If the first half of 2016 seemed ripe with cinemtic gems from across Asia, the second half of the year proved even more bountiful. South Korea continued its incredible run of exceptional releases, while even China had a few surprises tucked up its sleeves. Even Hong Kong unveiled a few genre highlights to distract from its dwindling numbers, while even less-established areas like Singapore delivered gems to stand proudly alongside the region's heavyweights.
While there were plenty of duds, I would like to offer special mentions to some of the other notable releases from 2016, including Hirokazu Kore-eda's After the Storm, Chan Chi Fat's Weeds on Fire, Adam Tsuei's The Tenants Downstairs, Michael Dudok de Wit's Ghibli-produced The Red Turtle, Isao Yukisada's Aroused by Gymnopedies, Ryota Nakano's Her Love Boils Bathwater and Takashi Miike's The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio.
However, I had to draw the line somewhere, and so this is it. Below you will find a gallery of my favourite Asian films from the second half of 2016.
To see my picks from the first half of the year, click here.
The Age of Shadows (dir. Kim Jee-woon, South Korea)
After a questionable US outing helming Schwarzenegger’s comeback The Last Stand, Kim Jee-woon returns home with this richly staged, relentlessly exciting spy thriller. Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo and Lee Byung-hun headline, but it’s Eom Tae-goo who steals the show, as a delightfully sinister Japanese officer looking to foil a plot to bring explosives into occupied Seoul.
Apprentice (dir. Boo Junfeng, Singapore)
Only 33 years old, Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng is fast making a name for himself in Asia’s arthouse arena, not least because of this crackling prison drama. Firdaus Rahman plays a junior prison guard, who is enlisted to train under the institution’s resident executioner (Wan Hanafi Su), the man responsible for hanging his father.
Call of Heroes (dir. Benny Chan, Hong Kong)
Benny Chan embraces the Wild West roots of his period actioner, which sees small town sheriff Lau Ching-wan taking a stand against an encroaching warlord after his spoilt heir (Louis Koo) commits murder. Eddie Peng, Wu Jing and Yuan Quan round out the cast, with Sammo Hung providing action duties, in this hugely entertaining stand-off that local critics read as a thinly-veiled allegory for Hong Kong’s increasingly volatile relationship with mainland China.
The Great Wall (dir. Zhang Yimou, China)
Universal and Legendary’s preposterous fantasy epic sounded like a terrible idea from the get-go, with Matt Damon playing a rogue mercenary who bands together with Chinese forces to defend their eponymous structure against an army of reptilian monsters. But while the film is flat-out ridiculous, it is also quite a lot of fun. Andy Lau, Willem Dafoe, Eddie Peng and Pedro Pascal are given very little to do, but Damon and Jing Tian’s military prodigy at least appear to be enjoying themselves.
I am not Madame Bovary (dir. Feng Xiaogang, China)
Fan Bingbing is fantastic as a down-trodden villager tricked by her philandering husband, who wants their divorce overruled so she can do it again on her own terms. When the local judge palms her off, she takes on the system, beginning a 10-year battle that leads all the way to Beijing. What follows is a razor-sharp bureaucratic satire that manipulates formal cinematic conventions in all manner of fascinating ways.
Operation Mekong (dir. Dante Lam, Hong Kong/China)
After spreading his wings with sporting dramas Unbeatable and To The Fore, Dante Lam returns to what he does best in blistering fashion with this high-octane action spectacular set in Asia’s Golden Triangle. Zhang Hanyu and Eddie Peng team up to take down an international drugs syndicate, leading to all manner of shoot-outs, smackdowns and top flight carnage. There’s also a great supporting role for a badass police dog.
Re: Born (dir. Yuji Shimomura, Japan)
After a semi-forced retirement clearly didn’t take, Japanese martial arts star Tak Sakaguchi returns to the screen in this pioneering action flick from the director of Death Trance. In collaboration with fight choreographer Yoshitaka Inagawa, the film showcases a brutal new form of close-quarters combat that leads to a blood-splattered third act to rival anything you will see on screen this year.
Shin Godzilla (dir. Hideaki Anno/Shinji Higuchi, Japan)
It seems to be no easy task bringing Godzilla to the big screen these days, or doing so in a manner that appeases his millions of fans all over the world. Over a decade since his last official appearance on home turf, the king of monsters returns to Toho for his 29th official appearance, and the response has been mixed. What emerges is a full-blown political satire, that throws as many barbs at the Japanese government's handling of the 2011 Tohoku disaster as it does pay loving homage to Ishiro Honda’s 1954 original, and when it works, it's great
Sword Master (dir. Derek Yee, Hong Kong)
Derek Yee teams up with producer Tsui Hark to remake the Chor Yuen classic that made him a star back in 1977. Swapping out the vibrant Shaw Brothers sets for immersive 3D and fantastical digital landscapes, Sword Master embraces its artificiality and dives headlong into a tale of rival swordsmen, hidden identities and vengeful broken hearts. Peter Ho, in full-blown Brandon Lee The Crow make-up, might be the year’s most charismatic antagonist.
Train to Busan (dir. Yeon Sang-ho, South Korea)
After making his name on gritty animated dramas, director Yeon Sang-ho blew all expectations out of the water with his live-action debut - a breathless zombie thriller set aboard a cross-country locomotive. Peppered with social commentary amidst the terrifying carnage, Train to Busan became a monster hit around the world and currently stands as the most successful Asian film of all time in Hong Kong. Yeon also delivered an animated prequel, Seoul Station, this year, but it’s this high-concept slam-dunk that will be remembered.
The Truth Beneath (dir. Lee Kyoung-mi, South Korea)
In a year packed with top drawer offerings from Korea, none was more surprising than this dark, absorbing sophomore thriller from Lee Kyoung-mi. Not only is Lee that rare breed - a female filmmaker working in Korea - but the film itself features a knockout performance from long-time romantic leading lady Son Ye-jin. When her daughter is kidnapped during the midst of her husband’s political election campaign, it falls to her to uncover the truth. And this being a Korean film, things get real ugly, real fast.
Wet Woman in the Wind (dir. Akihiko Shiota, Japan)
Nikkatsu reboots its 1970s Roman Porno craze with a quintet of brand new films inspired by classics of the genre, but this time with a more pro-feminist twist. Easily the best of those to have emerged thus far is Shiota’s delightfully entertaining tale of a young playright (Tasuku Nagaoka) seeking seclusion in the countryside, who becomes the target of a predatory young woman (Yuki Mamiya) and her insatiable sexual appetite. What follows is sure to titillate, but is also legitimately great cinema.
Your Name (dir. Makoto Shinkai, Japan)
It takes a lot for anime to pique my interest, but the breakout hit from revered - yet still largely unknown - filmmaker Shinkai has put him on the global cinematic map, whether he likes it or not. A time-travel body swap romance about a frustrated young girl from the countryside and a lad from Tokyo intertwines so many different genres, ideas, images and emotions, that mere words struggle to do it justice. Breathtakingly beautiful - with at times photo-realistic depictions of actual inner-city locations - with a knockout soundtrack from boy band RADWIMPS, Your Name is an absolute joy from start to finish.