Exhausted Netflix? Catch Up on the Best Chinese Content it Has to Offer
With this extra-long Spring Festival going deep into February, we're starting to realize keeping ourselves entertained is not as easy as once presumed. If you're anything like us, you've already exhausted Netflix as its seemingly endless algorithmically-driven content. Why not then take this opportunity to watch some of the best Chinese produced content available and provide a fresh take on your next Netflix and chill.
Scissor Seven
Are you a fan of Assassin's Creed or Hong Kong action movies that fuse thrilling combat scenes, humor, and fun riffs on real-life challenges? Then this rising star among Chinese anime may be worth your attention. Born in Canton, China, director He Xiaofeng certainly inherited much of his worldview from Hong Kong movie icon Stephen Chow. This hand-drawn animation, then, adopts a similarly absurdist prism, much like those found in '90s Hong Kong movies, so as to deconstruct the identity crisis that protagonist Seven – a scissor-wielding hairdresser – is facing.
On Children
Do the sentiments “The salt that I have tasted in my life is more than the rice you have eaten” or “Why can’t you understand that I did all of these things just because I love you?” sound familiar? Then we may very well share the same kind of parents; those who love their children but also have no faith in them to make their own healthy decisions. Control, after all, is a way to express love. This twisted yet prevailing belief among Asian families was put in the spotlight in the Taiwanese anthology TV series On Children. The plot, despite being grounded very much in real-world family dynamics, is suspenseful and enlightening for its take on how relationships between parents and children often operate.
Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang
You may not be able to recall his name at first try, but you're unlikely to ever forget Cai Guo-Qiang's art once you have watched it in action. Perhaps best known for orchestrating the fireworks for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Cai has an extensive and impressive portfolio that utilizes the magical nature of explosives to make works that leave audiences in awe, no matter their cultural background. Traces of smoke and hues of flame are Cai's brushstrokes, which he uses to paint the sky. This documentary follows the Quanzhou, Fujian-born artist as he travels across continents to accomplish one of the most ambitious art projects in history: a 500-meter-long ladder of fire climbing into the sky, and a special "thank you note" to his family.
Pandemic
“When we talk about another flu pandemic happening, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when,’” says director Doug Shultz in Pandemic, but it's unlikely that even he could envisage that the next global health crisis could come so soon. This documentary looks back through history at how humans have fought various epidemics, reminding us that the latest coronavirus is not the first and certainly won't be the last battle that we will face. It also reminds us that through a better understanding of this evolving threat, we as the public can take the necessary precautions against viruses without stigmatizing each other in the process. While pandemics themselves are horrifying, it's often the ugly side of human nature that they give rise to that sends shivers down your spine.
Flavorful Origin: Chaoshan Cuisine
Dim sum is often synonymous with Cantonese food. However, if you were to visit Chaoshan in Guangdong, you'd soon realize that it's just one small part of a huge variety of dishes that have yet to be fully explored by the majority of the world. Chaoshan's people are renowned for their pursuit of freshness and finesse in food, making the region ripe for a documentary exploring their seemingly endless variations of local cuisine. Don't dive into this one hungry.
Read: Stuck at Home? Time to Read Up on Beijing With These Essays and Articles
Images: Netflix
