A City of Sadness (Hong Kong/Taiwan, 1989)

A meditative look into the country’s transition from the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, to its secession from mainland China in 1949 and beginning of nearly 40 years of martial law. Formally rigorous approach, along with a contemplative and mournful tone, were used for chronicling how each seemingly positive development, which, at that point, provided reason for hope for a more peaceful future, eventually always led to tragedy.

A City of Sadness is a striking story about one family's journey through some of the hardest years in Taiwanese history. In one of the main roles we have the outstanding Tony Leung, who's been in great films like In the Mood for Love (2000) and 2046 (2004). This film is spoiled with great actors who give much credibility to some really horrific events, and watching this film feels like an essential cultural achievement.  

Genre: Drama

Black Rain (Japan, 1989)

Mr and Mrs Shizuma, and their niece Yasuko, make their way through the ruins of Hiroshima, just after the atomic bomb has dropped. Five years later, Yasuko is living with her aunt and uncle, and her senile grandmother, in a village containing many of the bomb survivors. Yasuko does not appear to be affected by the bomb, but the Shizuma's are worried about her marriage prospects, as she could succumb to radiation sickness at any time.

Black Rain won't cheer anyone up. It won't put a smile on your face or fill you even with a glimpse of hope. The haunting images of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb are horrific, and we are soon left to deal with the agony of the long and painful aftermath. It's a realistic portrayal of what was left of many peoples lives after an atomic bomb.

Grim and effective. Without a doubt one of the best films I've seen dealing with the Hiroshima bomb, and I'm grateful for being able to see director Shohei Imamura (The Eel) tackle this difficult subject. 

Genre: Drama

Violent Cop (Japan, 1989)

Kitano plays sociopathic detective Azuma, a Dirty Harry-type whose single-mindedness leads him to self-destruction. After the suicide of his friend and colleague Iwaki (a vice cop who was involved with drugs), and the kidnapping of his sister by yakuza gangsters, Azuma breaks all the rules of ethical conduct. He responds to every situation with violence, and resorts to unethical methods if they produce results.

Violent Cop is the directorial debut by now famed actor and critically acclaimed filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, who starred in films such as Battle Royale (2000) and Hana-bi (1997). Violent Cop is in many ways the type of movie he would continue to make for years to come; whether it's the Yakuza, young thugs or a corrupt police force, Kitano is up against them all by himself and everyone standing in his way is about to have a really bad day.

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama

The Killer (Hong Kong, 1989)

Chow Yun-fat plays the assassin Ah Jong, who accidentally damages the eyes of the singer Jennie during a shootout. He later discovers that if Jennie does not have an expensive operation soon, she will go blind. To get the money for Jennie, Ah Jong decides to perform one last hit. Meanwhile, the police detective Li who has been tracking Ah Jong for a long time, is determined to bring him to justice.

Director John Woo has made some of Hong Kong's best action films, and The Killer is one of his biggest highlights. Great shoot-outs and bodies being shredded by bullets are some of the key ingredients in this violence fest. You can clearly see how his action scenes influenced films in the following years, such as Heat from 1995, with a plot that jumps back and forth between the equally likeable good and bad guys, while having the story-threads erupt beautifully in slow-motion bullet-storms that would even make the Wachowski's green with envy.  

Genre: Action/Crimer/Thriller

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Japan, 1989)

A strange man known only as the "metal fetishist", who seems to have an insane compulsion to stick scrap metal into his body, is hit and possibly killed by a Japanese "salaryman", out for a drive with his girlfriend. The salaryman then notices that he is being slowly overtaken by some kind of disease that is turning his body into scrap metal.

Tetsuo is the film that introduced me to the mind of famed director Shinya Tsukamoto, and after that, it's been one long, happy love story. If the description above doesn't make you want to watch this movie, then I don't know what will. Though certainly not a film for everyone, being filmed in black & white and a little slow in the beginning, but those who stay will discover a twisted, disturbing story with surprisingly enjoyable practical special-effects and body horror madness. Some scenes really are among the most insane things that ever have happened in the history of cinema.

Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi