Notable films of 2016

Born in China is among the best-received films of 2016 on China's big screens. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Five worthy films

These five Chinese titles did not break any boundaries, but they got into the comfort zone of decent commercial performances and critical acclaim.

・ Soulmate

It may look like a romance or a girl version of bromance, but it explores a subtle relationship in a love triangle of two girls and one boy－OK, two young women and a young man. While both women dated the same cute guy they are more in love with each other. The female stars were awarded the Golden Horse for best female lead performance.

・ Cock and Bull

Cao Baoping brought out the hidden side of his male actors who, like those in previous Cao films, delivered career-best performances. The noirish crime caper has an intricate narrative structure.

・ Mr Donkey

While online fiction is the target of the filmmaking gold rush, stage plays have also proved to be a quiet but fertile ground for quality adaptations. Following 2015's Goodbye Mr Loser, this political satire about a 1940s village school passing off a donkey as a teacher and dealing with its fallout has opened a lot of eyes. Even though the film version has the clumsy traces of a new hand and can hardly match the brilliance of the original material, it still packs a punch.

・ Born in China

A documentary about wild animals typically tends to be relegated to the small screen, but Lu Chuan pushed it to the big screen and ended up with 64.55 million yuan at the box office, a feat for the genre.

・ Cold War II

Chinese franchises in genres like drama and romance tend to lose steam over time, but not this Hong Kong thriller whose action is more verbal and cerebral than physical. The all-star cast did not disappoint.