1 South-East Asian Collection
by Ucronia | created - 20 Feb 2014 | updated - 24 Feb 2023 | PublicA list of Films I have seen set in this Region or made by Directors from this Area, including , Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos the Philippines and Vietnam in that order
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Lady (2011)
R | 132 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett, Jonathan Woodhouse
Votes: 11,288 | Gross: $0.36M
2. Beyond Rangoon (1995)
R | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Laura is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma. After losing her passport at a political rally, she... See full summary »
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Patricia Arquette, U Aung Ko, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray
Votes: 5,447 | Gross: $5.75M
3. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, War
British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
Director: David Lean | Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Votes: 233,234 | Gross: $44.91M
4. Objective, Burma! (1945)
Approved | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A platoon of special ops are tasked to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station, but getting out isn't as easy.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias
Votes: 5,548
5. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands
Votes: 59,125 | Gross: $34.70M
6. The Missing Picture (2013)
Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary
Rithy Panh uses clay figures, archival footage, and his narration to recreate the atrocities Cambodia's Khmer Rouge committed between 1975 and 1979.
Director: Rithy Panh | Stars: Randal Douc, Jean-Baptiste Phou
Votes: 3,518 | Gross: $0.05M
7. Un barrage contre le Pacifique (2008)
116 min | Drama
A troubled mother's spirit crumbles when her adult children strike out for independence. Feeling abandoned she contemplates taking drastic action.
Director: Rithy Panh | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Gaspard Ulliel, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Randal Douc
Votes: 868
8. Holy Lola (2004)
128 min | Drama
The trials and tribulations of a French couple's efforts to adopt an orphan baby in Cambodia.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Jacques Gamblin, Isabelle Carré, Bruno Putzulu, Lara Guirao
Votes: 759
9. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,801 | Gross: $0.49M
10. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Romance, War
A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Bembol Roco
Votes: 22,868 | Gross: $10.28M
11. The Rocket (2013)
96 min | Drama
Laos. In a land ravaged by war and exploitation, a boy whose family believe he is cursed must redeem himself by taking part in a dangerous rocket competition.
Director: Kim Mordaunt | Stars: Sitthiphon Disamoe, Loungnam Kaosainam, Suthep Po-ngam, Boonsri Yindee
Votes: 3,201
12. Norte, the End of History (2013)
TV-MA | 250 min | Crime, Drama
An embittered law student commits a brutal double murder; a family man takes the fall and is forced into a harsh prison sentence; a mother and her two children wander the countryside looking for some kind of redemption.
Director: Lav Diaz | Stars: Sid Lucero, Angeli Bayani, Archie Alemania, Soliman Cruz
Votes: 2,285
13. Metro Manila (2013)
Not Rated | 115 min | Crime, Drama
This riveting crime thriller follows Oscar, a recent emigrant to Manila who gets pulled into a harrowing world of corruption and violence when he takes a job as an armored car driver to support his family (in Tagalog w/ English subtitles).
Director: Sean Ellis | Stars: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega, Erin Panlilio
Votes: 9,199
14. Lola (I) (2009)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
Two elderly women bear the consequences of a crime involving their respective grandsons. One is the victim, the other is the suspect. Both weak and poor, they laboriously solicit money in ... See full summary »
Director: Brillante Mendoza | Stars: Anita Linda, Rustica Carpio, Tanya Gomez, Jhong Hilario
Votes: 918
15. Mammoth (2009)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama, Romance
When a father has to leave his family in New York, for a business trip to Thailand in the gaming industry, fatal destinies collid.
Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide
Votes: 10,494 | Gross: $0.01M
16. Two Brothers (2004)
PG | 109 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Guy Pearce, Freddie Highmore, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Oanh Nguyen
Votes: 15,899 | Gross: $18.95M
17. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 243,997 | Gross: $19.02M
18. Brokedown Palace (1999)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Two women are arrested for smuggling while vacationing in Thailand.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman, Jacqueline Kim
Votes: 24,049 | Gross: $10.11M
19. Teddy Bear (2012)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Romance
Dennis, a painfully shy 38-year-old bodybuilder who lives with his mother, sets off to Thailand in search of love.
Director: Mads Matthiesen | Stars: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, David Winters
Votes: 4,792 | Gross: $0.02M
20. Anna and the King (1999)
PG-13 | 148 min | Drama, History, Romance
The story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
Director: Andy Tennant | Stars: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton
Votes: 38,976 | Gross: $39.26M
21. Beautiful Boxer (2003)
Unrated | 118 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Biopic of transgender Muay Thai boxer Parinya Charoenphol who pursued the sport to pay for her gender reassignment surgery.
Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham | Stars: Asanee Suwan, Sorapong Chatree, Orn Anong Panyawong, Nukkid Boonthong
Votes: 3,309 | Gross: $0.00M
22. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy
Dying of kidney disease, a man spends his last, somber days with family, including the ghost of his wife and a forest spirit who used to be his son, on a rural northern Thailand farm.
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Stars: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Natthakarn Aphaiwonk
Votes: 17,382 | Gross: $0.18M
23. The Lover (1992)
R | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 1929 French Indochina, a French teenage girl embarks on a reckless and forbidden romance with a wealthy, older Chinese man, each knowing that knowledge of their affair will bring drastic consequences to each other.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Jane March, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Jeanne Moreau, Frédérique Meininger
Votes: 23,493 | Gross: $4.90M
24. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 709,927 | Gross: $83.47M
25. Boat People (1982)
R | 109 min | Drama
A Japanese photojournalist revisits Vietnam after the Liberation and learns harsh truths about its regime and its "New Economic Zones".
Director: Ann Hui | Stars: George Lam, Cora Miao, Season Ma, Andy Lau
Votes: 1,680
26. Norwegian Wood (2010)
Not Rated | 133 min | Drama, Romance
Toru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
Director: Anh Hung Tran | Stars: Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara, Kengo Kôra
Votes: 12,457 | Gross: $0.01M
27. Cyclo (1995)
123 min | Crime, Drama
When a poor bicycle-taxi driver has his cyclo stolen, he is forced into a life of crime. Meanwhile, his sister becomes a sex worker.
Director: Anh Hung Tran | Stars: Le Van Loc, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Nu Yên-Khê Tran, Quynh Nhu
Votes: 5,488 | Gross: $0.08M
28. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A Vietnamese servant girl, Mui, observes lives within two different Saigon families: the first, a woman textile seller with three boys and a frequently absent husband; the second, a handsome young pianist with his fiancée.
Director: Anh Hung Tran | Stars: Nu Yên-Khê Tran, Man San Lu, Thi Loc Truong, Anh Hoa Nguyen
Votes: 9,981 | Gross: $1.91M
29. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,157 | Gross: $46.36M
30. The Beautiful Country (2004)
R | 125 min | Drama
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Director: Hans Petter Moland | Stars: Damien Nguyen, Bai Ling, Dang Quoc Thinh Tran, Thi Hoa Mai
Votes: 3,975 | Gross: $0.44M
31. The Quiet American (2002)
R | 101 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
An old British reporter vies with a young U.S. doctor for the affections of a beautiful Vietnamese woman.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen, Rade Serbedzija
Votes: 29,732 | Gross: $12.99M
32. Heaven & Earth (1993)
R | 140 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Vietnam War, a Vietnamese woman struggles hustling on the streets, where she comes face to face with those involved in the conflict around her.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Hiep Thi Le, Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor, Bussaro Sanruck
Votes: 15,116 | Gross: $5.86M
33. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava
Votes: 115,901 | Gross: $70.00M
34. Platoon (1986)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
Votes: 439,365 | Gross: $138.53M
35. Indochine (1992)
PG-13 | 160 min | Drama, Romance, War
Eliane adopts Camille, whose Vietnamese parents were friends. In 1930, a French navy officer is interested in Eliane (owns 60km2 plantation) and later in Camille. There's an uprising in Vietnam against French colonial power.
Director: Régis Wargnier | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Perez, Linh-Dan Pham, Jean Yanne
Votes: 10,944 | Gross: $5.73M
36. Red River (2009)
100 min | Drama
A haunting, tragic love story about the aftermath of the American War in Vietnam, and the long-term effect it had on ordinary people's lives. Set in a border town between China and Vietnam,... See full summary »
Director: Jiarui Zhang | Stars: Jingchu Zhang, Nick Cheung, Loletta Lee, Danny Lee
Votes: 197
37. A Barefoot Dream (2010)
Not Rated | 121 min | Drama, Sport
After a series of pipe dream ventures go belly up, retired pro soccer player Kim Won-kang happens to visit East Timor, where he finds children playing the game barefoot on rocky pitches. ... See full summary »
Director: Tae-gyun Kim | Stars: Ko Chang-seok, Gabriel Da Costa, Junior Da Costa, Zefancy Diaz
Votes: 421
38. Lilting (2014)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Romance
A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his 4-year male lover, who grieve but don't speak a lick of each other's language.
Director: Hong Khaou | Stars: Pei-Pei Cheng, Ben Whishaw, Andrew Leung, Peter Bowles
Votes: 6,577 | Gross: $0.02M
39. The Beach (I) (2000)
R | 119 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
On vacation in Thailand, Richard sets out for an island rumored to be a solitary beach paradise.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Daniel York, Patcharawan Patarakijjanon
Votes: 253,667 | Gross: $39.79M
40. 1898: Our Last Men in the Philippines (2016)
R | 105 min | Drama, History, War
In 1898, Spain sends a military squad to the town of Baler, the Philippines, to protect one of the last colonies of the Spanish Empire, to prevent rebellious natives from recovering their ... See full summary »
Director: Salvador Calvo | Stars: Luis Tosar, Javier Gutiérrez, Álvaro Cervantes, Karra Elejalde
Votes: 3,593
41. The Third Wife (2018)
R | 96 min | Drama
In 19th century rural Vietnam, May is ready to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Little does she know that her hidden desires will force her to decide between living in safety and being free.
Director: Ash Mayfair | Stars: Hong Chuong Nguyen, Long Le Vu, Nu Yên-Khê Tran, Maya
Votes: 2,298 | Gross: $0.08M
42. Goodbye Mother (2019)
Unrated | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Nau Van returns home several years after staying in America on the anniversary of his father's death to meet his family. Unbeknownst to them, he returns with his long-term boyfriend, Ian.
Director: Trinh Dinh Le Minh | Stars: Hong Dao, Lanh Thanh, Vo Dien Gia Huy, Nsut Le Thien
Votes: 1,090
43. 14 Days, 12 Nights (2019)
99 min | Drama
Isabelle and her partner adopted Clara in Vietnam, who died several years after. In order to heal her wounds, Isabelle flies to Hanoi to discover the culture of Clara and meet her biological mother, who will later become her friend.
Director: Jean-Philippe Duval | Stars: Anne Dorval, Leanna Chea, François Papineau, Hiep Tran Nghia
Votes: 365
44. Thirteen Lives (2022)
PG-13 | 147 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
A rescue mission is assembled in Thailand where a group of young boys and their soccer coach are trapped in a system of underground caves that are flooding.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman
Votes: 67,487
45. Before, Now & Then (II) (2022)
103 min | Drama, History
Nana, a gentle, beautiful young woman, escapes a violent anti-communist purge. Afterwards she lives comfortably as the second wife of a rich Sundanese man but her past re-emerges in her dreams.
Director: Kamila Andini | Stars: Happy Salma, Laura Basuki, Arswendy Bening Swara, Ibnu Jamil
Votes: 650
Tell Your Friends