Cinema is a dominant force in the lives of many people living in Asia, a continent that has a number of distinguished national film industries. A concept central to much of Asian film production is melodrama. This path-breaking study examines the importance of melodrama in the film traditions of Japan, India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia. Exploring with theoretical sophistication the various ways that melodrama operates, the essays contained in this volume shed light on the different traditions of Asian cinema, as well as on the wider cultural discourse in which they participate.