7 of the best films starring British East Asian and Southeast Asian talent
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The recent surge of Asian-centered movies in Hollywood with the likes of Minari and The Farewell have inspired the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) community in the UK to demand their film industry for more on-screen representation. Back in January 2020, British East and Southeast Asian media advocacy group BEATS came up with a new representation measurement known as the BEATS test.
The goal is to decide whether a movie or a TV show has a great ESEA representation onscreen — much like the Riz test for Muslim representation and the Bechdel test for the portrayal of women.
While the result is still far from ideal, as the number of movies centring on East and Southeast Asian characters is still quite low, some British actors of ESEA descent have been paving the way for more on-screen representation in quite a while. Here we've rounded up 7 of the best recent films with British East and Southeast Asian leads.
First Cow
A tender portrait of the American dream and comradeship, Kelly Reichardt's latest feature First Cow is loosely adapted from the novel The Half-Life by Reichardt's frequent collaborator Jon Raymond. The story revolves around two men, Otis "Cookie" Figowitz (John Magaro) and King-Lu, played by the understated but excellent Orion Lee, who forges a friendship in 1820 Oregon while trying to chase their version of the American dream by selling baked goods.
Though it tackles the topic of capitalism, it's the relationship between Cookie and King-Lu that becomes the highlight and gives the movie a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Watch First Cow on MUBI from July 9
Raya and the Last Dragon
Directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada and written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim, Raya and the Last Dragon marks Disney's first foray into Southeast Asian cultures and traditions. The movie centres on the titular Raya as she embarks on an epic adventure to reunite the broken land of Kumandra with the help of the mythical dragon Sisu.
British-Chinese actor Gemma Chan plays Namaari, Raya's arch-nemesis, while her fellow Marvel co-star Benedict Wong plays Tong. It's an action-packed animated movie with a hopeful message about trust and the importance of unity.
Watch Raya and the Lats Dragon on Disney+
Lilting
In Hong Khau's feature directorial debut Lilting, a young Chinese-Cambodian man named Kai (played by Andrew Leung) dies and leaves behind his mother (Cheng Pei-Pei), as well as his boyfriend of four years Richard (Ben Whishaw). Though the two don't speak the same language, their desire to stay connected to Kai eventually leads them to develop a beautiful bond.
Both melancholic and tender, Lilting shows how love and mutual understanding can conquer darkness and any cultural differences.
Watch Lilting on Amazon Prime Video
Love and Monsters
Love and Monsters plays out exactly like what you probably think it will — a lo-fi monster movie with a little hint of a sweet love story. Directed by Michael Matthews, the movie follows Joel Dawson (Dylan O'Brien) as he tries to reunite with his high school sweetheart Aimee (Jessica Henwick) seven years after the Monsterpocalypse.
Henwick brings gravitas and emotions to her role, while O'Brien offers charm and innocence. If you're in the mood for some adventure full of weird giant monsters, you could do a lot worse than watching Love and Monsters.
Watch Love and Monsters on Netflix
Crazy Rich Asians
Based on Kevin Kwan's 2013 hit novel of the same name, Crazy Rich Asians tells the story of a young professor named Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) who accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young (the British-Malaysian Henry Golding) to Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Unbeknownst to her, Nick comes from an ultra-wealthy Singaporean-Chinese family with a mother who's difficult to win over.
Funny, vibrant, and full of heart, Crazy Rich Asians marks a big step forward for Asian representation in Hollywood, as it's the first major romantic comedy with all cast of Asian descent.
Watch Crazy Rich Asians on Netflix
The Darkest Universe
There's no one quite like the British-Japanese actor and filmmaker Will Sharpe. Best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's series Flowers, Sharpe has been exploring the human psyche and mental health in ways that are both whimsical and dark.
His sophomore directorial feature The Darkest Universe is no exception. Centering on a guilt-ridden and lonely trader Zac as he embarks on a journey across the UK canals, the movie is a surreal and hilarious exploration of grief and depression, with a stellar performance by Sharpe at the centre of the story.
Watch The Darkest Universe on Amazo Prime Video
Monsoon
Hong Khau's second feature Monsoon shares the same tenderness of his previous movie Lilting. The movie follows Kit (Henry Golding), a British man of Vietnamese descent, who returns to Saigon for the first time in over 30 years. He left the country with his parents when he was around six years old, right at the end of the Vietnam war.
Upon his return, not only does he struggle to remember much of his Vietnamese heritage, but he also has to face a sense of displacement that many generations of immigrants must feel whenever they come home to their native country.
While the movie unfolds quietly, Khau's well-observed script and Golding's excellent performance always give the movie emotional depth in each scene.
Watch Monsoon on Amazon Prime Video
This month, Digital Spy Magazine counts down the 50 greatest LGBTQ+ TV characters since the Stonewall riots. Read every issue now with a 1-month free trial, only on Apple News+.
Interested in Digital Spy's weekly newsletter? Sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox – and don't forget to join our Watch This Facebook Group for daily TV recommendations and discussions with other readers.
You Might Also Like
