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Films can introduce cultural contexts and natural dialogue, but Chinese cinema includes several spoken languages. The selection below spans Mandarin, Cantonese and some multilingual or mainly English-language films. Check the audio track of your edition: a Chinese setting or title does not guarantee Mandarin listening practice. Original Douban scores have been removed because ratings change over time.
Table of Contents
1 霸王别姬 Farewell My Concubine (1993)2 无间道 Infernal Affairs (2002)3 活着 To Live (1994)4 末代皇帝 The Last Emperor 19875 鬼子来了 Devils on the Doorstep (2000)6 卧虎藏龙 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)7 让子弹飞 Let The Bullets Fly (2010)8 花样年华 In the Mood for Love (2000)9 一一 Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000)10 大闹天宫 The Monkey King (1961, 1964)11 饮食男女 Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)12 阿飞正传 Days of Being Wild (1990)13 我不是药神 Dying to Survive (2018)14 牯岭街少年杀人事件 A Brighter Summer Day (1991)15 一代宗师 The Grandmaster (2013)
霸王别姬 Farewell My Concubine (1993)
The unsurpassed beauty of a generation. With the background set in the transitional period from old China to new China, this film centers on the lives of two Peking Opera actors, depicting their joy and sorrows for over half a century. Its tragedy is where its beauty lies, being the unsurpassable masterpiece of Chen Kaige (陈凯歌), one of the leading film directors in China.
无间道 Infernal Affairs (2002)
Infernal Affairs is a Hong Kong crime thriller about a police officer undercover in a triad and a triad mole inside the police. It is primarily in Cantonese. Martin Scorsese’s The Departed adapted its premise. Two further films expand the story; they are not both straightforward chronological sequels.
活着 To Live (1994)
The best movie presented by Zhang Yimou (张艺谋). Director Zhang has gained his international popularity winning many awards and global fame, but this movie is still considered his best work. Based on a novel with the same name, this movie is centered on the Chinese Civil War and the political movements after the founding of new China, the film reflects the fate of a generation through the misfortunes of Fugui (富贵), whose name actually means “rich and noble”.
末代皇帝 The Last Emperor 1987
Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor follows the life of Puyi, the last emperor of China. It won nine Academy Awards at the 1988 ceremony. Much of the film is in English, so it is chiefly a cultural and historical viewing choice rather than a Mandarin listening lesson. Its permission to film in the Forbidden City does not mean it was the only film ever permitted there.
鬼子来了 Devils on the Doorstep (2000)
The revelation and criticism of servility. The film tells the story about a village of peasants who took care of Japanese prisoners during the Sino-Japanese War, only to be massacred by the Japanese army. Emphasizing on the “ignorance of peasants” and the “absurdity of war”, it reflects the complexity and versatility features of human nature. However, this movie was banned by the Chinese government for depicting the Chinese people in a “politically incorrect” manner. Jiang Wen (姜文) was the director and leading actor, who has shown a talent for both.
卧虎藏龙 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
A widely known martial-arts drama. The film tells the story of a swordsman, who was “the leading hero of a generation”. Intending to leave his fighting and competing days behind, Li Mubai (李慕白) entrusts his confidant to bring his sword to the capital, as a present to a member of the royal family. However, this only triggered endless grudges. This movie directed by Ang Lee (李安) was also the first Chinese- language film to win an academy award for Best Foreign Language Film.
让子弹飞 Let The Bullets Fly (2010)
You never know what’s coming, you never know who you could become. The film tells the story of how the bandit Zhang Muzhi (张牧之) transforms himself as the upright official “Ma Bangde (马邦德)”, becoming the county magistrate of Goose Town, and fighting against the local bullies. This movie was also directed by Jiang Wen (姜文), the same as “Devils on the Doorstep”.
花样年华 In the Mood for Love (2000)
Listening note: primarily Cantonese; some editions offer dubbed tracks.
Cheating is not as beautiful as this. Wong Kar-Wai (王家卫) is a widely admired director, and this is one of his representative works. Set in 1960s Hong Kong, the film tells the story of Su Lizhen (苏丽珍) and Zhou Muyun (周慕云) who discovered that their spouses were having an affair. After they gradually came into contact, they fell deeply in love which ended in vain. “We won’t be like them”, that’s what she said, and Zhou left for Singapore.
一一 Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000)
Listening note: mainly Mandarin, with other languages in some scenes.
“When do people get old? When your heart is tired.” A film directed by Edward Yang (杨德昌) from Taiwan, which portrays family ties and the meaning of life. This film tells the stories of the entire family until the death of the grandmother. With this movie, Yang won the best director award at the Cannes film festival. This was also his last work, which only officially released in Taiwan in 2009, two years after he passed away.
大闹天宫 The Monkey King (1961, 1964)
A classical masterpiece of animation that is timeless. Based on “The Journey to the West (西游记)”, one of the four classic novels of Chinese literature, this film presents the legendary experience of the Monkey King Sun Wukong (孙悟空) through his famous stories of making trouble in the dragon’s palace and creating a tremendous uproar in the heavenly palace. This film released a 3D restoration version in 2012. Its colors, artwork, modeling design, animation design, and music are all highly outstanding, leading the film to be praised as an enduring classic of Chinese animation.
饮食男女 Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
Life couldn’t be like cooking, you can’t have all the ingredients ready beforehand. This is another film directed by Ang Lee (李安), which is one of his highest-rated movies, the other one was “Life of Pi”. The story is about a retired chef who was one of the best in the industry. His wife passed away many years ago, and he currently lives with his three daughters in an old house. Love was expressed through cuisines, and their banquet was extended to the philosophy of life.
阿飞正传 Days of Being Wild (1990)
Listening note: primarily Cantonese; some editions offer dubbed tracks.
Wong Kar-Wai (王家卫) is a style, and Leslie Cheung is a representative. Set in the early 1960s of Hong Kong, this film tells the story of a proud and rebellious young man, depicting his inner world and emotional entanglements, which also represents the living environment and social conditions of ordinary young people in Hong Kong.
我不是药神 Dying to Survive (2018)
A drama about access to affordable medicine. Based on a true story, this film is about how Cheng Yong (程勇), who was a male health food vendor that couldn’t afford to pay his rent, became the exclusive agent for “Grlenin”, a generic drug from India for treating leukemia. The story explores the pressures faced by patients and people selling cheaper imported medicine.
牯岭街少年杀人事件 A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Listening note: mainly Mandarin, with other languages in some scenes.
A stab from the weak to the weaker. Directed by Edward Yang (杨德昌), this movie is based on a real murdering case that happened in Taiwan in the early 1960s. The political turmoil was reflected in the human hearts, where love is not loving, and hate is not hated. The story was simple, just about a boy, and his world—which was constructed of a school that oppresses humanity, a family that does not necessarily respond to him, and all kinds of people that mutually lead him to self-destruction.
一代宗师 The Grandmaster (2013)
“All encounters in the world are actually reunions after a long separation.” This film tells the stories of Kung-Fu masters (功夫大师) in the Republic of China (中华民国) period, in such difficult times, individual choices are sometimes dictated by circumstances. There are many jokes about how Wong Kar-Wai (王家卫) is keen on getting the best effects, and for this movie, it took 10 years from preparation to production. Wong used three years to visit various remaining Kung-Fu masters throughout the entire country.
For language practice, choose a short scene in the language you are studying. Watch once for the story, then replay it with matching subtitles and note a few useful expressions. Historical dialogue, dialects and stylized martial-arts speech can be challenging, so these films are generally better suited to intermediate or advanced listening than to a first lesson.
