Top 5 films to watch in Hong Kong this week: June 9-15

Click on film titles to read SCMP.com reviews

1. Sing Street

Giddy and heart-warming, this 1980s-set musical-romance by Irish writer-director John Carney (Once) follows a Dublin schoolboy’s attempt to start a band and impress a girl – complete with an endearing cast, beautiful tunes, and an infectious sense of optimism. (Opens on June 9)

2. Fire at Sea

The Golden Bear winner at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, Gianfranco Rosi’s documentary observes Europe’s migrant crisis from a rescue centre on a Sicilian island, providing a harrowing glimpse into the plight of the refugees. (June 10, opening film of Refugee Film Festival)

3. The Taste of Youth

Hong Kong students speak their minds in this talking-head documentary by veteran director Cheung King-wai. Between the lines of its most ordinary interviewees is an enlightening and subtly disturbing account of the population’s skewed views on a wide range of subjects. (Now showing)

4. April and the Extraordinary World

It wouldn’t do this unusual gem of an animation justice to summarise it with a brief synopsis. But know simply that the hand-drawn sci-fi adventure film, adapted from a graphic novel of the legendary artist Jacques Tardi, is like few other films you’ve ever watched. (Now showing)

5. The Nun

The controversy of Denis Diderot’s 18th century novel was enthrallingly revived in Jacques Rivette’s masterful 1966 film adaptation, which cast Anna Karina in the role of a defiant young woman who’s forced into convent life against her will. (June 11, part of Cine Fan programme)

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