u/PKotzathanasis

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2025/11/kopitiam-days-2025-by-various-film-review/

Created to commemorate Singapore’s 60th year of independence, “Kopitiam Days” is a 6-part anthology celebrating the kopitiam as a cornerstone of Singaporean identity. The project brings together segments by established and emerging local filmmakers—Yeo Siew Hua, Shoki Lin, M. Raihan Halim, Siyou Tan, Don Aravind and Ong Kuo Sin—each exploring a different facet of life connected through the emotional resonance of the neighbourhood coffee shop.

The anthology was shepherded by veteran filmmaker Eric Khoo, who served as Executive Producer and Creative Director, alongside Lim Teck of Clover Films, Fran Borgia of Akanga Film Asia and producer Tan Fong Cheng of Zhao Wei Films and premiered in Tokyo.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/08/film-review-taro-the-fool-2019-by-tatsushi-omori/

This is no “Boyhood” (2014). Unlike Richard Linklater’s sanitized suburban storytelling, Tatsushi Omori‘s coming-of-age tale spins a disturbed – and increasingly violent – take in the lives of three middle school-aged misfits. In this battle for innocence, acceptance and ultimately for survival, Omori’s fourth feature grapples with the difficulties of growing up in a godless wasteland.

Omori sets the tone with the film’s opening scene, wherein two yakuza members wrestle for control in a home for the mentally and physically disabled. The rest of the film only peers deeper into the fringes of society, revolving around three teens: the rebellious Eiji (Masaki Suda), the reckless Taro (Yoshi), and the gentle Sugio (Taiga Nakano).

Eiji walks in his brother’s shadow, unable to live to his family’s judo-loving legacy due to his injured knee. He takes out his anger in conspiratorial schemes with Taro, an elementary school drop-out. The soft-spoken and lovestruck Sugio assists in the boys’ adventures, but his conscience – and his crush – nag away at him as Eiji and Taro begin to dip into petty crime. One day, their simple lives of skipping school and catching crawfish change forever with the discovery of a forbidden item: a loaded pistol.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the film

This is no “Boyhood” (2014). Unlike Richard Linklater’s sanitized suburban storytelling, Tatsushi Omori‘s coming-of-age tale spins a disturbed – and increasingly violent – take in the lives of three middle school-aged misfits. In this battle for innocence, acceptance and ultimately for survival, Omori’s fourth feature grapples with the difficulties of growing up in a godless wasteland.

Omori sets the tone with the film’s opening scene, wherein two yakuza members wrestle for control in a home for the mentally and physically disabled. The rest of the film only peers deeper into the fringes of society, revolving around three teens: the rebellious Eiji (Masaki Suda), the reckless Taro (Yoshi), and the gentle Sugio (Taiga Nakano).

Eiji walks in his brother’s shadow, unable to live to his family’s judo-loving legacy due to his injured knee. He takes out his anger in conspiratorial schemes with Taro, an elementary school drop-out. The soft-spoken and lovestruck Sugio assists in the boys’ adventures, but his conscience – and his crush – nag away at him as Eiji and Taro begin to dip into petty crime. One day, their simple lives of skipping school and catching crawfish change forever with the discovery of a forbidden item: a loaded pistol.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/11/film-review-yuni-2021-by-kamila-andini-3/

Here, Andini weaves together a coming-of-age story of a bright high school student, Yuni (played by Kirana). Like most girls her age, Yuni is relatively clueless about the realities of womanhood. She does know two things, however: she wants to pursue a university scholarship, and she loves the color purple. In order to execute the former, however, she must stay single – and brush up on her Indonesian Literature grade, quickly.

These two requirements become complicated, however, when Yuni’s marriage proposals slowly begin to trickle in. As she turns down each one, she and her friends exchange hushed conversations about sex and marriage. Can women really masturbate? Is that girl pregnant because of rape? Are you still a virgin? The village’s inflexible expectations haunt, rather than bring joy, to Yuni, as man after man steps in the way of her dreams.

Though this feature marks Kirana’s debut, she takes the stage by storm. She completely possesses Yuni’s awkward elegance, portraying a character that is both hesitant and sure about what she desires for her future. Her mesmerizing performance bestows Yuni with a charisma worthy of a protagonist. She particularly stands out when she and her Indonesian Literature helper, the shy, flustered Yoga (played by Kevin Ardillova) interact on-screen.

While Ardillova depicts a character who singularly blusters and bumbles about, Kirana’s Yuni flashes through the various nuances of a goal-oriented student confused about love.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/11/film-review-yuni-2021-by-kamila-andini-3/

Here, Andini weaves together a coming-of-age story of a bright high school student, Yuni (played by Kirana). Like most girls her age, Yuni is relatively clueless about the realities of womanhood. She does know two things, however: she wants to pursue a university scholarship, and she loves the color purple. In order to execute the former, however, she must stay single – and brush up on her Indonesian Literature grade, quickly.

These two requirements become complicated, however, when Yuni’s marriage proposals slowly begin to trickle in. As she turns down each one, she and her friends exchange hushed conversations about sex and marriage. Can women really masturbate? Is that girl pregnant because of rape? Are you still a virgin? The village’s inflexible expectations haunt, rather than bring joy, to Yuni, as man after man steps in the way of her dreams.

Though this feature marks Kirana’s debut, she takes the stage by storm. She completely possesses Yuni’s awkward elegance, portraying a character that is both hesitant and sure about what she desires for her future. Her mesmerizing performance bestows Yuni with a charisma worthy of a protagonist. She particularly stands out when she and her Indonesian Literature helper, the shy, flustered Yoga (played by Kevin Ardillova) interact on-screen.

While Ardillova depicts a character who singularly blusters and bumbles about, Kirana’s Yuni flashes through the various nuances of a goal-oriented student confused about love.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2025/04/film-review-youngju-2018-by-cha-sung-duk-2/

A chilling hypothetical conditional over a fried chicken basket introduces unapologetically a young girl named Young-ju (Kim Hyang-gi) and her younger brother Young-in (Tang Jung-sang) on the opening scene. “What if … we could have either mum or dad back? Who would you choose?” The parents of the two siblings have been killed in a car accident five years earlier, leaving Young-ju and Young-in in great difficulty, coping with an adult life they knows nothing about.

They are little more than children; Young-ju is 19 and the legal guardian of her 15 year-old brother, and she has left school to be able to work odd jobs and look after the boy. Nobody give them a real constructive hand or, more than anything, a bit of affection or care. Their rather unpleasant aunt is trying to make them sell the house, ignoring the fact that that house is the only thing left from their “previous” life with their parents, and therefore triggering Young-in’s rage.

In fact, while Young-ju looks ahead with determination and a crumb of hope, the teenager boy is the one who feels scarred the most. He soon ends up in trouble, arrested for a petty crime with some bad friends and Young-ju must find a hefty sum of won for a settlement and to prevent him from being sent to a reformatory.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughs on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2025/04/film-review-youngju-2018-by-cha-sung-duk-2/

A chilling hypothetical conditional over a fried chicken basket introduces unapologetically a young girl named Young-ju (Kim Hyang-gi) and her younger brother Young-in (Tang Jung-sang) on the opening scene. “What if … we could have either mum or dad back? Who would you choose?” The parents of the two siblings have been killed in a car accident five years earlier, leaving Young-ju and Young-in in great difficulty, coping with an adult life they knows nothing about.

They are little more than children; Young-ju is 19 and the legal guardian of her 15 year-old brother, and she has left school to be able to work odd jobs and look after the boy. Nobody give them a real constructive hand or, more than anything, a bit of affection or care. Their rather unpleasant aunt is trying to make them sell the house, ignoring the fact that that house is the only thing left from their “previous” life with their parents, and therefore triggering Young-in’s rage.

In fact, while Young-ju looks ahead with determination and a crumb of hope, the teenager boy is the one who feels scarred the most. He soon ends up in trouble, arrested for a petty crime with some bad friends and Young-ju must find a hefty sum of won for a settlement and to prevent him from being sent to a reformatory.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughs on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/06/khavn-fanzine-gertjan-zuilhof/

We have published a feature on Asian Movie Pulse presenting a handmade fanzine created by Filipino filmmaker Khavn and his collaborators in memory of Gertjan Zuilhof.

Zuilhof worked with the International Film Festival Rotterdam for more than 25 years and played an important role in bringing Southeast Asian independent cinema to wider international attention. His programming and research supported filmmakers including Khavn and Lav Diaz, as well as independent cinema from Malaysia and moving-image artists from Myanmar.

The fanzine combines archival programme notes on Khavn’s work with photographs, drawings, painted interventions and personal memories. It also reproduces an interview I conducted with Zuilhof for Asian Movie Pulse in 2020, covering his programming philosophy, his interest in Asian cinema, the changing festival landscape and his friendship with Khavn.

The article includes the complete publication for anyone interested in Khavn, IFFR, Southeast Asian cinema or the history of international festival programming.

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/01/sid-aya-not-a-love-story-2017/

Marking the first collaboration between actors Dingdong Dantes and Anne Curtis “Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story” captures attention through its deliberate storytelling, tightly constructed script, and thoughtful cinematography. The production demonstrates that careful technical execution can make a story compelling on its own more than the hype that mainstream actors brought.

Check the full review in the link in the comments and let us know your thoughts on the movie

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/01/sid-aya-not-a-love-story-2017/

Marking the first collaboration between actors Dingdong Dantes and Anne Curtis “Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story” captures attention through its deliberate storytelling, tightly constructed script, and thoughtful cinematography. The production demonstrates that careful technical execution can make a story compelling on its own more than the hype that mainstream actors brought.

Check the full review in the link in the comments and let us know your thoughts on the movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKiDRPmhZ74

Tsai Ming-liang’s “The Hole” returns to cinemas in a newly struck 35mm print, beginning July 10 at Film at Lincoln Center in its first-ever dedicated New York theatrical release.

In this Bad Accent Video Review, we explore how Tsai transforms a mysterious epidemic, endless rain and a hole connecting two apartments into one of Taiwanese cinema’s strangest and most moving stories of loneliness, desire and human connection.

Blending dystopian science fiction, deadpan comedy and glamorous musical numbers performed to the songs of Grace Chang, “The Hole” stars Lee Kang-sheng and Yang Kuei-mei as two isolated neighbors approaching the end of the millennium. We examine the movie’s nearly wordless performances, pantomime-like humor, fixed cinematography, languid editing, oppressive sound design and unexpectedly hopeful conclusion.

Is “The Hole” Tsai Ming-liang’s warmest and most accessible work? Check the full review in the link and share your thoughts in the comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKiDRPmhZ74

Tsai Ming-liang’s “The Hole” returns to cinemas in a newly struck 35mm print, beginning July 10 at Film at Lincoln Center in its first-ever dedicated New York theatrical release.

In this Bad Accent Video Review, we explore how Tsai transforms a mysterious epidemic, endless rain and a hole connecting two apartments into one of Taiwanese cinema’s strangest and most moving stories of loneliness, desire and human connection.

Blending dystopian science fiction, deadpan comedy and glamorous musical numbers performed to the songs of Grace Chang, “The Hole” stars Lee Kang-sheng and Yang Kuei-mei as two isolated neighbors approaching the end of the millennium. We examine the movie’s nearly wordless performances, pantomime-like humor, fixed cinematography, languid editing, oppressive sound design and unexpectedly hopeful conclusion.

Is “The Hole” Tsai Ming-liang’s warmest and most accessible work? Check the full review in the link and share your thoughts in the comments.

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/06/across-steppes-and-borders/

Central Asian cinema remains among the most fascinating and insufficiently explored areas of contemporary moviemaking. The region’s directors frequently work within societies shaped by Soviet history, rapid economic change, inherited customs and the tension between rural traditions and increasingly globalised urban life. Their stories address migration, corruption, ecological destruction, patriarchal violence and economic inequality, although they also find space for humour, poetry, music and the beauty of everyday existence.

Kazakhstan has produced some of the region’s most internationally recognised auteurs, including Darezhan Omirbayev, Adilkhan Yerzhanov and Emir Baigazin. At the same time, Kyrgyz directors continue to examine national traditions and the pressures placed upon women, while Uzbek and Tajik productions increasingly reach international festivals with stories rooted in local history, family life and social transformation.

Check the full list in the link and let us know your favorite Central Asian Movies

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/06/across-steppes-and-borders/

Central Asian cinema remains among the most fascinating and insufficiently explored areas of contemporary moviemaking. The region’s directors frequently work within societies shaped by Soviet history, rapid economic change, inherited customs and the tension between rural traditions and increasingly globalised urban life. Their stories address migration, corruption, ecological destruction, patriarchal violence and economic inequality, although they also find space for humour, poetry, music and the beauty of everyday existence.

Kazakhstan has produced some of the region’s most internationally recognised auteurs, including Darezhan Omirbayev, Adilkhan Yerzhanov and Emir Baigazin. At the same time, Kyrgyz directors continue to examine national traditions and the pressures placed upon women, while Uzbek and Tajik productions increasingly reach international festivals with stories rooted in local history, family life and social transformation.

Check the full list in the link and let us know your favorite Central Asian Movies

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/05/lord-of-mysteries-2025/

After the success of “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” and “The King’s Avatar”, Xiong Ke directs another action-supernatural series. Based on the novel written by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, “Lord of Mysteries” explores people who have powers beyond understanding in a world of machinery.

The story begins with Zhou Mingrui, a history student who is suddenly transported into another universe. He wakes up as Klein Moretti, a young man who attempted suicide. Mingrui soon finds clues in Klein’s journal that he was involved in the occult and a grave danger might arise from it. Meanwhile, an investigation is underway for a mysterious death by a certain organization known as the Tingen Nighthawks. The victims are none other than Klein’s university friends, and he was the last person they met. This makes him the key to uncovering the mystery.

Dunn Smith, the captain of the Nighthawks, offers him protection as a member of the organization. But first, he has to become a Beyonder, a person who has access to incredible superpowers. As the main character joins the Nighthawks, he tries to uncover the mystery of what happened to the original Klein and find a way to return as his real self.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the anime

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/05/lord-of-mysteries-2025/

After the success of “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” and “The King’s Avatar”, Xiong Ke directs another action-supernatural series. Based on the novel written by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, “Lord of Mysteries” explores people who have powers beyond understanding in a world of machinery.

The story begins with Zhou Mingrui, a history student who is suddenly transported into another universe. He wakes up as Klein Moretti, a young man who attempted suicide. Mingrui soon finds clues in Klein’s journal that he was involved in the occult and a grave danger might arise from it. Meanwhile, an investigation is underway for a mysterious death by a certain organization known as the Tingen Nighthawks. The victims are none other than Klein’s university friends, and he was the last person they met. This makes him the key to uncovering the mystery.

Dunn Smith, the captain of the Nighthawks, offers him protection as a member of the organization. But first, he has to become a Beyonder, a person who has access to incredible superpowers. As the main character joins the Nighthawks, he tries to uncover the mystery of what happened to the original Klein and find a way to return as his real self.

Check the full review in the link and let us know your thoughts on the anime

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2025/06/film-review-a-night-in-nude-1993-by-takashi-ishii/

Given the title of the movie and the initial scene, in which a woman in a black nightdress enters a bar, removes her panties, and lies down in a booth with her legs spread before the owner, one might expect “A Night in Nude” to be a pinku production. Instead, what Takashi Ishii delivers is a genuine noir that unfolds within a surreal and visually distinctive framework.

“A Night in Nude” may not be particularly nude, but it certainly delivers on the night. Stylish, atmospheric, and narratively unusual, it confirms Ishii’s ability to create a compelling and visually immersive experience without relying heavily on explicit content. It stands out as one of his more restrained and rewarding works, rich in mood and full of noir appeal.

Check the full review in the link in the comments and let us know your thoughts on the film

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2025/06/film-review-a-night-in-nude-1993-by-takashi-ishii/

Given the title of the movie and the initial scene, in which a woman in a black nightdress enters a bar, removes her panties, and lies down in a booth with her legs spread before the owner, one might expect “A Night in Nude” to be a pinku production. Instead, what Takashi Ishii delivers is a genuine noir that unfolds within a surreal and visually distinctive framework.

“A Night in Nude” may not be particularly nude, but it certainly delivers on the night. Stylish, atmospheric, and narratively unusual, it confirms Ishii’s ability to create a compelling and visually immersive experience without relying heavily on explicit content. It stands out as one of his more restrained and rewarding works, rich in mood and full of noir appeal.

Check the full review in the link in the comments and let us know your thoughts on the film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIXOI9aO0GE

The selection ranges from established auteurs such as Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo and Kim Ki-duk to directors including Yang Ik-june, Kim Bo-ra, Yoon Ga-eun, Jeon Go-woon, Lee Ok-seop, Jeong Jae-eun and O Muel.

Among the titles are “Breathless”, “Jiseul”, “House of Hummingbird”, “Take Care of My Cat”, “Microhabitat”, “Han Gong-ju”, “The World of Us”, “Oasis”, “Lucky Chan-sil” and “Maggie”.

We deliberately limited the list to one production from Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo and Kim Ki-duk so that we could include as many different filmmakers as possible.

How many have you seen, and which Korean indie title would you add?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIXOI9aO0GE

The selection ranges from established auteurs such as Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo and Kim Ki-duk to directors including Yang Ik-june, Kim Bo-ra, Yoon Ga-eun, Jeon Go-woon, Lee Ok-seop, Jeong Jae-eun and O Muel.

Among the titles are “Breathless”, “Jiseul”, “House of Hummingbird”, “Take Care of My Cat”, “Microhabitat”, “Han Gong-ju”, “The World of Us”, “Oasis”, “Lucky Chan-sil” and “Maggie”.

We deliberately limited the list to one production from Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo and Kim Ki-duk so that we could include as many different filmmakers as possible.

How many have you seen, and which Korean indie title would you add?