10 Best Movies from Taiwan to Watch First

10 Essential Films from Taiwan

Ranked native cinema in Taiwan’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

   卧虎藏龍 · 2000

   In Qing-dynasty China, two master warriors pursue a stolen legendary sword and cross paths with a rebellious young noblewoman torn between duty and desire, in a tale of honor, love, and gravity-defying combat. Ang Lee's ravishing, Oscar-winning martial-arts epic.

2. 

   2. Lust, Caution

   色‧戒 · 2007

   In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, a young woman in a resistance cell is tasked with seducing and setting up a powerful collaborator for assassination, but as she draws close she finds her loyalties dangerously blurred. Ang Lee's tense, sensual espionage drama.

3. 

   3. Yi Yi

   一一 · 2000

   Across the ordinary joys and quiet crises of a middle-class Taipei family — a father at a crossroads, a lovelorn daughter, a philosophical little boy with a camera — this expansive drama finds the whole of life. Edward Yang's serene, humane masterpiece.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: Edward Yang's Taiwanese family epic about Taipei middle-class life across generations.

4. 

   4. A Brighter Summer Day

   牯嶺街少年殺人事件 · 1991

   In the anxious world of 1960s Taipei, a teenage boy caught among street gangs, first love, and the pressures of a displaced mainland family drifts toward tragedy. Edward Yang's sprawling, luminous epic of youth based on a true crime.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Taiwanese Mandarin epic about youth, crime, family, and social change in 1960s Taipei.

5. 

   5. A City of Sadness

   悲情城市 · 1989

   Spanning the turbulent years after Japan's departure from Taiwan, this drama follows one family torn apart by the political repression of the White Terror. Hou Hsiao-Hsien's stately, sorrowful landmark of Taiwanese cinema.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Taiwanese historical drama about the February 28 Incident and postwar identity.

6. 

   6. A Touch of Zen

   俠女 · 1971

   A humble village painter is drawn into the plight of a mysterious woman fleeing corrupt officials, aided by warrior monks, in an ever-deepening tale of swordplay, intrigue, and spiritual transcendence. King Hu's ravishing, influential wuxia masterpiece.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Taiwanese wuxia landmark by King Hu and one of Taiwan cinema's major international classics.

7. 

   7. Secret

   不能說的秘密 · 2007

   A gifted piano student at a Taipei music school falls for a mysterious girl who plays a haunting melody no one else seems to know, a romance bound up with a secret that defies time. Jay Chou's tender, magical musical drama.

8. 

   8. The Assassin

   刺客聶隱娘 · 2015

   In 9th-century China, a young woman raised from childhood as a lethal assassin is ordered to kill the powerful cousin she was once betrothed to, forcing a reckoning between duty and heart. Hou Hsiao-Hsien's exquisitely spare, painterly wuxia.

9. 

   9. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

   賽德克‧巴萊：彩虹橋 · 2011

   In 1930s Japanese-occupied Taiwan, the leader of an indigenous Seediq clan rallies his people in a doomed but fierce uprising to defend their land, honor, and way of life. A sweeping, brutal historical war epic based on true events.

10. 

    10. A Sun

    陽光普照 · 2019

    A Taipei family already strained by disappointment is pushed to the breaking point when one son is imprisoned and tragedy strikes, testing the limits of duty, forgiveness, and love. Chung Mong-hong's quietly devastating, acclaimed drama.