I can understand why some people aren't the least bit interested in Chinese films, as many films over the years have continued to disappoint us with their lame plots and poor production quality. Even when some films became huge money earners, they usually only managed to do so by relying on huge star power instead of a quality story. As such I've always been a little embarrassed when it comes to introducing some of these big earning films to my foreign friends.

Yet in the year 2015 mainland films seem to have experienced a huge uptick in quality, both in terms of story and production value. This change was widely welcomed by Chinese audiences thirsty for some quality "homemade" films, leading to several new box office records being set this year. In fact there were several Chinese films that actually beat out several heavy weight foreign films as the top earning films of the year, even though films like Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World came to China this year.

That happened for a reason and proves that the Chinese film industry is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The year ended up giving mainland audiences several films that I can point to with confidence and say: "You have to watch these because they're awesome!"

Art house films



Deep in the Heart

Director: Qi Yukun



While this film lacked a glamorous cast and a well-known director, this suspense film, Qi's first and costing only 1.7 million yuan ($270,000) to make, was a huge surprise. After the film quietly hit cinemas in October, word of mouth about its solid story and performances soon circulated among audiences, making it one of the top-rated suspense films ever.

The sudden appearance of a burnt corpse disrupts the quiet peace of a small rural village. Soon after more mysteries begin to unravel. The white-haired head of the village comes in to clear up the chaos, but ends up getting involved in a complicated web of deception that is far beyond his control.

Many audience members praised the film's Rashomon-style  storytelling and structurally intricate plots.

"It's fortunate to see a director who really used his brain for his first movie," netizen Xiedu Dianying commented on movie.douban.com.

Mtime : 7.9/10

Douban: 8.6/10

The Dead End Photo: CFP

The Dead End

Director: Cao Baoping

This film caused quite a stir when it hit cinemas. Not only was the film from renowned director and screenwriter Cao Baoping, the mind behind previous critically acclaimed art house films The Equation of Love and Death and Einstein and Einstein, it also won Cao the best director award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in August. Meanwhile, the performances of the three leading actors in the film were so good and woven together that the three jointly claimed the Best Actor Award at the festival.

"It's rare to see a Chinese crime film be that good. The case, the depth of the characters and the complex relation between them were all mezmorizing," netizen Taotao Taodianying commented on Douban.

Mtime: 7.8/10

Douban: 7.9/10

Saving Mr. Wu

Director:Ding Sheng

 

More attention-grabbing than big-name stars like Andy Lau and Liu Ye was the authenticity of the story. The film depicts the story of how police deal with a criminal over a period of 20 hours to save a star (Lau) who has been kidnapped.

The story is based on the 2004 real life case of actor Wu Ruofu, who plays one of the police officers in the film.

That case was widely talked about at the time, after which, Wu gradually disappeared from both large and small screens. However, Ding spent three months persuading Wu to work on this film about his kidnapping, which only added to its sense of realism.

Mtime.com: 7.7/10

Douban: 8/10

A number of other art house and indie films came out last year that were not just critically acclaimed in China, but also made it onto shortlists or were awarded at international film festivals such as Cannes.

Due to space limitations, I'll just list them here: A Fool by Chen Jianbin, Red Amnesia by Wang Xiaoshuai, Mountains May Depart by Jia Zhangke, 12 Citizens by Xu Ang and Mr. Six by Guan Hu.

The blockbusters

Mojin - The Lost Legend Photo: CFP

Mojin - The Lost Legend

Director: Wuershan



Just released in December, this film's box office soon launched it to become the 7th highest-earning film of the year in China, beating out Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Before the film hit cinemas, many wondered how this adaptation of a popular tomb-raiding novel would depict the thrilling scenes from the book on the big screen considering the tight regulatory environment about the supernatural in China. Yet, the director nailed a perfect landing. The film's beautiful scenic designs and special effects have raised the bar for such things in the industry.

Mtime: 7.6/10

Douban: 7.9/10

Scene from Monkey King: Hero is Back Photo: CFP

Monkey King: Hero is Back

Director: Tian Xiaopeng

This animated film was probably the biggest dark horse of 2015. The story of the Monkey King has already been done to death in China over the years, yet this film's new approach to the story ended up breathing new life into an old character. 

After years of the domestic animation industry suffering endless criticism, finally the mainland has produced a film that has won the hearts of audiences with great storytelling as well as featuring outstanding quality in its animation.

Mtime: 8/10

Douban: 8.4/10

Monster Hunt



Director: Raman Hui



Although not scoring as high as blockbusters such as Mojin - The Lost Legend, it set some impressive records at the box office. It became the first domestic film to earn more than  2 billion yuan, beating out all domestic and oversea films to become the highest earning film of all time in the Chinese market. 

Mtime: 7.2/10

Douban: 7/10

Newspaper headline: Proof positive