Throughout the past century, Chinese cinema has been an underrated form of world cinema outside of the international film festival and cinephile communities. The first Chinese-language movie to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival was in 1993 when Chen Kaige’s epic movieFarewell My Concubinetook home the award for its astounding performances, cinematography, and storylines.Farewell My Concubinewas an adaptation of a 1985 novel of the same name by the Hong Kong author Lillian Lee.Mainland Chinese literaturehas deep roots in the region’s literary traditions, influencing many other kingdoms and territories throughout the world due to the nature of Chinese literary traditions and history. Several movies in recent years are inspired by Chinese novels.
Whether contemporary or written in the early-1900s, Chinese-language movies have often returned to the authors who have written about the struggles of what it took tomake contemporary China. With a turbulent history for the past century, many of the movies made based on these novels are historical and discuss the consequences of rapid modernization and political upheaval in a time when ordinary people were struggling. Even today, filmmakers and writers often are returning to literature and recreating new worlds from what they know, creating something entirely new from the past. These are the best moviesbased on Chinese novels.
7Raise the Red Lantern
Released in 1991,Raise the Red Lanternis one of the earlier works of the Chinese director Zhang Yimou. It was adapted from the Su Tong novella titledRaise the Red Lantern, and the visuals of the movie take heavy inspiration from the symbol of the red lantern. In 1920s China, a young woman (Gong Li) has been sold off by her family to become a concubine to a wealthy man. Forced to leave her home and move into the man’s, she has become his fourth concubine and meets the other women living on the estate. Their master switches between the women, picking whoever is his favorite and giving them special treatment, and the girl, upon learning the estate’s secrets, slowly begins to succumb to her circumstances.
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6The Story of Qiu Ju
The Story of Qiu Juwas released one year afterRaise the Red Lantern, and reunited director Zhang Yimou with leading actress Gong Li yet again. In this movie, Gong Li stars as Qiu Ju, a woman living in the countryside of China. When her husband is beaten by the head of the community and injured, Qiu Ju’s complaints to the police are left ignored. However, she will not give up on her quest, leading her to venture to the province’s capital to lodge an official complaint. Despite Qiu Ju being heavily pregnant during all of these events, she marches forward in the name of justice. The movie was adapted from the novellaThe Wan Family’s Lawsuitby Chen Yuanbin.
5Lust, Caution
Decision to Leavestar Tang WeiheadsLust, Caution, a movie adapted from the novella by the Shanghainese writer Eileen Chang. The story is potentially based on a true one: during World War II, a spy named Zheng Pingru led a resistance and assassination attempt in Shanghai. Ang Lee directs this film adaptation of the novella, which tells a story over four years in Hong Kong and Shanghai. A shy university student from Shanghai studies in Hong Kong and becomes involved with student politics. She is designated by her peers to infiltrate the inner rings of a pro-Japanese politician, which she ultimately succeeds in doing.
Chinese author Yu Hua wrote the novelTo Livein 1993, and it was turned into a film adaptation by director Zhang Yimou a year later in 1994. Ge You and Gong Li star as the film’s leading couple, who, in the 1940s, are struggling with the husband’s gambling right before the onset of the Chinese Civil War. Forced to adapt to the changing landscape of their country, ten years later they are forced to confront tragedy yet again in their lives as the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward await them.
3Farewell My Concubine
Farewell My Concubineis a crown jewel of cinema coming out of China during the 90s, and there are many good reasons why. Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi star as two men who grew up in an all-boys troupe for Beijing opera. They become some of the biggest stars of Peking opera during their era, but Cheung’s Dieyi struggles with his feelings and relationship with Zhang’s Xiaolou outside of theatrics. However, the Chinese Civil War and the incoming Cultural Revolution will threaten everything they’ve ever known as Peking Opera is considered backward.
Related:Best Chinese Movies of the 2010s, Ranked
2The Wandering Earth
Inspired by a story by Chinese author Liu Cixin,The Wandering Earthis considered one of the biggest blockbusters to come out of China during the 2010s. The science fiction movie is initially set in 2061 when humans are scrambling to find a solution to the Sun’s aging and threat to eradicate all of humanity. One man, who went into space to help do research, returns home to Earth and discovers his now adult son is a thief. There are larger problems at hand, though, as the Earth is projected to hit Jupiter if nothing can be done shortly.
1Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonis one of the most well-known wuxia films to come out in the 2000s, but its origins come from the 1940s. The novelist and writer Wang Dulu serialized the original story, under the same title, as a part of a pentalogy calledCrane Iron. Ang Lee directs the 2000 film adaptation of the serialization, which tells the story of a stolen fabled sword and the journey taken to get it back. Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen, Chow Yun-fat, and Zhang Ziyi starred in the movie, which was the first non-English-language movie to be a massive success at the box office in the United States.
