Top 100 Asian Films
27 Chinese, 20 Indian, 13 Iranian, 13 Turkish, 11 Korean, 7 Israeli-Palestinian, 2 Filipino, 2 Thai, one Afghan, one Lebanese and one Vietnamese film.
I have excluded Japan for which I have a separate list here: Top 200 Japanese Films
I have excluded Japan for which I have a separate list here: Top 200 Japanese Films
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100 titles
- DirectorMuzhi YuanStarsXinzhu ZhangNa TangBoxun ZhouA scholar fell in love with a shop owner's daughter who was ambiguous with a tea house manager.
- DirectorMu FeiStarsChaoming CuiWei LiYu ShiA lonely housewife finds her monotonous life altered when her childhood sweetheart returns to town.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsKanu BannerjeeKaruna BannerjeeSubir BanerjeeImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsPinaki SenguptaSmaran GhosalKamala AdhikariFollowing his father's death, a boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.
- DirectorMehboob KhanStarsNargisSunil DuttRajendra Kumar TuliIn this melodrama, a poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, she always sticks to her own moral code.
- DirectorGuru DuttStarsGuru DuttWaheeda RehmanMala SinhaVijay, a talented but indigent poet, struggles for love and recognition in this selfish world.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsChhabi BiswasGangapada BasuPadmadeviDepicts the end days of a decadent zamindar (landlord) in Bengal, and his efforts to uphold his family prestige even when faced with economic adversity.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSharmila TagoreAlok ChakravartyThis final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.
- DirectorGuru DuttStarsWaheeda RehmanGuru DuttKumari NaazSuresh Sinha, a famous director, discovers star potential in Shanti, a woman he stumbled into one rainy evening, and casts her as the lead in a film. In a twist of fate, Shanti becomes a superstar and Suresh faces a decline in his career.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsSupriya ChoudhuryAnil ChatterjeeGyanesh MukherjeeA selfless young woman (Supriya Choudhury) sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
- DirectorK. AsifStarsPrithviraj KapoorMadhubalaDilip KumarA 16th century prince falls in love with a court dancer and battles with his emperor father.
- DirectorKim Ki-youngStarsJin Kyu KimJeung-nyeo JuEun-shim LeeA composer and his wife are thrown into turmoil when a housemaid becomes more than they bargained for.
- DirectorForugh FarrokhzadStarsForugh FarrokhzadEbrahim GolestanHossein MansouriSet in a leper colony in the north of Iran, The House is Black juxtaposes "ugliness", of which there is much in the world as stated in the opening scenes, with religion and gratitude.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsAnil ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeJaya BachchanLife at home changes when a house-wife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a saleswoman.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeShailen MukherjeeThe lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsMadhavi MukherjeeBijon BhattacharyaAbhi BhattacharyaA man (Abhi Bhattacharya) opposes the love between his sister and the orphan (Satindra Bhattacharya) they adopted years earlier.
- DirectorKing HuStarsPolly Ling-Feng Shang-KuanChun ShihYing BaiWhen the children of an executed General are pursued in 1457 China, some heroic martial arts swordsmen intervene.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreKaberi BoseSimi GarewalA group of Calcutta city slickers, including the well-off Asim (Soumitra Chatterjee), the meek Sanjoy (Subhendu Chatterjee) and the brutish Hari (Samit Bhanja), head out for a weekend in the wilderness.
- DirectorWei LoChia-Hsiang WuStarsBruce LeeMaria YiJames TienA young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.
- DirectorKamal AmrohiStarsAshok KumarMeena KumariRaaj KumarIn Lucknow at the turn of the century, a dancer and courtesan believes that her pure soul and body will enable her to find true love and honor.
- DirectorWei LoStarsBruce LeeNora MiaoJames TienA young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeBobitaSandhya RoyAs food shortages reach catastrophic proportions, Gangacharan attempts to preserve his privileged situation while his generous wife Ananga conversely tries to help and support the community.
- DirectorMani KaulStarsKana RamRaisa PadamseeHardanFilm is Based on Duvidha by Vijayadan Detha, it's about merchant's son, whose relationship with his young bride, Lachhi is thwarted by his work and a ghost who falls in love with her, resulting in the ghost soon impersonating the husband.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsTripti MitraShaonli MitraSugata BurmanIn this quest narrative that makes the Odyssey look like a trip to the mall, four men, each peculiar in his own way, embark on a quest to reason with the estranged wife of the protagonist.
- DirectorLino BrockaStarsHilda KoronelBembol RocoLou Salvador Jr.Júlio Madiaga, a 'provinciano', arrives in Manila to search for his beloved, Ligaya.
- DirectorRamesh SippyStarsSanjeev KumarDharmendraAmitabh BachchanAfter his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture the bandit.
- DirectorLino BrockaStarsHilda KoronelMona LisaRez CortezThe life of a young girl living with her mother in the slums of Manila becomes unbearable when her mother's young boyfriend moves in with them.
- DirectorBoaz DavidsonStarsYftach KatzurAnat AtzmonJonathan SagallThree friends live their lives in 1950s Israel, each looking for someone to love.
- DirectorGovindan AravindanStarsMaster AshokanSivasankaran DivakaranKothara GopalkrishnanKummatty, a magician, appears and transforms village children into animals. A boy turned into a dog misses reversal. He awaits Kummatty's return for a year to regain human form. Kummatty eventually undoes the spell and departs into nature.
- DirectorSerif GörenYilmaz GüneyStarsTarik AkanSerif SezerHalil ErgünWhen five Kurdish prisoners are granted one week's home leave, they find to their dismay that they face continued oppression outside of prison from their families, the culture, and the government.
- DirectorYilmaz GüneyStarsTuncel KurtizAyse Emel Mesci KurayMalik BerrichiTeens in a Turkish prison struggle to survive under hideous conditions.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsXueqi WangBai XueQuiang LiuA communist soldier travels to Shanbei to collect folk songs for propaganda while visiting a poor peasant family, giving hope to the teenage daughter in escaping an arranged marriage.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeVictor BanerjeeSwatilekha SenguptaWhen the movie opens, a woman is recalling the events that molded her perspective on the world. Years ago, her husband, a wealthy Western-educated landowner, challenged tradition by providing her with schooling, and inviting her out of the seclusion in which married women were kept, to the consternation of more conservative relatives. Meeting her husband's visiting friend from college, a leader of an economic rebellion against the British, she takes up his political cause, despite her husbands warnings. As the story progresses, the relationship between the woman and the visitor becomes more than platonic, and the political battles, pitting rich against poor and Hindu against Moslem, turn out not to be quite as simple as she had first thought.
- DirectorEdward YangStarsChin TsaiHsiao-Hsien HouI-Chen KoLung is a former member of the national Little League team who lives with his old childhood sweetheart Ah-chin, a traditional family woman. Although they live together, Ah-chin is weary of Lung's past liaison with another girl.
- DirectorHsiao-Hsien HouStarsChia-bao ChangNeng ChangChih-Chen ChenThe semi-autobiographical film on director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's childhood and adolescence, when he was growing up in Taiwan, living through the deaths of his father, mother and grandmother.
- DirectorMichel KhleifiStarsMohamad Ali El AkiliBushra KaramanMakram KhouryA Palestinian seeks Israeli permission to waive curfew to give his son a fine wedding. The military governor's condition is that he and his officers attend. The groom berates his father for agreeing. Women ritually prepare the bride; men prepare the groom. Guests gather. The Palestinian youths plot violence. One Israeli officer swoons in the heat and Palestinian women take her into the cool house. A thoroughbred gets loose and runs to a mined field; soldiers and Palestinians must cooperate to rescue it. As darkness falls, tensions between army and villagers rise, and the groom's wedding-night anger and impotence threaten family dignity and honor. Can cool heads prevail?
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsBabek Ahmed PoorAhmed Ahmed PoorKhodabakhsh DefaeiEight-year-old Ahmed has mistakenly taken his friend Mohammad's notebook. He wants to return it, or else his friend will be expelled from school. The boy determinedly sets out to find Mohammad's home in the neighbouring village.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsYuan XieXuewen YangShaohua ChenThis film is adapted from the novel of Ah Cheng. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a young man is assigned to teach in village school.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiWen JiangRujun TengWhen a leprous winery owner in 1930s China dies a few days after his arranged marriage, his young widow is forced to run the winery to make a living while contending with bandits, her drunkard lover, and the invading Japanese army.
- DirectorMira NairStarsShafiq SyedAnjaanAmrit PatelYoung Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.
- DirectorYong-Kyun BaeStarsYi Pan-YongSin Won-SopHae-Jin HuangAbout three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatDanny LeeSally YehA disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsHossain SabzianMohsen MakhmalbafAbolfazl AhankhahThe true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.
- DirectorEdward YangStarsChang ChenLisa YangKuo-Chu ChangBased on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict comes to a violent climax.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatTony Leung Chiu-waiTeresa MoA tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsTamlyn TomitaRosalind ChaoKieu ChinhThe life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
- DirectorZhuangzhuang TianStarsTian YiWenyao ZhangXiaoman ChenThe lives of a Beijing family throughout the 1950s and 1960s, as they experience the impact of the Hundred Flowers Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsLeslie CheungFengyi ZhangGong LiTwo boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSihung LungKuei-Mei YangWang Yu-wenA senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsYou GeGong LiBen NiuAfter Fugui and Jiazhen lose their personal fortunes, they raise a family and survive difficult cultural changes during 1940s to 1970s China.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsBrigitte LinTakeshi KaneshiroTony Leung Chiu-waiTwo melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
- DirectorAnh Hung TranStarsLe Van LocTony Leung Chiu-waiNu Yên-Khê TranWhen a poor bicycle-taxi driver has his cyclo stolen, he is forced into a life of crime. Meanwhile, his sister becomes a sex worker.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsLeslie CheungTony Leung Chiu-waiChang ChenA couple take a trip to Argentina but both men find their lives drifting apart in opposite directions.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsHomayoun ErshadiAbdolhosein BagheriAfshin Khorshid BakhtiariAn Iranian man drives his car in search of someone who will quietly bury him under a cherry tree after he commits suicide.
- DirectorMajid MajidiStarsHossein MahjoubMohsen RamezaniSalameh FeyziThe story of Mohammed, a blind Iranian boy and his father, Hashem, who is always oscillating between accepting his son as he is and abandoning him, as he represents a burden for him, after the loss of his wife.
- DirectorJafar PanahiStarsMaryiam Palvin AlmaniNargess MamizadehMojgan FaramarziVarious women struggle to function in the oppressively sexist society of contemporary Iran.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungSiu Ping-LamTwo neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsCho Jae-hyunWon SeoKim Yun-taeAn unfeeling gangster seeks to ruin the life of a young girl who rejected him. He forces her into prostitution and spies on her regularly, then he soon begins to fall for her.
- DirectorAndrew LauAlan MakStarsAndy LauTony Leung Chiu-waiAnthony Chau-Sang WongA story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorPen-Ek RatanaruangStarsTadanobu AsanoSinitta BoonyasakTakashi MiikeA suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsBirol ÜnelSibel KekilliGüven KiraçWith the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.
- DirectorHany Abu-AssadStarsKais NashifAli SulimanLubna AzabalTwo childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsNam-mi KangJeong-nam ChoiHye-Sook GoAfter being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.
- DirectorXiaogang FengStarsZiyi ZhangYou GeDaniel WuA loose adaptation of Hamlet, "The Night Banquet" is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a night banquet.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTang WeiJoan ChenDuring World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsBaki DavrakGürsoy GemecCengiz DanerA Turkish man travels to Istanbul to find the daughter of his father's former girlfriend.
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsYavuz BingölHatice AslanAhmet Rifat SungarA family suffers from a major communication breakdown during their struggle to get through their hardships.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsTaraneh AlidoostiGolshifteh FarahaniShahab HosseiniThe mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.
- DirectorChuan LuStarsYe LiuWei FanHideo NakaizumiIn 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
- DirectorScandar CoptiYaron ShaniStarsFouad HabashNisrin SiksikElias SabaAjami is the religiously mixed community of Muslims and Christians in Tel Aviv. These are five stories about the everyday life in Ajami.
- DirectorElia SuleimanStarsMenashe NoyElia SuleimanBaher AgbariyaAn examination of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 through to the present day.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsThanapat SaisaymarJenjira PongpasSakda KaewbuadeeDying of kidney disease, a man spends his last, somber days with family, including the ghost of his wife and a forest spirit who used to be his son, on a rural northern Thailand farm.
- DirectorSemih KaplanogluStarsBora AltasErdal BesikçiogluTülin ÖzenThe quiet life of a boy and his family is endangered when his father does not return home from his work collecting honey in the forest.
- DirectorSeren YüceStarsBartu KüçükçaglayanSettar TanriögenNihal G. KoldasMertkan has a simple life in Istanbul: 'working' as an office-boy in his dad's construction company, hanging out with his male friends in malls and discos, cruising with his dad's 4-wheel drive at night. There is no urgency for him to find a meaning to this emptiness.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPayman MaadiLeila HatamiSareh BayatA married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsMuhammet UzunerYilmaz ErdoganTaner BirselA group of men set out in search of a dead body in the Anatolian steppes.
- DirectorAtiq RahimiStarsGolshifteh FarahaniHamid DjavadanHassina BurganIn a war ridden country a woman watches over the husband reduced to a vegetable state by a bullet in the neck, abandoned by Jihad companions and brothers. One day, the woman decides to say things to him she could never have done before.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsBérénice BejoTahar RahimAli MosaffaAn Iranian man deserts his French wife and her two children to return to his homeland. Meanwhile, his wife starts up a new relationship, a reality her husband confronts upon his wife's request for a divorce.A French-Iranian film
- DirectorZhangke JiaStarsWu JiangBaoqiang WangTao ZhaoFour independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
- DirectorHany Abu-AssadStarsAdam BakriLeem LubanyEyad HouraniA young Palestinian freedom fighter agrees to work as an informant after he's tricked into an admission of guilt by association in the wake of an Israeli soldier's killing.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsHaluk BilginerMelisa SözenDemet AkbagA hotel owner and landlord in a remote Turkish village deals with conflicts within his family and a tenant behind on his rent.
- DirectorMustafa KaraStarsHaydar SismanNuray YesilarazHanife Kara"Cold of Kalandar" pictures within a unique pastoral atmosphere the realist, passionate and emotional story of Mehmet and his family living far from modern life, in a mountain village.
- DirectorZiad DoueiriStarsAdel KaramKamel El BashaCamille SalamehAfter an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.
- DirectorZhangke JiaStarsTao ZhaoFan LiaoZheng XuA story of violent love within a time frame spanning from 2001 to 2017.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsDogu DemirkolMurat CemcirBennu YildirimlarAn unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYoo Ah-inSteven YeunJeon Jong-seoJong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
- DirectorSaeed RoustayiStarsPayman MaadiNavid MohammadzadehParinaz IzadyarThe police are after a drug lord named Naser Khakzad, but when they finally manage to catch him, he tries whatever he can think of to escape and save his family.
- DirectorMohammad RasoulofStarsBaran RasoulofZhila ShahiMahtab ServatiThe four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsSebastian CroftRuby StokesEmily CareyKitty, the imaginary girl who Anne Frank wrote to in her 1940s diary during WWII, seeks out the deceased diarist while also inspiring a wave of modern social justice for refugees.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsAmir JadidiMohsen TanabandehSahar GoldoostRahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum. But things don't go as planned.
- DirectorEmin AlperStarsSelahattin PasaliEkin KoçErol BabaogluEmre, a young prosecutor newly appointed to the small town of Yaniklar, finds himself being pulled into a political conflict during his first criminal investigation.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsPark Hae-ilTang WeiLee Jung-hyunA detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsDeniz CelilogluMerve DizdarMusab EkiciA young teacher hopes to be transferred to Istanbul after four years of mandatory service in a remote village, but is accused of inappropriate contact by two students. After losing hope, a colleague offers him new perspectives on life.
- DirectorCeline SongStarsGreta LeeTeo YooJohn MagaroNora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrested apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.