Top five films to watch in Hong Kong this week (September 28-October 4), from Good Time to Colossal
Twilight’s Robert Pattinson as a manipulative thug, Anne Hathaway veering between self-loathing and saving the world, Ken Watanabe’s daughter Anne leading a gentle comedy drama – there’s a mixed bag of must-sees this week
Click on film titles to read SCMP.com reviews
1. Good Time
The opposite of a good time but an excellent film nonetheless, this electrifying crime thriller by New York indie filmmakers Benny and Josh Safdie features one of the best performances in the career of Twilight star Robert Pattinson, who is nearly unrecognisable here as a manipulative thug. (Opens on September 28)
A predictable yet utterly charming comedy drama, Japanese director Toru Hosokawa’s adaptation of the eponymous novel follows a young schoolteacher (played by Anne Watanabe, daughter of Ken) as she inadvertently becomes the leader of a local band of helpless elderly musicians. (Opens on September 28)
3. The Big Sick
Romantic comedies don’t come more culturally conscious than this Judd Apatow-produced charmer, based on the true story of its two married scriptwriters, the Pakistani actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani and the white writer-producer Emily V. Gordon. It’s a rare blend of intelligence and pathos. (Opens on September 28)
A political drama that will resonate deeply with film-goers who still have faith in the power of civil protests, this enthralling dramatisation of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980 revisits the South Korean authorities’ violent suppression of the pro-democracy campaign via a modest cabbie’s unlikely heroics. (Now showing)
5. Colossal
The damaging fallout from alcohol addiction and toxic masculinity vie for attention in Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo’s unclassifiable riff on the kaiju monster film tradition, featuring Anne Hathaway in a quirky star turn in which she oscillates between self-loathing and saving the world. (Opens on September 28)
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