10 movies you shouldn’t miss at the 2017 Hong Kong International Film Festival
A space-age Forrest Gump, Tom Ford’s neo-noir Nocturnal Animals, a crime thriller from Bhutan, Walter Hill’s sex-change revenge shoot-’em-up, and a vegetarian hazing horror among delights coming up for film-goers
Next week, the 41st Hong Kong International Film Festival begins, bringing to the city a 16-day cinematic celebration featuring hundreds of films old and new. Beyond the obvious choices of what to see – from gala screenings to retrospectives of newly restored masterpieces – choosing what to watch can be something of a gamble. Below are 10 films you may not be aware of but are certainly not to be missed.
1 The Untamed
Amat Escalante’s crime thriller Heli earned him international acclaim and an Oscar nomination. His next movie, The Untamed, is very different, and owes a substantial debt to Andrzej Zulawski’s incomparable Possession.
The film focuses on a working class family in suburban Mexico, whose lives are upended by the arrival of a mysterious young woman. She speaks of a force residing in an isolated cabin, a force not of this world, which must be appeased at all costs. Part science-fiction, part social realism, this is a remarkable, otherworldly experience which bagged Escalante the Silver Lion for best director at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. (April 14, 20 and 24)