Film

Grit

A Taiwanese romance that uses a small-town land dispute as the canvas for something harder and more interesting: a story about whether a person with a violent past can earn their way into a different life. Croc, just out of prison, discovers that redemption isn't a moment—it's a daily choice made against terrible odds.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like romances that play out against a grubby, morally tangled backdrop, where a love story grows out of a land dispute and two people who can't afford to be soft.

Skip it if you want a light, quick escape, because this stays heavy with debt, loyalty and bruised men, and its romance comes in quiet, unshowy doses.

What it asks of you: Settle in for an unhurried stretch of about an hour and forty minutes, with long pauses and a sombre mood that rewards patience over momentum.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

A Prophet2009

French crime drama about a young man's transformation in prison and beyond, with the same unflinching look at how systems trap people and how love might save them. Visceral and morally complex.

But Subtitled, longer at 155 minutes, and relentlessly grim in places. Not a comfort watch.

A Prophet poster

The Road Home1999

Chinese film where rural steadfastness meets urban corruption, and a woman's refusal to compromise becomes the moral center of the story. Ping's stubbornness finds its echo here, and the landscape becomes a character.

But Slower pacing than contemporary romance. The ending is devastating in a way that lingers.

The Road Home poster

Bad Genius2017

Thai thriller about ambition and moral compromise that escalates brilliantly. If you loved watching Croc navigate impossible choices, this shows what happens when someone doesn't flinch from the darkness as hard as he does.

But Shifts into heist mode and loses some of the intimate character work. Less about redemption, more about consequence.

Bad Genius poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Grit

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Harakiri1962

Both are about a man with blood on his hands trying to convince the world (and himself) that he deserves a future. The system says no.

Masaki Kobayashi's samurai masterpiece about a man and the rigid system that will not let him change or escape. Visually overwhelming. Croc's desperation to be better meets an immovable institutional force—this is what that looks like in feudal Japan, and it still speaks.

But Black-and-white, subtitled, 135 minutes, and philosophically severe. The violence is shocking and not stylized. Demands patience and emotional endurance.

Harakiri poster
More like this (7)

Infernal Affairs2002

Hong Kong masterpiece about a cop embedded in the triad and a gangster embedded in the police. The same tension of identity and loyalty, but sadder and more operatic. Influenced everything that came after.

But Very much a product of early-2000s action cinema. The melodrama might feel dated if you're looking for subtlety.

Infernal Affairs poster

A Dark Song2016

Irish supernatural film about two damaged people finding grace together through impossible circumstances. The same delicate faith that redemption might be real, paired with genuine darkness and neither character getting an easy answer.

But Deliberately paced. Grief hangs heavy throughout. Not for anyone needing plot momentum.

A Dark Song poster

First Reformed2018

American indie about a man trying to become better while systems push him toward despair. Paul Schrader's meditation on whether individual redemption matters when the world is burning. Uncomfortably relevant.

But Austere and bleak. The film itself resists comfort. Some viewers find it punishing rather than moving.

First Reformed poster

Chungking Express1994

Wong Kar-wai's neon-soaked Hong Kong romance that finds tenderness in urban chaos. If you want the lyrical side of Taiwanese/Hong Kong cinema without the hardness, this is pure sensory beauty paired with longing.

But Plot is gossamer-thin. The style matters more than narrative momentum. Some find it precious rather than profound.

Chungking Express poster

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring2003

Korean film set on a floating temple where a master and student cycle through seasons and violence and redemption. Formally beautiful and genuinely about whether a person can change. Meditative and strange.

But Deliberately metaphorical. If you prefer directness, the abstraction will frustrate. Also very slow.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring poster

The Postman1994

Italian film about a young man and a reclusive poet on an island. A gentler love story about becoming a better version of yourself through someone else's faith in you. Warm where Grit is cautious.

But Whimsical in a way that might feel saccharine if you're in the mood for Grit's grittiness. Sentimental without irony.

The Postman poster

The Farewell2019

Both understand Taiwanese/Chinese diaspora and the weight of obligation. Both ask: what do you owe the people you love versus the people who claim you? Both find tenderness in that tension.

Lulu Wang's film about cultural translation and family loyalty—a Chinese-American woman navigating between two worlds and two ways of being. Warm, funny, and about the cost of holding onto what you love when you're caught between systems.

But Quieter and more domestic than Grit. The stakes are emotional rather than violent. Some want more plot friction.

The Farewell poster

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