From Drive My Car to King of Comedy, 10 essential Asian films about acting and theatre

Asian cinema has a rich tradition of exploring the elaborate craft of traditional forms of theatre. From Tsui Hark’s action-packed Peking Opera Blues (1986) to Chen Kaige’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Farewell My Concubine (1993), the backstage drama of Chinese opera has long captivated filmmakers. Similarly, Japan’s kabuki theatre has yielded such lush masterpieces as Kon Ichikawa’s An Actor’s Revenge (1963) and Lee Sang-il’s Kokuho (2025). Films about the Western theatrical tradition, however,...