Among the steady stream of new Chinese movies opening in America, “A Beautiful Life” stands out — rather than an overstuffed, jingoistic historical tale or martial-arts blowout, it’s a contemporary romantic melodrama with a plaintive pop soundtrack that might call to mind “Terms of Endearment,” “The Other Sister” or, most strongly, a Nora Ephron comedy minus most of the laughs. (There’s also a bit of “Memento” thrown in.) It’s no great shakes, but a substantial number of American moviegoers — soft-hearted, slightly masochistic and largely abandoned by Hollywood — would like it if they found their way to it. The first hour, especially, is charming, before the balance shifts from romance to melodrama to, in the final minutes, the kind of maudlin crescendo that Asian audiences are accustomed to. The director, Andrew Lau, gives further proof of his versatility, having already shown that he can make very good gangster movies (“Infernal Affairs”) and so-so kung-fu epics (“Legend of the Fist,” which opened in the United States last month). He practices heroic restraint and delicacy, given the five main characters he’s been handed: one’s blind, one’s autistic, one’s mute, one has early-onset dementia and one’s a healthy, bitter drunk. Mr. Lau is helped by his charismatic stars, Shu Qi and Liu Ye, both of whom are very appealing within the narrow range set for them. Mr. Liu plays an upright cop who’s slowly losing his memory and leaves himself notes to remind him of his daily tasks; Ms. Shu has the Holly Golightly role as a real estate agent trying to strike it rich in Beijing so that she can support her parasitic Hong Kong family. (One not very convincing theme of the film is Beijing incorruptibility versus Hong Kong decadence.) She’s a bit forced and shrill in her drunk scenes, but otherwise she underplays adroitly and flashes some sly humor.

This is a story of a misbehaved high school son who will create an affectionate bond with his father who is reincarnated in the form of his friend after his death. Kang WonTak is a high school student who had a bad relationship with his father. Kang Wontak’s father, Kang YoungGue died the day before he was released from jail. At his father’s funeral, WonTak said “Are you happy that you are going alone?” and ran from the funeral. YoungGue meets an angel and told him that, “I want to be next to my son, even for a second.” The angel gave him a chance and changed (rebirth) YoungGue into WonTak’s class friend Ha DongHoon. However it was hard for the 50-year-old man to get used to living the life of an 18-year-old high school student while doing everything he can to get close to his estranged son.

"Postman to Heaven" is a co-production between South Korea and Japan. Jae-jun (K-pop band TVXQ member Hero) delivers letters to heaven from those who can't get over the loss of their loved ones. One day Ha-na (Han Hyo-joo), who writes to her late boyfriend, discovers Jae-jun's secret identity. He offers her a part-time job assisting him, and they set off on a 14-day journey.

A movie from the ancient novel of satire and humor about Kim Seon Dal who sold off the River Daedong. Kim Seon Dal is a genius swindler, possessing an alluring appearance and boldness. He works with Bo Won, Female Buddhist Yoon, and Gyeon. The swindler team is famous nationwide. The team decides to steal tobacco which is the most expensive traded product. For their plan, they have to deceive the most powerful man Sung Dae Ryeon.

It is Areum’s first day of work at a small publisher. Her boss Bongwan loved and recently broke up with the woman who previously worked there. Today too, the married Bongwan leaves home in the dark morning and sets off...

Narasimha is a man on the run with his one-year-old son. He reaches Kumbakonam and stays at the house of the village temple's dharma karta's house. But while there, he bumps into Gowri who seems to dislike him for some...

In a love triangle that miraculously mirrors her mother's romance years ago, a young woman lets her heart lead.

Chisato and Mahiro are at a loss again since they have failed to pay their insurance plan on time - thus, they are temporarily suspended from work. At the same time, the brothers, Yuri and Makoto, part-time assassins, are at a loss since they don't get many jobs! The male duo have heard a rumor that if they take out Chisato and Mahiro, they could be promoted to full-time assassins; thus, they decide to go for it! As Chisato and Mahiro navigate their adult finances, including part-time work, the brothers are closing in on them!

(Source: Japanese = Babywalkure.com)