Top 20: Spotlighting my favorite Asian films

How does one define Asia? Culturally, no continent on the planet is arguably more intricate and seemingly incomprehensible than Asia. Where the Western gaze often zooms in on its mysterious and sometimes misunderstood Oriental ethos, sizing up the Asian character or its soul can be a monumental undertaking in light of its ancient history, ageless traditions, and diverse belief systems.

For me, nothing can be more vividly potent in fostering understanding and appreciation of Asia in all its complexity than the portrayal of its people or its societies at large through the camera of its most accomplished filmmakers.

Or, if you’d ask me what’s the most engaging and enriching way—at once entertaining and enlightening—to encapsulate life-and-death issues of Asians or the universality of the Asian experience, let me present my personal list of favorite movies. The stories of its characters and their circumstances—by dint of their creators’ genius and style—have not only disturbed and delighted me in equal measure but also defined for me intuitively the world of Asians. Though arbitrary, my list with its order of preference defines as well my subjective sense of what world-class cinema means.

Needless to say, this list is never definitive, reflecting as it does only the movies that I have seen so far, something that I will remain fond of watching over and over again:

1) The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, & The World of Apu 
    by Satyajit Ray: India
2) Okuribito (Departures) 
     by Yōjirō Takita: Japan
3) Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (Three Years Without God) 
     by Mario O’ Hara: Philippines
4) Sansho the Bailiff 
     by Kenji Mizoguchi: Japan
5) Ikiru (To Live) 
     by Akira Kurosawa: Japan
6) Tokyo Story 
     by Yasujirō Ozu: Japan
7) Bona 
     by Lino Brocka: Philippines 
8) Himala (Miracle) 
     by Ishmael Bernal: Philippines
9) The Circle 
     by Jafar Panahi: Iran
10) Dà Hóng Dēnglóng Gāogāo Guà (Raise the Red Lantern) 
     by Zhang Yimou: China
11) Maborosi / Maboroshi no Hikari (Phantasmic Light) 
     by Hirokazu Kore-eda: Japan
12) Madeo (Mother) 
     by Bong Joon-ho: South Korea
13) City After Dark 
      by Ishmael Bernal: Philippines
14) The Ballad of Narayama 
      by Shohei Imamura: Japan
15) Bayaning 3rd World (Third World Hero) 
      by Mike de Leon: Philippines 
16) A Separation 
     by Asghar Farhadi: Iran 
17) Oldboy 
     by Chan-wook Park: South Korea 
18) Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (You Were Weighed But Found Wanting) 
     by Lino Brocka: Philippines 
19) Zatoichi 
     by Takeshi Kitano: Japan 
20) Hero 
     by Zhang Yimou: China
 

Like life, this list shall go on...