1993 · Chen Kaige · 171 min · Drama, Romance, History
Farewell My Concubine spans five decades of Chinese history through two Peking opera performers whose art and lives are consumed by revolution, creating an epic that is both a devastating love story and a portrait of a nation destroying itself.
1991 · Zhang Yimou · 125 min · Drama
Raise the Red Lantern traps four wives in a gorgeous, claustrophobic household where lanterns determine who shares the master's bed, turning a period drama into a devastating allegory about power, competition, and the destruction of solidarity among the oppressed.
2002 · Zhang Yimou · 99 min · Martial Arts Epic
Zhang Yimou's visually staggering wuxia epic uses color, composition, and martial arts to tell a story about sacrifice and the cost of unity, creating one of the most beautiful action films ever made.