What are the best Chinese movies to improve my Chinese?

Approximately 1.3 billion people (or about 16% of the world’s population) speak Chinese as their first language. With a few variations, Standard Chinese, in the form of Standard Mandarin, rose to become the official language in the majority of Mainland China and Taiwan, one of four in Singapore, and an official idiom of the United Nations.

China is the home of the most massive film production, film studios, and the fastest-growing film markets. There are plenty of good Mandarin movies coming from China. However, it can be hard to find the right films to watch. These movies are fabulous to watch to learn Mandarin and understand Chinese customs, culture, tradition, local slang, and enthralling history.

A simple search on YouTube will offer many results and is a great start to look for Chinese movies, especially with the large number of options offered on this platform. However, it is difficult to find them by name as they are often labeled as “Chinese Movies”. That is where Chinese streaming platforms such as Youku, iQiyi and MGTV become very helpful and therefore are popular. All of them offer lots of Chinese movies for free with English and Chinese subtitles, and their paid subscription is so low, you’ll be able to enjoy hundreds of movies for very little money. Even international movies! Nowadays, the most popular streaming platform to watch Chinese movies with quality subtitles in many different languages is definitely Netflix.

The Tai-Chi Master 1993

The Tai-Chi Master, or 太极张三丰 tàijí zhāngsānfēng in Chinese, is a martial arts film starring Jet Li. Toward the end of the Song dynasty, two young monks meet in a Shaolin Temple and become close friends, almost brothers. One is gentle and desires nothing more than peace of mind, while the other would go to whatever length to attain his goal. The two monks are expelled from Shaolin Temple due to errors committed by the latter. It’s a must-see in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

The Blue Kite (Lan Feng Zheng) 1993

Here’s a film about the varying backgrounds of various families in China during the Cultural Revolution. The narration of the storey from the viewpoint of a small boy is what distinguishes this film (Tietou). Tietou, the lead character, has a charismatic personality that draws audiences in as he journeys through his teenage years dealing with three different fathers. Conversations between the child and family members abound in The Blue Kite (Lan Feng Zheng) film. Furthermore, the contact between the adults is easy to understand. It’s an excellent film for people who are only starting to learn Chinese.

Hidden Man

Hidden Man (2018), 邪不压正 xié bù y zhèng in Chinese, tells the storey of Zhu Qianlong (朱潜龙 zhqiánlóng), who betrays his master and murders his master’s whole family in order to help Japanese cultivate opium. However, another critical character, Li Tianran (李天然 lǐ tinrán), escapes and is rescued by Lan Qingfeng (蓝青峰 lán qīngfēng). Li, who has been living in San Francisco for the past fifteen years, returns to China and seeks to assassinate Zhu in retaliation. Zhu, on the other hand, has been the city’s police chief and is now seen as a decent man.

Lost in Thailand (Ren Zai Jiong Tu: Tai Jiong) 2012

Two competing scientists, Xu and Bo, travelled to Thailand in search of their leader, who was staying in a Buddhist monastery. The goal was to be the first chemist to obtain a patent and commercialise a new chemical additive. On the way, Xu encounters Wang, a pancake sales representative from Beijing who is determined to achieve many dreams in Bangkok as a tourist with no prior travel experience. Following a bizarre turn of events, both join the squad and track down Xu’s boss in Thailand. The film’s storyline is straightforward, which adds to the comedy’s charm. It’s entertaining, and it’s easy to follow. It is an excellent introductory film for a beginner studying Chinese who intends to take the Mandarin Proficiency exam.

Let the Bullets Fly 2010

Let the Bullets Fly, 让子弹飞 ràng z dàn fi in Chinese is a comedy thriller. Set in Sichuan in the 1920s, the plot follows Ma Bangde, a county governor who pretended to be a simple counsellor in order to save his life after a train attack by a group of bandits killed his bodyguards and counsellor. He gives his assistance to the bandits in return for his survival and declares that he will impersonate Governor Ma in order to gain control of the town and its finances.

Wolf Warrior 2015

Wolf Warrior or 战狼 zhàn láng in Chinese, is a high-octane adventure film that has been dubbed the “Chinese Rambo.” Lengfeng (lngfng), the main character, works for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). During a raid on a drug-smuggling plant, he defies orders and kills the smuggling operation’s boss. As a result of his defiance, he faces expulsion from the PLA, but is suddenly confronted by Long Xiaoyun ( 龙小云 Lóng xiǎo yún), the leader of the Wolf Warriors, a separate division of the PLA, who invites Lengfeng to join them.

The majority of Chinese characters contain phonetic elements that include clues to their Old Chinese pronunciations. Old Chinese was not entirely devoid of inflection. It had a rich sound system in which consonants were separated by aspiration or hard breathing. From early historical times to the present, the evolution of spoken Chinese languages has been dynamic.

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