With that in mind, here are a few films that actually improve on the books they’re based on. In one way or another, these movies actually surpass their original texts.

These films improved on the books

The ways in which these films improve on their source material differ from movie to movie. Some use unique filmmaking techniques—framing, lighting, costumes, camera work, music, sound design etc—to enhance the story’s themes. Others simply improve on how the characters and themes of the novel are presented through superior writing and dialogue.

Blade Runner

Directed by Ridley Scott, Blade Runner is based on the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by science fiction legend Philip K. Dick. The movie is a stunning work of filmmaking, with immaculate set design, costuming, sound design, and use of colour. But it also massively improves upon the original novel’s themes and characters.

The questions posed by Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? are intriguing and thought-provoking, but they are also paper-thin compared to how they are presented in Blade Runner. So much more space and depth is given to these questions. The movie is both more exciting than the book and, quite frankly, smarter.

The original sci-fi novel can be read as a first draft, with Blade Runner being the glorious final product. Dick himself didn’t live long enough to see the final film, but he did glimpse the process before his death and he was enormously impressed, feeling that his legacy was in safe hands.

Fight Club

David Fincher’s Fight Club is, first of all, one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted films of its time; often admired and revered by the very people (men) it is effortlessly critiquing and satirising. That aside, David Fincher’s 1999 film is far better than the novel it was based on, and the author agrees.

Chuck Palahniuk’s original novel is great, but its characters, events, and themes were elevated to perfection by Fincher. And I say this as a big Palahniuk fan (Haunted is a stunning and traumatising horror novel).

Stardust

Speaking personally for a moment, Neil Gaiman is one of the authors responsible for my career—first as an English teacher, and then as a writer, editor, and YouTuber. His books and comics have had such a profound effect on me, and there are few authors I admire more. That said, Stardust isn’t a very good book, and the film is immaculate.

The 2007 movie, with its outstanding cast, gorgeous set and costume design, and snappy and hilarious dialogue, is a real labour of love. It remains a cult classic of British filmmaking from Matthew Vaughn’s early years as a director. It took Gaiman’s very mid novel and added so much colour and pomp; the movie is fresh, dynamic, beautiful, and exciting.

In the weirdest way, the Stardust movie feels far more like a Neil Gaiman story than the author’s original novel does.

Sense and Sensibility

Directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee, with an Oscar-winning screenplay by Emma Thompson (who also stars in the movie), Sense and Sensibility improves on Jane Austen’s debut novel in every possible way. Austen is a legend of English literature, but her first book is by far her weakest, hugely outshone by Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion.

Through Thompson’s screenplay and Lee’s direction, so much more humour, love, and laughter is injected into Sense and Sensibility. And this is a curious thing, since humour and satire are what Austen would be primarily known for after the publication of Pride and Prejudice (her second novel).

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility very much feels like a debut novel; its characters lack dimension and her dialogue lacks the wit and bite she is revered for. But the movie has all of that and more. It enhances the novel and puts its story and characters on par with her other works.

Captain America: Civil War

Directed by the Russo Brothers, the third Captain America movie was adapted from Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s comic book of the same name, and the improvements made by the movie are enormous.

Mark Millar often has some fun and original ideas (Superman: Red Son and Kick-Ass are other good examples) but his writing is atrocious. He demonstrates little understanding of, or respect for, the characters he has been put in charge of, and his stories often aim to shock and anger his audience more than to achieve any real artistic goals.

That attitude is entirely missing from the Russo Brothers’ movie, which is an excellently written and balanced work of political and thriller fiction. Civil War is the kind of film that encourages conversation amongst fans; it is exciting, beautifully shot, well acted, and excellently written; taking a below average comic and making it into something special.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol remains a timeless classic of the English canon; a wonderfully imaginative and moralistic fable that lasts and lasts. But it doesn’t have muppets or a singing Michael Cain.

Conversely, the 1992 movie, directed by son of the legendary Jim Henson, Brian Henson, is positively chock full of muppets, and features a singing Michael Cain in the starring role of Ebenezer Scrooge. The film did the only two things that could improve upon Dickens’ masterpiece: add muppets and a singing Michael Cain.

Poor Things

Greek Director Yorgos Lanthimos is a colossal talent. His strange and surreal movies have won awards across the board, and deservedly so. If anyone could adapt cherished Scottish author Alasdair Gray’s seminal novel, Poor Things, and do it justice, it would be Lanthimos. And so he did. In fact, in many ways, Lanthimos improved upon Gray’s astonishing novel.

Poor Things is a fantastic work of fiction; often tongue-in-cheek, it nevertheless explores themes of feminism and socialism in wildly original ways. But, using his talents as an imaginative and original filmmaker, Yorgos Lanthimos enhanced these themes, embedding them into the events, dialogue, and even the visual and audio designs of the film.

The Handmaiden

A popular opinion when it comes to musicians covering the work of other artists is that, if you’re going to do it, make it different. Switch the genre and the style; make it your own. Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is an excellent cinematic example of this philosophy: an entirely original and uniquely Korean adaptation of an outstanding British novel.

Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is a screen adaptation of Sarah Waters’ most celebrated novel, Fingersmith; an historical gothic novel of sapphic love, betrayal, and myriad twists and turns.

So much of what makes Fingersmith great is retained by The Handmaiden, but it is also very much a film about Korean history and culture. It is unmistakably a Park Chan-wook movie, and that comes with astonishing performances, beautiful audio-visual design, and an immaculate tone that is hard to match for any filmmaker.

The Woman in Black

This one is a slight cheat, but bear with me. Susan Hill’s gothic horror novel is a modern classic, and the movie adaptation is a masterpiece of tone and atmosphere. But neither holds a candle to the stage adaptation of The Woman in Black. That play is a flawless work of art.

Inspired by Hill’s novel, the stage play of The Woman in Black utilises the unique elements of live theatre to create a layered, metafictional work of terror. Fans of the original novel and the film adaptation still haven’t seen the best that this story can be until they’ve seen the play.

Romeo + Juliet

William Shakespeare is well established as the greatest wordsmith and storyteller in the history of English literature; an unmatched playwright and poet whose works will never be dethroned. And many great film adaptations of his works have come and gone, but none have stood up to the mastery of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.

Set in ‘90s California, the film retains Shakespeare’s original script and delivers it with so much camp and melodrama. The pacing, tone, costumes, editing, casting, and line delivery—all of it is perfect. This is a film that respects Shakespeare’s legacy and does something wholly brilliant and memorable with it. A stunning piece of cinema.

Seen the films? Now read the books!

Here, we’ll cover the books that you may or may not know exist, and which you absolutely must read, as well as the ones you probably know about but never read because their film adaptations are such beloved classics (but you should still read the novels).

Read More: How to Read More Books (And Faster)

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

This one has a weird and interesting history. Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi movie 2001: A Space Odyssey is a boundary-pushing classic of the genre, and many don’t know that there is also a novel by science fiction storyteller Arthur C. Clarke.

What’s interesting about it, however, is that the movie technically came first. Kubrick had the initial idea, and asked Clarke to work with him on the screenplay, which he did. But Clarke also wanted to turn the screenplay into a novel, which he did, and it was published the same year.

Clarke’s novel is an outstanding work of fiction which arguably improves upon the movie. The film omits so much exposition, opting for minimal dialogue and a lot of vagueness in its storytelling, but the novel clarifies so much of the film’s strangeness without being dull or patronising. It is a must-read for fans of the movie.

Buy a copy of 2001 here!

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Everyone and their mum knows that Peter Jackson’s beloved The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was adapted from Tolkien’s original book(s). The Lord of the Rings was, after all, the first true work of fantasy fiction. But so many of us never get around to reading the books because of their length, their density, their age, or some other excuse.

While the films are undeniable masterpieces of cinema, the same is true for Tolkien’s novel. All by himself, this one man created an expansive mythology that rivals those of Greece and Scandinavia. Within that mythology, he told an epic tale of adventure, war, love, and magic. If you’ve always felt daunted by The Lord of the Rings, take the plunge. It’s worth it.

Buy a copy of The Lord of the Rings here!

Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

Yanis Varoufakis’ Poor Things is his finest work as a filmmaker. The Greek director has made many incredible movies, but Poor Things is his masterpiece. But Poor Things was based on the novel of the same name by 20th century Scottish author Alasdair Gray.

Gray was widely considered to be the greatest Scottish writer of his time, and Poor Things is, on the surface, a blend of Frankenstein, Lolita, and Flowers for Algernon. But it is also a wildly clever, satirical, and strange novel embedded with intense and important themes of socialism and feminism.

Framed as a true story, uncovered and republished a century after its events by Gray himself, Poor Things shifts its perspective and its form, moving from prose to epistolary letters, finally ending with a long letter from Bella herself, telling her version of events. Fans of Varoufakis’ phenomenal film have to read Gray’s original novel; it is a masterpiece of Scottish fiction.

Buy a copy of Poor Things here!

Dune by Frank Herbert

As is the case with The Lord of the Rings, the vast majority of Dune fans know that Denis Villeneuve’s epic masterpiece is based on a space opera by American author Frank Herbert (and that there was also a 1984 film directed by David Lynch). But Dune is another hefty, intimidating novel that many never find the courage to dive into.

Doing so is incredibly rewarding, however, in part because Herbert wrote two sequels which vary wildly in tone, but mostly because this was a sci-fi novel that altered the landscape and the trajectory of the genre. Science fiction was never the same after the publication of Dune, and reading it makes apparent why that is the case.

Buy a copy of Dune here!

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

One of Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s greatest achievements was his 2004 animated film Howl’s Moving Castle, a favourite among many Studio Ghibli fans. And whether you know that it was based on a children’s novel by Welsh author Diana Wynn Jones or not, this is another book that deserves to be read by fantasy fans of all ages.

While the movie remains a perfect adaptation, there are important and interesting differences between it and its source material. Jones also deserves far more love and attention than she gets; her Chrestomanci series is widely and criminally overlooked as an influential piece of children’s fantasy fiction.

Buy a copy of Howl’s Moving Castle here!

I Am Legend by Richard Mattheson

The 2007 I Am Legend movie isn’t very good. This is not a hot take; a lot of people feel this way. However, what is an enormous shame is that the movie is based on a phenomenal horror novel by Richard Mattheson, and too many people don’t know that or ignore it.

Mattheson’s novel is very different from director Francis Lawrence’s film, and far smarter as well. It is set in a version of the modern day where almost all of the human race has succumbed to a vampire virus. We follow a man who assumes he is the only human left. He hides away in his home and defends it from the vampire scourge.

But society is shifting, changing, and adapting. He is the outlier; he is the dangerous one; he is legend. It’s a wonderfully imaginative, intense, and frightening novel that puts the film to shame.

Buy a copy of I Am Legend here!

Misery by Stephen King

Misery is an excellent horror movie, for which Cathy Bates won an Oscar, and it came hot off the heels of Stephen King’s original novel, which was published only three years earlier. Fans of the movie often ignore the book because the film is such an excellent adaptation. We’re all guilty of doing this, but King’s original novel should not be so readily ignored.

While Rob Reiner’s 1990 film is one of the best adaptations of King’s fiction, the original novel is still its own kind of excellent. Unlike the film, the book manages to double its sense of isolation by locking the reader in the mind of its protagonist. He is unlikeable and difficult, and that makes the tension even more palpable.

This is one of those rare instances where it’s hard to choose a favourite between the original novel and the film adaptation; both are truly excellent realisations of King’s vision, and both should be enjoyed by horror fans everywhere.

Buy a copy of Misery here!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

It’s not a bold claim to say that Douglas Adams’ sci-fi comedy masterpiece is better than its very mid 2005 movie adaptation, directed by Garth Jennings. One thing the film really has going for it is its cast. Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox and Alan Rickman as Marvin were especially inspired and flawless casting choices.

Beyond the casting, however, the movie really is nothing special and not a patch on the original novel. Adams’ original Hitchhiker’s Guide remains a timeless and flawless work of satirical sci-fi. It’s also the first book in a five-part “trilogy”, all of which are excellent.

Buy a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy here!

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

No Country for Old Men, like Misery, is another great example of a fantastic film adapted from a fantastic novel. Directed by the Coen Brothers, with a screenplay that they adapted from McCarthy’s novel, No Country for Old Men is a really amazing movie. Its direction, tone, style, and performances are all top-tier.

It is a well-loved and admired movie, and the same can be said for Cormac McCarthy’s original novel. While his novel The Road is incomparably better than its average movie adaptation, No Country for Old Men is a far closer call. Both the book and the film are perfect works of fiction. And if you’ve only ever seen the movie, you owe it to yourself to read the book, too.

Buy a copy of No Country for Old Men here!

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Better known as The Golden Compass in the US, Philip Pullman’s inspiring and illuminating YA novel has been adapted twice: first into a very average 2007 movie which wrung out all the thematic depth and nuance from Pullman’s novel (though it is a well-cast and beautiful film), and then into a very good BBC series which adapted the full trilogy of novels.

That trilogy is called His Dark Materials, and its first book Northern Lights is an ambitious and, some might argue, radical work of young adult urban fantasy fiction. Radical because Northern Lights is a humanist novel which criticises the Church and organised religion through its themes and events, all of which were ignored by the movie.

Pullman popularised the YA genre of fantasy fiction; and his world and characters have had a transformative and lasting effect on generations of young people, just as the works of Tolkien and Lewis did before him. These are must-read books that their movie adaptation failed to do any justice to at all.

Buy a copy of His Dark Materials here!

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Alex Garland’s 2018 movie adaptation of Annihilation, starring an excellent Natalie Portman, is really great. And Garland himself is also a novelist; his book The Beach was adapted to film by Danny Boyle long before Garland himself ever took a shot at direction. All of that said, Jeff Vandermeer’s original novel is a wildly original sci-fi novel that should be read.

Annihilation is the first book in the Southern Reach trilogy, and while Garland’s movie is great, it makes some considerable alterations which justify a read of the novels for any moviegoer who enjoyed the film adaptation. This is a strange, unique, and thought-provoking novel that has to be read to be believed.

Buy a copy of Annihilation here!

Masato, a young ramen chef in Takasaki, Japan, is struck by the sudden death of his father. Feeling lost and alone, he leaves for Singapore in hopes of learning more about his Singaporean mother who died when he was only ten years old.

He aims to learn how to make the traditional Singaporean dish Bak Kut Teh, and to combine it with his speciality ramen as a way to honour his parents. And so begins a moving, turbulent, and powerful tale of family, loss, and suffering.

The film’s perspective is very much an over-the-shoulder affair, with us exploring, experiencing, and learning alongside Masato. Takumi Saito does an exquisite job in his role as Masato, keeping the audience close and ensuring that we feel every bump in the road on his journey to understanding his mother’s life.

The Peaks

Where the movie really shines is in its acting, with Saito being a more than perfect fit for this role. Appearing frightened and naïve without ever coming across as dull or irritating, he plays a role that may not be wholly original (the lost boy searching for his place in the world is a tired trope).

But though his role is not a reinvention of the wheel, his acting very much makes the turbulent tale feel like a freshly opened wound that you can’t help picking at. His acting consistently allows for a gripping – and at times unsettling – story. The supporting cast all shine, too, with Tsuyoshi Ihara and Jeanette Aw playing Masato’s father and mother respectively in some very affecting flashback sequences which tell the story of their Singaporean love affair.

Once again it must be said that this story is older than Shakespeare – the shunned foreigner, the overbearing parent, the outcast child – but the writing and acting here brings new life to a tired story. Make sure you’ve planned a nice dinner for after the film because all of the exquisite shots of cooking and food will definitely leave you hungry.

The Valleys

Ramen Teh is not without its trips and stumbles, however, one of which being the music. The soundtrack to the film takes only two forms: silence, and a small selection of lifeless piano melodies in a minor key.

These are played during very obviously sombre moments but they only serve to detract from the emotional impact of the moment itself. In any given scene the actors are pulling their weight to create a sorrowful mood, and every time this mood is cut through with some really dreadful and dreary chords.

Rather than emphasising any emotional impact, this music takes the audience so far out of what would otherwise have been an exceptionally moving scene.

Conclusion

That being said, Ramen Teh is still an unquestionably effective tale. As the story progresses, family drama is gradually replaced by issues of racism and the dark history of Japanese imperial control. Masato’s Singaporean grandmother is still eaten away inside by the death of her father and the treatment of her people at the hands of the Japanese almost a century ago.

I have to congratulate the filmmakers for bringing light to this. Conservative Japan has a nasty habit of ignoring or downplaying any mention of its recent past, but here it is admitted to and addressed with honesty and tact; something I am glad to see.

Overall, Ramen Teh is a massive success, with fantastic acting and some clever writing which dances along the line of comedy and tragedy with grace and elegance.

Ramen Teh is showing at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018.

Check out our favourite films at the festival on Savvy Tokyo.

Looking for more films? Here’s our list of South Korean movies to enjoy.

Must-See South Korean Movies

Oldboy and The Vengeance Trilogy are often people’s introduction to South Korean cinema and it’s a great start but what if you’re in the mood for something you don’t even know exists yet? From dark comedy to ghosts and family drama there’s something for everyone. Here are a few of the best South Korean films to enjoy, in no particular order.

The Taxi Driver (2017)

My must-see on this list is definitely The Taxi Driver. I never thought a film about the terrible Gwangju uprising could be this funny. And it really is hilarious, until it very much isn’t. However, it makes this transition so seamlessly that you’re still laughing when you realise that those are tears in your eyes.

It’s heartbreaking towards the end, as any story about a massacre must be. But these characters, including a German journalist and a taxi driver who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, are very real and very heart-warming.

It’s based on a true story, but the tale of the driver himself is largely fabricated (after the dust settled on the uprising, nobody has ever been able to locate him).

Trailer

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann | Directed by: Jang Hoon (Rough Cut, Secret Union).

If you’d like to read some excellent fiction about the Gwangju uprising, I highly recommend Han Kang’s novel Human Acts.

The Handmaiden (2016)

We saw this film at a little indie cinema in Bristol, UK shortly before we left for Korea. There are so many twists in this that you’re still left reeling from the first before you’re quickly tumbled in to the next.

It’s also absolutely beautiful; the costumes, filming locations, and colours are breathtaking, and it’s some of the best cinematography I’ve seen in any film. It flits between a Gothic drama setting akin to Rebecca, a dark Dickensian underworld, and a modern twist on traditional Japanese aesthetics and pacing.

Set in Korea and Japan during the 1930s, The Handmaiden deals with some strong themes, namely the various abuses that women suffer at the hands of the patriarchy.

Trailer

Starring: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Tae-ri, Kim Min-hee and Jo Jin-woong | Directed by Park Chan-Ook (Oldboy).

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

This is one truly unsettling film, inspired by a Joeson dynasty folktale. To say too much would spoil things but it revolves around Su-mi, a girl who has recently been released from a mental institution  and her subsequent life at home with her step-mother, father, and sister.

The camera work and the use of colour in this film are outstanding and uses one of the best of modern cinematic tropes: letting a scene carry on past the point of comfort, continuing on and on, turning the scare into a creeping dread. These moments of fright are downright cruel.

If you love psychological horror then this is its pinnacle, and it will leave you puzzling after the credits roll.

Trailer

Starring:  Kap-su Kim, Jung-ah Yum, Soo-jung Lim | Directed by: Kim Jee-woon (Age of Shadows, I Saw the Devil).

The Wailing (2016)

Set in a remote mountain region where a ghost, a demon, a shaman, and a zombie-like viral infection have invaded a small village, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a greatest hits of Korean horror. However, The Wailing is very much it’s own beast, the pacing and tone is constantly unsettling, the use of humour is genius, and the mountain scenes are equally gorgeous and terrifying.

Trailer

Starring: Jun Kunimura, Jung-min Hwang, Do-won Kwak | Directed by: Na-Hong-Jin (Chaser, The Yellow Sea).

Train To Busan (2016)

This was my introduction to Korean cinema. I was so annoyed I took the plane to Busan while in Korea but the plane was cheaper than the train.

As the name suggests it’s all set on a train journey to Busan, the last safe spot from a zombie onslaught. The fighting takes place as the characters move down the carriages, each carriage developing the story with new characters and situations. It’s gruesome, it’s heartwarming, and it centres around a father and his daughter trying to survive. In typical Korean style, it’s also hilarious at times.

Trailer

Starring: Yoo Gong, Yu-mi Jung, Dong-seok Ma Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho (Psychokenises, Seoul Station).

Age of Shadows (2016)

With beautiful set design and costume, The Age of Shadows is a spy-thriller loosely based on the 1923 bombing of Japanese police headquarters in Seoul.

Focusing on the clandestine fight between South Korean resistance fighters and the country’s Japanese occupiers, you’re left guessing about who is on who’s side until the very end. This is one of my absolute favourites on this list despite not normally being a fan of the genre.

Trailer

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, Han Ji-min, Park Hee-soon | Director: Kim Jee-woon (The Last Stand, I Saw the Devil, Tale of Two Sisters)

Silenced (2011)

A controversial film as its loosely based on true events, Silenced is set in a school of hearing-impaired children in Gwangju. The newly appointed teacher at the school soon realises something isn’t right. As he delves deeper, he finds that the school has been abusing the children.

Teaming up with human-rights groups he finds discovers that the web covering up these awful events goes further than he anticipated. This is an intense film, expected given the subject matter,  and the acting is fantastic throughout.

Trailer

Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi | Directed by: Hwang Dong-hyuk (Miss Granny)

Psychokenises (2018)

Definitely one of the more fun additions to this list.

A young woman runs a popular fried chicken restaurant in a comfortable but shabby old South Korean neighbourhood.

However, she and her neighbours must make way for urban demolition and new business development. Things spiral out of control into violence. In the meantime, her father who she hasn’t seen for ten years has recently found he is able to manipulate and move objects with his mind (of course).

Likened to films such as Hancock, this fun, campy new take on the superhero genre is a refreshing change from the Marvel series.

Trailer

Starring: Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung, Park Jung-min | Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Seoul Station)

But it should speak to us all, right? The majority of us have parents, families, lives that shift and change, and periods of loneliness and emptiness.

But for many, many white people across the Internet, Bao was utterly baffling. Inverse.com and the Huffington Post have both touched on the issue. Their articles are well worth checking out, but here is our two cents’-worth as well.

What is Pixar’s Bao?

What’s Bao About?

Bao centres around a middle-aged Chinese woman living in Toronto. After her husband shoves three freshly-prepared bao into his face and heads out for the day, our protagonist watches as one remaining bao sprouts arms and legs and begins to burble like a baby.

What follows is a chance for this childless woman to experience all the joys, fears, and sorrows of motherhood. As her child grows, gets hurt, learns new things, and eventually begins to rebel and try to fly the nest with his white fiancée, his mother – in a last-ditch attempt at holding on to her dear child – devours him.

It is revealed soon after that our protagonist in fact has a son of her own (who has just returned home) and that the bao’s growing up and fleeing home mirror her real son’s step-for-step. This simple story of a mother struggling to let her child grow, find his own way in life, and eventually make a life of his own, has left some white folks baffled.

Eastern Family Values

Of course, there are significant Chinese cultural elements here: like our protagonist steaming baozi instead of cutting sandwiches into triangles for her husband; and more subtle and important ones, like the greater emphasis Chinese families typically and traditionally place on family bonds and values.

In China, Korea, and Japan (but China most of all) it is ordinary – indeed, expected – for a child, male or female, to remain at home until they are married. In recent years this has shifted a little: in big cities with greater career and financial opportunities, ‘married’ may be replaced by ‘employed’, especially for men.

Nevertheless, the stigma we have in the West of wanting, and being expected, to leave home the moment we are able (going so far as to mock those who still live at home past the age of, say, 21) does not exist in China.

In fact, if you were to bring up the idea, to a modern Chinese person, of mocking someone aged thirty-or-so for still living with their folks, they would be horrified. Where is the shame in remaining close to one’s loving and supportive parents, after all?

On top of this, the expectation that children, once grown up and with families of their own, will then go on to care for their ageing parents is a given. A family in China, even one in cooped up a small apartment in Shanghai, typically consists of three – maybe even four – generations under one roof.

The generation in the middle raise their children and take care of their parents, as their parents did a generation before. It’s a fair and even trade, ensuring that everyone is safe and secure. This tradition builds love, breeds familiarity, teaches respect and kindness, and gives the children a sense of stability.

All of what I’m saying here is a foreign concept in the West. And that’s certainly not to say it’s wrong (I’m a twenty-something white man who flew as far from his nest as possible); it’s merely a lesson in context and culture.

Conclusion

These cultural differences aside, it still bears repeating that, just because an animated film contains unfamiliar foods and a protagonist that is not young and white, this does not make its themes mysterious, confusing, or unrelatable. In fact, it simply goes to show that the oversaturation of young white people in our visual media today is perhaps a detriment to our ability to empathise with, and understand, others.

Bao should be a simple story to follow and, if it isn’t, then taking an interest in the cultures and traditions of other people only benefits both sides, in the end.