THEME EXPLORATION

modernization in China

21 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Farewell My Concubine
Farewell My Concubine
1993 · Chen Kaige
Earth
Earth
1930 · Alexander Dovzhenko
The Assassin
The Assassin
2015 · Hou Hsiao-hsien
The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai
2003 · Edward Zwick
24 City
24 City
2008 · Jia Zhangke
Broads
Broads
1989 · Christian Petzold
Dracula
Dracula
2026 · Radu Jude
Dimanche à Pekin
Dimanche à Pekin
1956 · Chris Marker
Death to the Invader
Death to the Invader
1961 · Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Le mura di Sana’a
Le mura di Sana’a
1971 · Pier Paolo Pasolini
Japan and the Japanese
Japan and the Japanese
1970 · Kon Ichikawa
Little by Little
Little by Little
1970 · Jean Rouch
Mandabi
Mandabi
1968 · Ousmane Sembène
¡Qué Viva México!
¡Qué Viva México!
1979 · Sergei Eisenstein
Red Cliff
Red Cliff
2008 · John Woo
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
1961 · Masaki Kobayashi
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci
And His Ghost May Be Heard
And His Ghost May Be Heard
1973 · Richard Franklin
Kino-Pravda No. 19: A Movie-Camera Race Moscow – Arctic Ocean
Kino-Pravda No. 19: A Movie-Camera Race Moscow – Arctic Ocean
1924 · Dziga Vertov
Seasons…
Seasons…
1999 · Stan Brakhage
Back to the Past
Back to the Past
2025 · Jack Lai Jan-Lung
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Jia Zhangke China

His films chronicle the social upheaval and displacement caused by rapid urbanization and industrialization in contemporary China.

 Zhang Yimou China

He explores the tension between traditional China and modernity through visually stunning narratives of social transformation and cultural change.

 Donnie Yen China

His work examines the psychological and emotional consequences of modernization on urban Chinese individuals navigating contemporary society.