stomach cancer and less than a year to live, Watanabe attempts to come to terms with his impending death.

Ikiru (lit. trans. To Live) takes you through the whole process of a man's last days in life, the fear, the acceptance and the repenting. In the lead role we have one of Akira Kuosawa's favorite actors; Takashi Shimura (Stray Dog, Rashomon) who does a great job of portraying a broken man on the verge of death. It's a study of both loneliness and hope, and doing what's right in your heart. I think the best effect this film can have is that the we the viewers start to value what's important in life, and not waste the short time we've been given.

Genre: Drama

Come Drink with Me (Hong Kong, 1966)

A ruthless band of thugs kidnaps a young official to exchange for their leader who has been captured. Golden Swallow is sent to take on the thugs and free the prisoner (who is also her brother). Though she is able to handle the overwhelming odds, she is hit by a poison dart and gets help from a beggar who is really a kung-fu master in disguise. With his help, she forms a plan to get her brother back.

The martial art-genre owes a lot to Come Drink with Me. It paved the way for many wuxia (chinese martial arts) to come, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) for example, and is considered to be one of Hong Kong's finest films. The fluid, gracious movements of the fights were groundbreaking, the director didn't look for an established actor when casting the lead role, but instead he picked a ballet dancer. The result was excellent film, which is essential for martial arts-fans.

Genre: Action/Crime

Hard Boiled (Hong Kong, 1992)

Mobsters are smuggling guns into Hong Kong. The police orchestrate a raid at a teahouse where an ace detective loses his partner. Meanwhile, the two main gun smugglers are having a war over territory, and a young new gun is enlisted to wipe out informants and overcome barriers to growth. The detective, acting from inside sources, gets closer to the ring leaders and eventually must work with the inside man directly.

You can't be the least disappointed in Hard Boiled. It's one of the best directed actions films ever made, an explosive portrayal of shotguns pulverizing furniture and tearing apart gangsters. Starring trusted veterans Yun-Fat Chow (The Killer) and Tony Leung (Hero), Hard Boiled should please the living hell out of you with brutal ultra-violence.

Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller

The Scent of Green Papaya (Vietnam, 1993)

Ten-year-old Mui arrives from the provinces of Vietnam to work as a servant girl in the home of a Saigon merchant family. The year is 1951. She is a shy and resourceful girl whose tasks include preparing and stir-frying vegetables, serving meals, dusting, scrubbing the tile floors, and polishing shoes. While Mui adapts effortlessly to her responsibilities, the merchant family doesn't fare as well. The mother, who is still mourning the death of her daughter, is abandoned by her husband and her two youngest sons act out their anger on poor Mui.

One of the greatest dramas ever. Beautifully filmed, visually it's a true achievement in the art of film making, and has a haunting, bone-chilling score. Directed by the amazing Tran Anh Hung (Cyclo, Norwegian Wood). 

Genre: Drama

Street of Shame (Japan, 1956)

Five prostitutes work at Dreamland, in Tokyo's Yoshiwara district. As the government considers a ban on prostitution, the women's daily dramas play out. Each has dreams and motivations. Hanae is married, her husband unemployed; they have a young child. Yumeko, a widow, uses her earnings to raise and support her son, who's now old enough to work and care for her. The aging Yorie has a man who wants to marry her, and so on. 

Street of Shame juggles many characters in its hands, and still no one is left behind. Every woman has their own tale and different background, and faces all kind of problems at the brothel. It was the last film of highly acclaimed director Kenji Mizoguchi.

Genre: Drama

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (Japan, 1979)

Renowned international thief Lupin III (known as "Wolf" in the English dub) comes to the small European duchy of Cagliostro to investigate some excellently-forged money and stumbles across a national conspiracy going back some hundreds of years. Lupin and his friends must rescue the beautiful Clarice from the hands of the evil Count Cagliostro and solve the mystery of a hidden treasure dating back to the 15th century.

The Castle of Cagliostro is hailed as one of the best stand-alone films from the Lupin III franchise, and rightfully so. It was co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who five years later would found the animation giant Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke). The incredible style and charm mixed with old-school animation makes it a joyride from the get-go and steps on the gas constantly, but even though there's tons of action the film is not at all afraid to have very small and subtle moments. One thing I love about it is how there seems to be so much history and lore behind everything, and we're not watching a crazy anime but true historical fiction. There's just enough backstory to make things seem very mystical but we're also exploring and learning alongside Lupin. There's something about it that just makes you wish it's not going to end, that Lupin will get himself in one more dangerous situation and go on another adventure. 

Genre: Animation/Action/Comedy