One of the best ways to discover new movies from other countries is to see which ones do well at international awards ceremonies. In the United States, foreign films almost never get a theatrical release except sometimes in small art theaters in big cities. Even then, the selection is often heavily skewed: you might find art films like The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) or films from auteur directors like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019), but this is only a tiny fraction of the thousands of movies made around the world.
East Asia, in particular, is home to some of the world’s most vibrant film cultures, but only a few of these films make their way abroad each year. However, now that spring has passed, it’s the perfect time to review the major winners of the film awards season in East Asia. Here are the movies that swept this year’s film awards ceremonies in Japan, South Korea, and China.
Drive My Car
Drive My Car was the most internationally successful film on this list and will likely be familiar to many readers from the Academy Awards, where it won Best International Feature Film. In Drive My Car, Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima from The Wind Rises and Creepy), a famous actor and theater director, loses both his wife and his career at the same time. Years later, he decides to direct a new play — and his wife’s old lover ends up in the leading role. As Yūsuke deals with the pain of old memories, he finds a kindred spirit in his female chauffeur Misaki (Tōko Miura from Lesson of the Evil).
The film was directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and released in Japan on August 20, 2021; it’s available to stream on HBO Max, to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, or purchase on DVD.
Drive My Car had a major presence at awards ceremonies in the past year, especially in Japan, where it swept many of the major ceremonies. Its gargantuan list of accolades from all around the world, far too long to list in detail, is summarized below:
- 10 wins for Best Film
- 10 wins for Best Screenplay
- 23 wins for Best International / Foreign Language Film
- 5 wins for Best Director
- 4 wins for Best Actor
- 1 win for Best Supporting Actress
- 1 win for Best Cinematography
- 1 win for Best Lighting
- 1 win for Best Sound
- 1 win for Best Editing
Escape from Mogadishu
Escape from Mogadishu is set (unsurprisingly) in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1991, where members of the South Korean embassy are lobbying for their country’s acceptance into the United Nations. Somalia, though, is in a period of political instability; before long, riots break out against the government, and the city is taken over by violent revolutionaries. The city loses electricity and water, people are indiscriminately shot in the streets, and homes are broken into and looted by armed rebels. The South Korean ambassador (Kim Yoon-seok, The Chaser), his rival ambassador from North Korea (Huh Joon-ho, Silmido), and all the embassy staff must somehow escape the city before they are killed in the crossfire.
The thrilling action drama is made by prominent South Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan, who last released the explosive and award-winning historical blockbuster The Battleship Island (2017). It was South Korea’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
Escape from Mogadishu was released in South Korea on July 28, 2021; it’s available to stream on Kanopy (which is free for most in the USA through their local library) and on DVD. Because of its political intrigue, emotional drama, and thrilling action, the film dominated the awards season in South Korea and did well abroad too. Its impressive list of accolades is summarized below:
- The Grand Prize at the Baeksang Arts Awards
- 4 wins for Best Film
- 2 wins for Best Director
- 2 wins for Technical Awards
- 4 wins for Best Supporting Actor
- 2 wins for Best Art Direction
- 1 win for Best Screenplay
- 3 wins for Best Cinematography
- 2 wins for Best Music
- Star of the Year Award at the Buil Film Awards
- Popular Star Award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards
- Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film at the Blue Dragon Film Awards
The Book of Fish
The Book of Fish follows the life of radical court scholar Jeong Yak-jeon (Sol Kyung-gu, Peppermint Candy, Silmido) after his exile to a small island because of a crackdown on “controversial” beliefs in the early 1800s. On the island, he meets a local fisherman (Byun Yo-han, Mr. Sunshine) who wants to learn more about the world. In exchange for his new friend’s help documenting the local marine life of the island, Jeong teaches him philosophy. The Book of Fish is a contemplative drama about history, life, and social inequality.
The Book of Fish was directed by Lee Joon-ik, whose The King and the Clown (2005) is one of the highest-grossing films in South Korean history. It was released on March 31, 2021, in South Korea and is, unfortunately, not currently available to stream in the United States. Its many accolades are summarized below:
- The Grand Prize at the Baeksang Arts Awards
- 2 wins for Best Film
- 5 wins for Best Director
- 4 wins for Best Actor
- 1 win for Best New Actress
- 3 wins for Best Screenplay
- 1 win for Best Editing
- 2 wins for Best Cinematography
- 2 wins for Best Music
Cliff Walkers
Cliff Walkers (also known as Impasse) follows four Chinese agents in the early 1930s on a secret mission behind enemy lines. Their goal is to locate a man with proof of war crimes committed by the Japanese Army, take him home, and expose these atrocities to the international community.
The historical spy thriller is directed by the legendary Zhang Yimou, best known internationally for Red Sorghum (1988), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and The Great Wall (2016). Zhang’s most recent films have been largely overlooked by the international film community and raised some eyebrows because of their explicitly propagandistic quality. Still, within China, Cliff Walkers has been a critical success, and it was selected as the country’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 94th Academy Awards.
In China, Cliff Walkers was released on April 30, 2021; it is available to stream on Rakuten Viki or rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video. At the Asian Film Awards and China’s biggest film awards ceremony, the Golden Rooster Awards, it received the following accolades:
- 1 win for Best Director
- 1 win for Best Cinematography
- 1 win for Best Editing
- 1 win for Best Actor
Honorable Mentions
Last of the Wolves is a Japanese crime film about power struggles in the yakuza, directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and starring Tori Matsuzaka and Ryohei Suzuki. It received special praise for its acting, including 7 award wins for Best Supporting Actor.
The Falls is a Taiwanese drama about a mother and teenage daughter whose relationship becomes strained as they quarantine together during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is directed by Chung Mong-hong and stars Alyssa Chia and Gingle Wang. At the Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan’s biggest film awards ceremony, The Falls received wins for Best Feature Film, Best Leading Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Film Score. It is available to stream on Netflix in the United States.
Kingmaker is a Korean film that depicts the tension between a politician who wants to make the world a better place and his ruthless political strategist who will do anything to win an election. It was released in January of 2022, so it will be eligible for far more awards later this year, but so far, it has already won Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards. It is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.