r/CDramasBeyondIdols

🎬 The Movie Club. The idea is simple. Every edition, we'll select a Chinese film and give the community two weeks to watch it. After that, we'll open an official discussion thread. This won't be a fixed recurring event, but rather something that will appear from time to time alongside the sub's regular activities.

The goal is to create a space for more thoughtful conversations about Chinese cinema and the stories it tells, rather than focusing on quick reactions. As we move into this second edition, we're also introducing a short guide with ideas for discussion, mainly for those joining this kind of event for the first time or who aren't used to this format but want to give it a try.

If you have more movie suggestions for the next edition or ideas for improving the activity, please leave them in the comments.

This second edition, we decided to change the time period, setting, and topic, going back to 1993 with the first Chinese film to win the Palme d'Or. This is an epic work of auteur filmmaking, also nominated for the Academy Awards.

Second Selection ----> Farewell My Concubine (霸王别姬) 
1993 - Directed by Chen Kaige

Farewell my Concubine (1993) by Chen Kaige

📖 Synopsis
A breathtakingly intimate romance unfolds against a sweeping backdrop of social upheaval, spanning fifty years of twentieth-century Chinese history. This is a sumptuous saga of passion, fate, and the transcendent possi­bilities of art that follows aspiring actors Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolouas they emerge from a childhood of brutal training to become Beijing-opera stars while the country’s changing political tides engulf them in their own personal tragedies.

📺 Where to Watch
Farewell My Concubine is currently available on Kanopy, Criterion, Prime Video, Mubi for certain regions and can also be found for free on YouTube with subtitles. Be sure to watch the full 171-minute version.

You can watch it on youtube, for free and complete (171 minutes) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tZg-yUSinY&t=1278s

📅 Discussion thread opens: August 7th

✅ How It Works

• Watch the film at your own pace during the next weeks
• On August 7th an official discussion thread will be posted in the subreddit.
• Share your impressions, analysis, questions, and interpretations with the community.
• Feel free to engage with other members' perspectives, whether you agree with them or not.

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📝New here, or have been shy to comment before? This might be for you.

This isn't about writing a formal review. This is a space for people who actually think about what they watch, and that's a lower bar than it sounds. If you finished the film and have an opinion, you already have something worth saying.

⏱️Right when you finish, before the impressions fade, jot a few quick notes:

• The scene, line, or choice that stayed with you and why you think it did
• A moment where the film lost you, or where you disagreed with a character's or the director's choice
• Something you're still turning over and don't have a full answer for yet

You're not writing for an audience here. You're capturing the reaction before your brain smooths it over into something more "acceptable" to say.

🔍When you sit down to comment, a few angles worth exploring instead of a plot summary:

• What is the film actually arguing, if anything: about its characters, its era, its society?
• Where did the craft (pacing, structure, cinematography, score) support that argument, and where did it undercut it?
• Is there a choice narrative or directorial you'd defend even if others push back on it?
• What does this film assume you already know, culturally or historically? Did that work for or against it?
• If you've seen other films from the same director, period, or genre, where does this one sit for you?

You don't need citations or a thesis statement. A sharp, half-formed observation is worth more here than a polished but safe comment. If something bothered you and you can't fully articulate why yet, say that. That's often where the best discussion starts.

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🎯 We hope this becomes an opportunity to discover films that might otherwise go unnoticed and to explore them together through discussion.

Finally, the third part of several posts dedicated to the Reform and Opening Up era is here, ending the 80s quick coverage. If you're new to this saga and want to read the previous posts, you have the general overview in The Reform and Opening Up Era: The Iconic 80s and 90s We See in Period Dramas – PART 1 Introduction, and PART 2: The 80s (I) From Gaokao to Factories and Rural Reform covering the main issues of this decade that aren't mentioned in today's post. These are just some of the topics you'll usually find explored in so-called period dramas.

From PepsiCo to Pierre Cardin: A trial and error period for foreign Investment and Imports

Opening up the economy also meant opening the door to the outside world and dealing with the consequences of more internal reforms. The 1982 Constitution recognized private economy and foreign investment; then came stock trading experiments (Shenzhen 1986, Shanghai 1988) and banking reforms — the People’s Bank became the central bank in 1984, and commercial banks were created.

The 1980s was a learning period for both China and foreign investors, who at the beginning mostly were ethnic Chinese from Hong Kong, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia), and Taiwan, as they shared language and cultural ties that helped build bridges.

Investments were restricted to the Special Economic Zones and Open Cities, relatively small is size, and often in light manufacturing, electronics assembly, and consumer goods such as textiles, toys, audio equipment, and food processing. The priority was always earn foreign currency first through exports, then spend it wisely on imports that help industrialize.

C drama The Dream Maker (2026), directed by Sun Hao

There were some European fashion and luxury brands. The Friendship Stores were authorized designated locations that sold these imported goods. Originally, only non-Chinese citizens, diplomats, or Chinese holding Foreign Exchange Certificates could enter and buy them. This was the two-currency system (RMB and FECs), which created a parallel economy throughout the 1980s.

By 1989, ordinary Chinese citizens could finally enter Friendship Stores. However, with the disappearance of FECs in the early 1990s and market liberalization, these stores lost their exclusive character and turned into common department stores, fully open to the public.

In Blossoms Shanghai (set at the beginning of the 90s but with references and flashbacks to the 80s), the big fuss around the national shirt brand Sang Yan is related to one of the most iconic foreign luxury brands that landed in China in 1979: Montagut. This French brand became a phenomenon, with Chinese people dreaming of owning a Montagut polo shirt to “change their image,” and even imitations became hugely popular. Nothing special to international audiences watching the drama, but indeed a very symbolic reference to that era.

C.Drama Blossoms Shanghai (2023-2024), directed by Wong Kai-war

Imports weren’t just about machinery and luxury goods. From Hong Kong came a cultural wave that transformed everyday life: TV dramas, cinema, and especially music. In the early 80s, portable cassette players and pirated tapes brought banned music to the youth — Teresa Teng’s romantic ballads, then rock and Cantopop. Hong Kong TV dramas and cinema soon followed. These imports quietly replaced revolutionary anthems as the mainstream, giving a generation a new soundtrack.

Tourism slowly opened too. In the mid-80s, China began issuing tourist visas to ordinary foreigners, building hotels and training guides. For the first time since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, ordinary foreign tourists could visit China.

City life and social issues

The early 80s also saw the introduction of the “one-child policy”, a population control measure only for Han people, that limited most urban families to a single child. Incentives rewarded compliance, but violators faced fines or job loss. The policy was finally abandoned in 2015.

Cdramas Always on the Move (2024)— Romance in the Alley (2024) — Wonderful World (2026)

In Romance in the Alley, you see siblings fighting over a single room. A returned zhiqing sleeps on a couch while her brother and his wife argue about who has the right to the bedroom. Many urban young people, the “sent-down youth”, had been forcibly sent to rural areas during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) to be “re-educated” through manual labor. The early 80s also saw an estimated 10 to 15 million of them — some with kids now — flood back to the cities, only to find that there were no jobs, no housing, and no social services waiting for them.

This created a profound social crisis and widespread resentment among a lost generation who felt betrayed by the state that had exiled them. The government responded by creating “youth labor service companies” and encouraging self-employment (the getihu policy mentioned in PART 2:The 80s (I) From Gaokao to Factories and Rural Reform). This experience shaped an entire generation’s worldview, creating a group of cynical, pragmatic, and fiercely survival-oriented individuals — a trait you might have also watched on screen.

Cdrama A lifelong Journey (2022), directed by Li Lu, dealing with city life and social issues in the 80s

By the late 80s, that same sense of being left behind — no housing, no stable jobs, broken promises after years of sacrifice — had spread well beyond the zhiqing generation. Runaway inflation, visible corruption among officials, and a widening gap between the reforms many people were promised and the reality they lived in all fed a broader current of frustration. It was this accumulated discontent, not any single grievance, that set the stage for Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Living all these massive transformations in just 12 years, in a country of more than 10 million km² and 1.4 billion people, is indeed beyond imagination. And the wild 90s still await!

The Reform and Opening Up Era: The Iconic 80s and 90s We See in Period Dramas – PART 1 Introduction

PART 2:The 80s (I) From Gaokao to Factories and Rural Reform

LIST OF SOME DRAMAS SET ENTIRELY OR PARTIALLY DURING 1980s OF THE REFORM AND OPENING-UP PERIOD

• Like a Flowing River
• Like a Flowing River 2
• The Lead
• The Dream Maker
• Romance in the Alley
• Wonderful Times
• Zhong Qi (upcoming)
• Miles to Go
• A lifelong Journey
• Always in the Move
• The Youth Memories

The cdrama MEET YOURSELF 去有风的地方 was filmed around Dali in Yunnan province, China.

In May 2026, I visited one of the filming locations = Fengyangyi Village 凤阳邑 which was the base for “Yunmiao Village” in the cdrama. It’s about 15min drive from Dali railway station or 15min drive from Dali ancient town.

Fengyangyi Village is really small but it was an important part of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. You can still hire a horse and go for a ride through this village! Cars and motorbikes cannot drive inside this village. If you’re arriving via taxi, or DiDi (like Uber), you will be dropped off at the main entrance gate and then you will need to find the signs to get to the village – its less than 3min walk uphill.

The most popular place to visit is The Windy Courtyard guesthouse which was where FL Xu Hong Dou stayed for several months in the cdrama. You will recognise this place as it has a cat on the wooden doors – see photo 8. There are two ways to visit this courtyard – pay an entry fee (which I think is 199 CNY?) or book a room. Its available for reservation on Trip.com = Youfeng Courtyard, address is No. 234, Village Group 3, Fengyangyi Natural Village, Liuguanchang Administrative Village, Dali City, Yunnan, China. As the cat doors were closed, I didn’t go inside but if you visit the guesthouse page on Trip.com, you can see what it looks like inside, today.

Since the cdrama was released in January 2023, the village would look very different now – what you see (probably) isn’t in the cdrama. Anyways, I recommend to allocate at least an hour to wander along the main pedestrian strip and explore the alleyways. There are about fifty-odd market stalls selling local handicrafts, tie-dyed Dali style clothing and accessories, fruits and veges etc.. I think its best to visit this village in the morning, maybe have breakfast or brunch here, as there’s many cafes and bakeries where you can grab a coffee and meal. Quite a few places have also hung images of Crystal Liu and Li Xian at their entrance and charge admission to go inside...

Now, is this place worth visiting? Yes! If you’re a fan of the cdrama and have time, then I think it’s a great choice! Although it seems quite commercialised now due to the popularity of the cdrama, it won’t take much of your time to visit and will give you an insight into where cdramas are filmed outside of a studio. When I was here, there were several Chinese tour groups visiting as well which I thought was very interesting! The tour guide was pointing out where the cdrama was filmed and tourists were taking photos!!!

NOTE: Do wear well-gripped shoes as the polished stone pathways can be very slippery in the rain. Luckily, I visited on a sunny day so I had a UV umbrella and sunnies to give me shade!

What I´ve always liked about cdramas is the infinite diversity of themes they tackle. So, if you search a bit, you´ll probably find a series about a topic you like or are list are curious about, even when it means you´ve never imagine that issue would be adressed in the screen. Besides sci-fi, ethnicity, work and professional sector related, development, relashionships, specific time periods, war and so on, you also have environmental dramas.

Personally, this is a theme I´m into from every perspective possible, so I´ll always be there to check a series which includes it somehow, wether from China or any country. Sometimes these productions can be too idealistic and out of touch with reality, or on the contrary, too "documentary-style", ending in dissapointment in both cases.

Among c-dramas, I have identifyed three productions about the topic, all quite recently. Above the Rivers was the first I recall. I wanted to see it because of the novelty of the topic, but there weren´t subs available for the international audience - no surprise uh?. But now, almost two years later there are, so I´m planning to check it in the near future - it starts Gao Weiguang if this makes a difference for some of you :).

Then, I discovered Sunrise on the River because of Huang Zhi Zhong (The Long River, Legend of the Magnate, Ming Dynasty 1566), and I tried 2 episodes but I didn´t have patient in that moment to let things unfold - or perhaps I just wasn´t in the mood for this kind of drama. I´m planning to check it again, but I wonder if some of you have seen it and can share some thoughts about it - is it worthy watching?

The last one is the most recent one, Born to Be Alive. What can I say? A mix of action, drama, thriller, anticorruption, development and, for me, one of the best productions from recent years that deserves to be watched by everyone. It captured my soul during its run and have stayed with me ever since, including bazilions posts, comments and a review. Far from an idealistic depiction or a dry documentary style, it´s one of the most gripping dramas I recall - bonus is based on real events.

So, what´s your take about these dramas and the topic? Do you know about others, old or upcoming ones? I´d like to check them too in that case!

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1. Above the Rivers (《江河之上》) - 2024

Genre: Legal drama, environmental judicial drama, political thriller.

What's it about? Set in the Yangtze River basin, this is China's first legal drama focused on environmental justice. It follows environmental judge Luo Yuan, court advisor Xia Weidong, and other judicial workers as they tackle a series of environmental cases. From illegal logging and waste dumping to trafficking protected species, the team fights pollution, combats corruption, and pushes for judicial reform—all while navigating complex cases based on real-life events.

The role of environmentalism: Environmentalism is the legal battlefield where justice and the law converge.

Director: Zhou Yaping

2. Born to be Alive (《生命树》) - 2026

Genre: Realistic drama, action, ecological thriller.

What's about? In the 1990s, on the harsh Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a young women becomes a key member of an anti-poaching patrol team whose captain misteriously dissapeared while trying to create a protected area. Years later, in the 2010s, as the already developed region faces new threats from corportate minning companies and corruption, they all gather again to uncover the illegal activities, the old mystery and protect the plateau's fragile ecosystem. Review here

The role of environmentalism: Environmentalism is the call to action for a generation of grassroots guardians.

Director: Li Xue (Like a Flowing River 2, Created in China, Nirvara in Fire, The Disguiser)

3. Sunrise on the River (《江河日上》) - 2024

Genre: Political drama, environmental suspense, thriller.

What's about? In the wetland city of Qijiang, a series of environmental crises - from water pollution to wetland destruction - erupts after the deputy mayor in charge of environmental protection dies under mysterious circumstances. University professor Zheng Hanjiang, an expert in the field, is thrust into the political firestorm as the new deputy mayor. Facing fierce opposition and tangled interests, he must navigate the treacherous waters of local politics to tackle pollution and save the city's environment.

The role of environmentalism: Environmentalism is the political puzzle that must be solved against all odds.

Director: Han Xiaojun

This 2019 drama fits right in with Sun Li's body of work. She's the protagonist here alongside Mark Chao (Zhao Youting), backed by a strong supporting cast that includes Yu Hewei, Cheng Minghao (edited to correct name) and Gao Ye, among others. Once again, we get a female lead navigating professional life within the corporate ecosystem, this time in the construction industry.

The drama follows Su Xiao's journey as she fights to uphold her principles, climb the corporate ladder, and survive the ruthless power struggles within a massive construction conglomerate. Beyond her individual arc, the series offers a broader portrait of the modern Chinese workplace and the challenges faced by professionals, particularly women, in a male-dominated industry. The dynamic between Sun Li's and Mark Chao's characters is the cherry on top.

Gritty realism, strong acting, and intelligent writing all make for a gripping series. A must watch for Sun Li fans, and for anyone looking for a well-made workplace drama.