Top five films to watch in Hong Kong this week (May 11-17), from Alien: Covenant to Kearen Pang’s 29+1
Ridley Scott’s return to form, Jim Jarmusch’s peerless observations about the small things in life, a reminder of David Lynch’s genius, and some bittersweet musings on Hong Kong life and love are among this week’s picks
Click on film titles to read SCMP.com reviews
A major return to form for a franchise that defined sci-fi horror before losing its way, this Ridley Scott-directed sequel to 2012’s Prometheus offers an unapologetically gory spin on the deep-space terror tale, channelling the original films in all their nightmarish, acid-dripping glory. (Opens on May 11)
2. Paterson
No plot synopsis could do justice to this sublime slice-of-life drama by American cultural hero Jim Jarmusch, who literally finds poetry in the coincidences peppering his characters’ everyday lives. There couldn’t be a better role for Adam Driver to temporarily unpack his Star Wars fame, either. (Now showing)
3. David Lynch: The Art Life
Before his cult series Twin Peaks makes its way back on TV this month, this compelling documentary portrait of the American director should whet the appetite of any fan who appreciates a rare glimpse into Lynch’s early life up to 1977’s Eraserhead . (May 17, part of The Metroplex’s Arts in Cinema: Part 3 programme)
4. 29+1
Having captured the imagination of many a young Hong Kong woman since the mid-2000s, the wildly popular Cantonese play receives a suitably serene big-screen adaptation from its playwright and star. Kearen Pang is a new filmmaker to watch after her impressively delicate direction here. (Opens on May 11)
Based on Project Itoh’s prophetic 2006 novel, this sci-fi thriller, set after a nuclear bomb wipes out the city of Sarajevo, envisions a dystopian world in which people in developed countries accept constant surveillance as an inevitable condition of the war on terror. A thought-provoking animation. (Now showing)
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