For more engaging storytelling in Mandarin cinema, check out these highly recommended dramas and romance films:

This paper examines the cinematic use of “Semi-Mandarin”—a mixture of standard Mandarin with regional dialects, local languages, or foreign lexicons—as a narrative and ideological tool. Focusing on films from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora, it argues that Semi-Mandarin functions not as linguistic deficiency but as a strategic representation of hybrid identities, colonial legacies, and social stratification. The analysis centers on a “top” film example: A Sun (2019, Taiwan) and compares it with Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin (2015). Findings suggest that code-switching between Mandarin and other languages reflects characters’ psychological states and societal positions.

These films are characterized by high production value, A-list actors, and "serious" themes often revolving around historical events or complex personal struggles.