

Video: Booze and Bigotry: Asia’s Breakout Films of 2014

Stories set in contemporary China dominated the year in Asian movies, with both commercial and art-house films exploring ever-more-complicated modern life. Comedies are the genre du jour in China, with “Breakup Buddies,” about two friends in full middle-age crisis mode and with little else but women on their minds (yes, it’s as crude as it sounds) becoming the year’s biggest domestic hit, pulling in nearly $190 million, according to media-research firm EntGroup.

Contemporary dramas from India and Japan, although less flashy, also gained attention -- and top prizes -- at major film festivals, while an epic from South Korea about a 16th-century naval battle was the country’s biggest domestic hit ever.

Here are our picks for Asia’s 10 most notable films of 2014:

“Black Coal, Thin Ice” (China)