With successful acquisition and licensing deals, more Chinese movies and TV shows are becoming available to the international audience. Better yet, there is much more than Kung Fu movies to choose from. The growing popularity of ‘little fresh meat’ means that more young, attractive male actors have been making their way onto the big screen. Here are three Chinese movies on Netflix you can watch now that feature some of the hottest Chinese actors.
Somewhere Only We Know
Directed by Xu Jinglei, an actress-turned-director, and starring Kris Wu, former member of K-pop band EXO, Somewhere Only We Know follows a heartbroken young woman on her journey to Prague, where she searches her soul and finds love at the end. Although only rated 5.5/10 on IMDb, the film garnered significant commercial success and is the highest earning film Xu has directed. Many credit the success to casting the hugely popular Kris Wu and targeting the young moviegoers.
Monster Hunt
A 3D fantasy adventure comedy, Monster Hunt was one of the biggest blockbusters in China, breaking many box office records shortly after its release in 2015. Featuring fresh-faced actor Jing Boran, the film is known for its visual effects and unconventional characters, and tells the story between humans and a baby-like mystic creature in an ancient world. It is interesting to note that the male lead was initially going to be played by Taiwanese actor Kai Ko, another ‘little fresh meat,’ but he was later replaced with Jing Boran due to Kai Ko’s drug scandal.
Operation Mekong
The 2016 crime action film Operation Mekong is based on an incident known as Mekong River Massacre, where two Chinese vessels were attacked on Mekong River near the Thai-Myanmar border, one of the largest drug manufacturing regions in the world, and all 13 crew members on the ships were killed. As intriguing as the context and subject of the film, casting eye-candy Eddie Peng certainly helped bring more attention to the film, and younger audience to the theaters. It is no secret that more patriotic films have been turning to young, attractive male actors to guarantee box office success.
