Cinema Escapist

Explore and connect the world through a cinematic lens | International film reviews & commentary. RT/Likes≠Endorsements.

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

With its thinly veiled depiction of the Iraq War, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDDLE EAST #欢迎来龙餐馆 has topped China's box office & gotten buzz in Anglophone media for its political undertones.

Learn about what the movie's actually like in our review!

https://t.co/LmyZwLsNJj

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

With dialogue in Teochew instead of Mandarin, DEAR YOU became an unexpected hit in China & Southeast Asia. Amidst charges of propaganda—the movie shows continuity and constraints for China's influence efforts, not a game change...learn more in our article!
https://t.co/bA47TiN6Yx

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

AFTERWORD is a "capable and gripping" indie film that bridges #Taipei and #NYC - learn more about it in @BrianHioe's review, and catch it Aug 8 at #AAIFF49 thanks to @AsianCineVision

https://t.co/qUna5b4q8S

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

.@itsjiannem talks to director Brian Hung about his film LET'S HAVE A CUP OF DOODH PATTI CHAI empathetically challenges stereotypes about #HongKong's ethnic minorities. Read more here!

https://t.co/gIvOAlLZHp

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

AKASHI chronicles a Japanese-Canadian filmmaker's re-exploration of family and relationships with echoes of PAST LIVES.

Learn more in @brianhioe's review of the movie, which screens August 1 in NYC at #AAIFF49 thanks to @AsianCineVision+@AsiaSocietyNY!

https://t.co/KT04mXktJY

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Starring Justin H. Min, Korean indie film JOURNEY THERE offers an empathetic view of intergenerational connection — learn more in @itsjiannem's review of the movie, which screened at @NYAFF 2026!

https://t.co/qjlNT2bBst

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

From renowned director Raymond Red, MANILA'S FINEST offers a sepia-toned look back at the Philippines' tumultuous 1970s. Learn more in @itsjiannem's review of the film, which screens Jul 22 at the @NYAFF!

https://t.co/mU4wEuGONZ

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

HALLAN is the latest Korean film to address the Jeju 4.3 Uprising, in which South Korea's government killed tens of thousands of Jeju civilians before the Korean War.

Learn more about the movie—which screened at @NYAFF —in @itsjiannem's review.

https://t.co/T1ylXeBq8M

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Starring Kai Ko, I BLEW OUT THE CANDLES BEFORE MAKING A WASH screens at 2026's @NYAFF on July 22. Learn more about the movie in @BrianHioe's review!

https://t.co/g5L0XiIea3

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Centered on a big white dog, GOHAN is the latest movie from @gdh559, the #Thai studio behind hits like BAD GENIUS & HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES. Learn more about the movie—which screens at @NYAFF on Jul 21/22—in @BrianHioe's review!

https://t.co/jYc6Ckt4ie

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Featuring a noteworthy soundtrack by @Sonia_Calico, LAST NIGHT IN TAIPEI screens at 2026's @NYAFF on July 19. Learn more about the movie in @BrianHioe's review!

https://t.co/e8n8rxTcmZ

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

4 TIGERS is an action packed Thai spaghetti Western that also jabs at Thailand's history of military meddling in politics—learn more about it in our review, and catch it at the 2026 @NYAFF !

https://t.co/2BtCVuwren

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

COLONY is the latest #zombie movie from TRAIN TO BUSAN director #YeonSangHo — learn more about the movie in our review here, and if you're in the US catch it at @NYAFF on July 10 + theatrical release starting Aug 28 thanks to @wellgousa.

https://t.co/1ki21E8Cif

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-da's latest film SHEEP IN THE BOX premiered at #Cannes last month and has started to get theatrical releases worldwide.

Read @itsjiannem's review of the movie to learn more!

https://t.co/JXZ2zAbX8b

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

OPERATION HADAL is famed Hong Kong director #DanteLam's followup to 2018's hugely successful military action epic Operation Red Sea. Read our review to learn why this movie makes the Chinese navy look like something out of Transformers 3!

https://t.co/OFcMkWb8rV

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Starring #ParkJiHoon and #YooHaeJin THE KING'S WARDEN has become the highest-grossing movie in #Korean box office history. Learn more about this movie—which puts a new twist on a historical tale—in @itsjiannem's review! https://t.co/79VY1FtSZf

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

EN ROUTE TO transcends coming-of-age tropes to explore the systemic challenges facing young Korean women. Learn more in @itsjiannem's interview with the director YOO JAE-IN following the film's screening at @HKIFFS

https://t.co/LJsa96q9HF

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

With its story about a girl forced to bake a cake for Saddam Hussein's birthday, #Iraqi film THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE is a timely tragicomedy about innocence caught between authoritarianism and uncaring foreign intervention. Learn more in our review:

https://t.co/0oHvt2TaBq

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

As @BrianHioe highlights in this review, BLIND LOVE is just the latest #Taiwanese movie to explore queer desire through the lens of parents. The movie streams in the US starting Jun 19 via @filmmvmtplus.

https://t.co/JaPKvaVD01

[Cinema Escapist @CinemaEscapist]

Want to watch some movies from the #Philippines? Check out our list of 2025's best #Filipino movies!

https://t.co/pT9xZTkd4M

#JoshuaGarcia #KimChiu #BelleMariano #PauloAvelino #DingdongDantes #PioloPascual #MaricelSoriano #JerichoRosales