[Watch List] 20 Best Chinese Movies Since 2000

As China's impact become wider today, many people are curious about this country. In fact, watching movies is an effective method to know about Chinese culture. In fact, China has been a consistent source of delight for movie enthusiast from around the world in recent years. For example, many people may be obsessed with Chinese martial arts movies. In addition to classic martial art movies, there are many stunning Chinese movies worth to watch.
And filmmakers in China have been experimenting with various forms and have produced many innovative works. Here we've collected a list of best Chinese movies in the 2000s. These movies are great cultural legacies that you should not miss out.

1. Yi Yi (A Man and A Two)

2. In the Mood for Love

Chinese Title: 花样年华
Genre: Romance | Drama
Year: 2000
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Starring: Maggie Cheung | Tony Leung
In the Mood for Love is generally regarded as a timeless work of art. It is a story of a man and a woman whose spouses have an affair together and who slowly form a strong bond with each other. The story seems to be a cliched. But director Wong Kar-Wai makes it a unique piece of work. The cinematography, the script, and the background score combine perfectly that is surely make you enchanted with the movie.

3. Devils on the Doorstep (Guizi lai le)

Chinese Title: 鬼子来了
Genre: Comedy | Drama | War
Year: 2000
Director: Jiang Wen
Starring: Jiang Wen | Kagawa Teruyuki | Yuan Ding | Jiang Hongbo
Devils on the Doorstep is a black comedy inspired by the novel Survival by You Fengwei. It shows a story about a Chinese villager who is forced to accommodate two prisoners from the Japanese Army. It is not a typical anti-Japanese war film, but a film tries to discuss human nature.

4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Chinese Title: 卧虎藏龙
Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance
Year: 2000
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Yun-Fat Chow | Michelle Yeoh | Ziyi Zhang
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the masterpieces by director Ang Lee. It is a brilliant action movie that will take you to a journey of romantic and thrilling adventures. Also, while watching this movie, you may notice that many scenes are shot in a symbolic and purposeful direction, which is worth to watch over and over again.

5. The Assassin

Chinese Title: 刺客聂影娘
Genre: Action | Drama | History
Year: 2015
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Starring: Shu Qi | Chang Chen | Zhou Yun | Satoshi Tsumabuki
The Assassin is set in ninth-century China during last years of the Tang Dynasty. It presents a story of a female assassin who receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader. Although it is not an action-packed movie that you may be expected, The Assassin remains to be a gem featuring with gorgeous visuals that will astound you.

6. Infernal Affairs

Chinese Title: 无间道
Genre: Crime | Thriller
Year: 2002
Director: Andrew Lau | Alan Mak
Starring: Andy Lau | Tony Leung | Anthony Wong | Eric Tsang
If you love watching crime thrillers, Infernal Affairs is the one that you should not miss out. It tells the story between a mole in the police department and an undercover officer in the local mafia. Both of their objectives are to race against time to expose the mole within their midst. This is definitely the kind film that will leave you catching for breath.

7. Lust, Caution

Chinese Title: 色戒
Genre: Drama | History | Romance
Year: 2007
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Tony Leung | Tang Wei | Joan Chen
Lust, Caution is an espionage erotic period drama movie based on the 1979 novella by Eileen Chang. It revolves a group of Chinese university students who plot to assassinate a high-ranking special agent. Wang Jiazhi, is chosen to lure this powerful political figure, Mr. Yee, into a honey trap.

8. Platform

Chinese Title: 站台
Genre: Drama | History
Year: 2000
Director: Jia Zhangke
Starring: Wang Hongwei | Zhao Tao | Liang Jingdong
Platform is another amazing movie which is often named one of the greatest Chinese movies of the 2000s. It follows a group of twenty-something performers as they face personal and see tremendous societal changes in the 80s China. The movie is also commonly regarded as "an epic of grassroots".

9. The Grandmaster

Chinese Title: 一代宗师
Genre: Action | Biography | Drama
Year: 2013
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Starring: Tony Leung | Zhang Ziyi | Zhang Jin
The Grandmaster is a martial arts drama movie directed by Wong Kar-Wai. The movie narrates the lift of Ip Man, the famous Wing Chun grandmaster. The movie also presents with Wong Kar-Wei's gorgeous cinematography and it was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design at the 86th Academy Awards.

10. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks

Chinese Title: 铁西区
Genre: Documentary
Year: 2004
Director: Wang Bing
If you love documentary film and are curious about the rise and decline of heavy industry in China, Tie Xi Qu is the one you should give a watch. The documentary movie details the changes of Shenyang's industrial Tiexi district, an area which was once a concrete example of China's socialist economy. When you finish watching this documentary, you are bound to know a lot about China.

11. Black Coal, Thin Ice

Chinese Title: 白日焰火
Genre: Crime | Mystery | Thriller
Year: 2014
Director: Diao Yinan
Starring: Liao Fan | Gwei Lun-mei
Black Coal, Thin Ice is a movie focusing on an ex police officer and his partner who followed up on investigation of a series of murders that ended their careers. When they both get expelled, identical murders happen again. The movie won the Golden Bear prize at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Also, Liao Fan, the leading actor of the movie, won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.

12. Election

Chinese Title: 黑社会
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Year: 2005
Director: Johnnie To
Starring: Louis Koo | Suet Lam | Leung Ka-Fai
As its name indicates, Election is basically a story about two gang leaders engaging in a power struggle to become the new chairman of Hong Kong's Triad society. The movie is far more than a traditional crime movie. It is a movie serving to depict the transitional period of Hong Kong.

13. Kung Fu Hustle

Chinese Title: 功夫
Genre: Action | Comedy | Fantasy
Year: 2004
Director: Stephen Chow
Starring: Stephen Chow | Danny Chan | Yuen Wah | Yuen Qiu
If you are a martial movies fan, Kung Fu Hustle will bring a new experience to you. It not only features with many retired actors famous for 1970s Hong Kong action cinema, but also contains a number of references to a wide range of movies, animated cartoons, wuxia novels, and other sources, which provides a lot of enjoyment.

14. Kaili Blues

Chinese Title: 路边野餐
Genre: Drama | Mystery
Year: 2016
Director: Bi Gan
Starring: Chen Yongzhong | Guo Yue | Liu Linyan
Kaili Blues is the kind of movie that makes you to constantly revisit and reassess. It tells a story of a physician travelling the countryside to track down his nephew but finding himself confronting with people from his past and future. When you finish watching this movie, you may be astounded by director's remarkable debut.

15. An Elephant Sitting Still

Chinese Title: 大象席地而坐
Genre: Drama
Year: 2018
Director: Hu Bo
Starring: Peng Yuchang | Zhang Yu | Wang Yuwen
An Elephant Sitting Still is based on a story with the same title from the novelist-turned-director Hu Bo's 2017 novel Huge Crack. It was first shown in the Forum section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival and received high positive reviews from established directors like Ang Lee and Bela Tarr.

16. Spring Fever

Chinese Title: 春风沉醉的夜晚
Genre: Drama
Year: 2010
Director: Lou Ye
Starring: Qin Hao |Chen Sicheng | Wu Wei
Spring Fever describes a story about three young people overcoming with their erotic longings. Compared with Lou's previous works, this movie is both inviting and pensive. Besides, the movie won the award for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

17. The Great Buddha+

Chinese Title: 大佛普拉斯
Genre: Comedy | Crime | Drama
Year: 2017
Director: Huang Hsin-yao
Starring: Cres Chuang | Chen Chu-Sheng | Leon Dai
Another dark comedy film for film buff is The Great Buddha+, written and directed by Huang Hsin-yao. It centers on a night security guard and his colleague entangled in a web of dark secrets after stumbling upon a Buddha video that records the promiscuous meetings of a Buddha stature factory's owner. It is an amazing movie that portrays the ordinary and real life of grassroots.

18. Still Life

Chinese Title: 三峡好人
Genre: Drama
Year: 2006
Director: Jia Zhangke
Starring: Zhao Tao | Han Sanming
Still Life premiered at the 2006 Venice Film Festival and was a winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Film. It is a story of two people in search of their spouses and meeting in a small village. Just like many of Jia's works, this movie is stately but the pace is slow and steady. And the movie is just so wonderfully filmed that you will be moved by it.

19. Night and Fog

Chinese Title: 天水围的夜与雾
Genre: Crime | Drama
Year: 2009
Director: Ann Hui
Starring: Simon Yam | Zhang Jingchu | Jacqueline Law
Night and Fog is a Hong Kong movie that are based on a murder case that happened in Tin Shui Wai in 2004. The movie uses flashback to narrate a story of a man who murders his wife and daughters. The movie reflects some societal problems in Hong Kong. One is related to new immigrants in Hong Kong.

20. Blind Massage

Chinese Title: 推拿
Genre: Drama
Year: 2014
Director: Lou Ye
Starring: Guo Xiaodong | Qin Hao | Zhang Lei
Blind Massage is commonly regarded as one of Lou Ye's finest movies. It is a drama centered around the blind employees of a Nanjing massage parlor. Adopting a clean and simple storyline, this movie is of diversity and rationality, which is unique in Chinese movies soils.

In the End…

There may be some other classics that this article hasn't included. However, it is certain that you can have a better understanding about China after watching all these best Chinese movies. What is your favorite Chinese movie? Feel free to leave your recommendations and don't forget to share this article with your friends if you find it useful.