The most financially successful movie of 2025 was a film that most American audiences have never heard of.
That movie was “Ne Zha 2,” an animated Chinese film about a legendary demigod who was also a troublemaker. Not a perfect film by any means — it’s too long, and there’s a lot of bathroom humor — but the picture was worthy of being seen, if for no other reason than its often stunning animation. “Ne Zha 2” played in Boston where it had a decent first run, thanks mainly to the local Asian community, but the movie was mostly ignored by non-Asians. A dubbed version from the distributor A24 flopped.
As of the writing of this article, there are two Indian films, a couple of Chinese movies, and several Japanese pictures playing at downtown AMC moviehouses in Boston, and they have received little or no coverage in the mainstream press. Admittedly, these films are often broad commercial fare, with contexts and performers that are unfamiliar to American audiences. Even so, they are accessible. However, other than “RRR” — a Tollywood movie from a couple of years ago — most popular, non-art-house Indian or Asian movies are ignored here, except by their ethnic demographics. It’s unfortunate. I can’t claim to be an expert on any of these specialty cinemas, but I try to dip into them every now and then. And more often than not, I’m rewarded with some fascinating entertainment.
The reason for these musings is that a Chinese movie, “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East,” is now showing in Boston; it’s a major hit in its home country, with ticket sales so far of more than $350 million. It’s also China’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Yet it will probably slip in and out of Boston with little attention. That’s a shame. The movie is an unusual, ambitious epic.
“Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” has an unlikely hero at its center: a rotund master chef, Xu Fu, who moves to the Middle East in 2002 to earn money to pay off a debt. He hopes to return to China eventually. The country he goes to is obviously Iraq, but it’s never actually named. Immediately, Xu Fu’s culinary skills make him a success; a part of this film’s pleasure is the mouth-watering dishes he creates, as fantastic as any French food-porn movie you might have seen, such as “The Taste of Things” or “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros.” Xu Fu can, and does, produce banquets fit for royalty.
He delays his homecoming to capitalize on his thriving business. His fortunes change, however, when American forces bomb his adopted city. He rebounds for a while by relocating his restaurant and catering more and more to foreign clientele. To make up for the lack of kitchen help, he provides food and shelter to a group of orphans displaced by the fighting, whom he also trains and puts to work. That sounds like a potential set-up for sentiment, but the war shown here is a serious matter, with destruction and death. Things go well for a while at Xu Fu’s new venue, but as factions begin to battle for control of the region, the situation becomes increasingly dire. Xu Fu will face many travails before he can return home.
The depiction of the war does America no favors. There are incidents of torture and bribery. But the movie is not rabidly anti-American. One supporting character is a private who aches to go home, and the whole point of his scenes is that life isn’t always morally clear, and that there are good guys amid the definitely bad guys. I found value in seeing the second Gulf War portrayed by a foreign filmmaker, whether or not I accepted all of it, and while recognizing that it’s an officially sanctioned Chinese film. (The use of torture by the U.S. has been reported elsewhere. See also: Abu Ghraib.)
And the local Arab forces are shown in a worse light. A long section of “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” concerns orphaned children who are taken to training camps by local factions, indoctrinated and used as suicide bombers without their understanding or consent. The local militarists murder with impunity.
This is a big film. Scenes of combat and bombings happen on an impressive scale. It’s not an easy movie either; many of the major characters suffer. Ultimately, “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” is as compelling as anything I’ve seen this year.
Convincing people to check some of the more unfamiliar motion pictures available in Boston, like this one, might be difficult. I’m not even certain “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” will stay for a second week. As for highlighting other international films, given the lack of media coverage, it’s not always easy to separate the gold from the dross. As an intermediate step, I’ll note that many Bollywood movies are on Netflix and Prime Video. Films available that I’ve enjoyed include “Happy New Year” (colorful and silly), “Baahubali” (a very extravagant two-part epic) and “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (think “Hallmark” crossed with “The Hangover,” but Hindi). “Ne Zha” can be found on Kanopy, and “Ne Zha 2” is on HBO. These culturally distinct films, and others like them, are engaging, especially if you seek popular international entertainment and not art-house fodder. You just have to keep your eyes —and minds — open for something a little different.
“Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” Directed by Wen Muye. Written by Wen Muye, Lang Qunli, and Wei Zhong. Starring Shen Tang and Jiang Qiming. Not Rated. Running time: 2 hours, 21 minutes.
