The Maples

The Last Emperor

October 1987 •English

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

The Edukators

October 2004 •German

Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.

The Motorcycle Diaries

February 2004 •Spanish

Based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he and best friend Alberto Granado had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

May 2002 •Chinese

During the Cultural Revolution, two young men are sent to a remote mining village where they fall in love with the local tailor's beautiful granddaughter and discover a suitcase full of forbidden Western novels.

M. Butterfly

October 1993 •English

In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with an opera singer, Song Liling – but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.

The Warrior

September 2001 •Korean

In 1375, China was in chaos between Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Coryo (an ancient kingdom of Korea then) sent a delegation of many diplomats, soldiers and a silent slave to make peace with the new Chinese government. However, this delegation got charged as spies and sent in exile to a remote desert.

Mongolian Ping Pong

June 2005 •Chinese

Bilike has never seen a ping-pong ball before. He and his family live without electricity and running water in a solitary tent home among the vast steppe grasslands. The magnificent landscape here has changed little since the days of Genghis Kahn. But life in the middle of nowhere can be exciting for a young boy. The smallest of details become big events for curious Bilike and his best friends Erguotou and Dawa. The mystery of the small white ball floating in the creek leads to questions about the world around them, as well as innocent mischief.

Curse of the Golden Flower

December 2006 •Chinese

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Eight Miles High

February 2007 •German

Achim Bornhak's movie focuses on the restless life of Uschi Obermaier, the icon of the 1968 movement in Germany and groupie. At the age of 16, Uschi is bored by her job in a photo lab, but soon becomes the "it girl" of Munich's club scene. When she gets to know Rainer Langhans, they move to Berlin and live in "Kommune 1", the first politically-motivated commune in Germany. While the other occupants claim she isn't political enough, Uschi just wants to have fun, works as fashion model and leads international music stars in temptation.

The Story of Zhou Enlai

June 2013 •Chinese

With a unique perspective of the accompanying cameraman of Premier Zhou Enlai, the film tactfully tells the story that Premier Zhou went to the old revolutionary base area of Hebei Province at the beginning of the 1960s when our country suffered from the Great Chinese Feminine. He made in-depth research in Boyan commune of Handan District, work closely with the masses, followed up a clue and seized the culprit in four days and nights.

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

September 2007 •English

The film follows Mr. Shi, a retired widower from Beijing. When his only daughter, Yilan, who lives in Spokane, Washington and works as a librarian, gets divorced, he decides to visit her to help her heal. However, Yilan is not interested. She tries keeping an emotional distance but when this finally fails she begins physically avoiding her father. He confronts her about an affair with a married Russian man and she, in turn, lets loose about all the gossip she'd heard as a young girl about his alleged affair with a female colleague back in China.

The Sand Pebbles

December 1966 •English

Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat USS San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China. His iconoclasm and cynical nature soon clash with the 'rice-bowl' system which runs the ship and the uneasy symbiosis between Chinese and foreigner on the river. Hostility towards the gunboat's presence reaches a climax when the boat must crash through a river-boom and rescue missionaries upriver at China Light Mission.

Hidden Face

October 2024 •French

Ordinary Person

March 2017 •Korean

Major crimes unit detective Seong-jin arrests Tae-sung for petty crimes, but shocked to find out that he is the notorious serial killer. However, Seong-jin becomes doubtful of his identity as the serial murder case is investigated.

Ash Is Purest White

September 2018 •Chinese

Set in China's underworld, this tale of love and betrayal follows a dancer who fired a gun to protect her mobster boyfriend during a fight. On release from prison 5 years later, she sets out to find him.

Lenin: The Train

April 1990 •English

March/April 1917. The first world war is already a couple year to pace. A sealed train with Russian emigrants keeps on driving from Zürich Germany and Sweden to Sint-Petersburg. The outlaws stand under the guidance of Vladimir J. Lenin. Two senior officers support the revolutionary bomb "to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Yet there are some unpleasant clashes between Socialists and enthusiastic workers who are worried about the war. During train travel there comes an end to Lenin's affair with the gracious Inessa, and his wife Nadja is prepared take back him. The triumphant entrance in St. Petersburg will exceed all expectations....

The Crossing I

December 2014 •Chinese

At the end of the World War II and the middle of the Chinese Revolution, three couples from different backgrounds with different nationalities flee from China to the island of Taiwan.

Her Sister's Keeper

May 1963 •Chinese

To put her younger sister Huilan (Margaret Tu Chuan) through college, Huilian (Grace Ting Ning) became a taxi dancer and is despised by Huilan. Now married to a good husband (Guan Shan), the lonely Huilan falls for a man after her money. To protect her younger sister, Huilian puts herself at risk. Grace Ting Ning plays a sad role, as the noble sister who keeps her purity in a cesspool.

Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai

May 2015 •Tamil

A revolutionary is sentenced to death for his anti-national activities. And so begins a battle of wits between the prison officer and his comrades, who try to rescues him with the help of the reluctant hangman who has been selected to deliver the punishment.

Lust, Caution

September 2007 •Chinese

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce and assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai.