Best Films from Rest of Asia Poll

Wonders in the Dark is having their "Rest of Asia" film poll. The countries covered are South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, North Korea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

There is a wealth of rich cinematic works from these countries and a Top 20 is not enough to do justice especially since it is easy to make a list consisting entirely of films from South Korea and Philippines. Lav Diaz could easily take over half of this list on his own. However, this list is a bit more inclusive and consists of films from 9 out of the possible 18 countries eligible for the poll.

Top 20 Films from the Rest of Asia Poll

1. Manila in the Claws of Light (1975, Philippines, Lino Brocka)
2. Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
3. The Housemaid (1960, South Korea,  Kim Ki-young)
4. Memories of Murder (2003, South Korea, Bong Joon Ho)
5. Insiang (1976, Philippines, Lino Brocka)
6. Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004, Philippines, Lav Diaz)
7. Right Now, Wrong Then (2015, South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)
8. Tirador (Slingshot, 2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)
9. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
10. Sepet (2004, Malaysia, Yasmin Ahmad)
11. Made in Bangladesh (2019, Bangladesh, Rubaiyat Hossain)
12. The Missing Picture (2013, Cambodia, Rithy Panh)
13. ILO ILO (2013, Singapore, Anthony Chen)
14. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993, Vietnam, Anh Hung Tran)
15. Between Two Worlds (2009, Sri Lanka, Vimukthi Jayasundara)
16. The Salt in our Waters (2020, Bangladesh, Rezwan Shahriar Sumit)
17. Burning (2018, South Korea, Lee Chang-dong)
18. Wonderful Town (2007, Thailand, Aditya Assarat)
19. From What is Before (2014, Philippines, Lav Diaz)
20. Woman on Fire Looks for Water (2009, Malaysia, Woo Ming Jin)

Top 20 via country breakdown:
Philippines: 5
South Korea: 4
Thailand: 3
Bangladesh: 2
Malaysia: 2
Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka: 1

Asian Films

The 12 films from the Asian region of the 2014 Movie World Cup have been selected. Australia is now playing in the Asian zone and not Oceania for the World Cup. Therefore, its films are included along with the other three Asian nations.

The three films from the four nations are selected as per the following criteria:

Film 1: previously seen film from 2005 - 2013
Film 2: unseen film from 2005 - 2013
Film 3: film from 1960 - 2004

Australia 

Film 1: Snowtown (2011, Justin Kurzel)
Film 2: The Hunter (2011, Daniel Nettheim)
Film 3: The Last Wave (1977, Peter Weir)

Iran 

Film 1: This is Not a Film (2011, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb/Jafar Panahi)
Film 2: The White Meadows (2011, Mohammad Rasoulof)
Film 3: Taste of Cherry (1997, Abbas Kiarostami)

Japan

Film 1: Like Father, Like Son (2013, Hirokazu Koreeda)
Film 2: Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013, Sion Sono)
Film 3: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960, Mikio Naruse)

South Korea

Film 1: In Another Country (2012, Hong Sang-soo)
Film 2: The Day He Arrives (2011, Hong Sang-soo)
Film 3: The Housemaid (1960, Ki-young Kim)

In contrast to previous World Cup tournaments, the Asian nations that have qualified have a good cinematic history. This will make for some excellent viewing.

On paper, out of the four nations, Iran appears to have the best chance of going furthest in the tournament. But there are a lot of films to watch. Plenty of chances for an upset or two.