Top five films to see in Hong Kong this week (June 29-July 5), from Made in Hong Kong to Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight
Fruit Chan Gor’s low-budget nihilist Hong Kong drama, an uncommon Thai love story, a second world war prison break saga, story of a child abuse victim tracking down her attacker, and a zombie puzzler are this week’s picks
Click on film titles to read SCMP.com reviews
Director Fruit Chan Gor made his career breakthrough with this nihilistic drama, returning to cinemas with a beautifully restored print. Made on a budget of HK$500,000, the best picture winner at 1998’s Hong Kong Film Awards remains a potent allegory of the city’s gloomy political future. (Opens on July 1)
This Thai blockbuster is brought to Hong Kong cinemas by Johnnie To Kei-fung as a pointer for aspiring filmmakers – and it’s not hard to see why. A genre blender about a sleep-deprived designer, it is both a creative showcase and a nice little reminder of the importance of proper work ethics. (Now showing)
A jailbreak film like few others, Robert Bresson’s 1956 classic makes use of the sparest of techniques to recount a French Resistance leader’s painstaking quest to escape from a Nazi prison and regain his freedom. The result is as quietly spiritual as cinema could get. (July 2, part of Cine Fan programme)
4 Una
It’s not for everybody, but this adaptation of David Harrower’s deeply troubling play is sure to reward the more adventurous viewers. Respectively playing a reformed paedophile and his former target, Ben Mendelsohn and Rooney Mara lend a much-needed emotional rawness to the premise. (Now showing)
5 Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight
While the film starts out looking like a forgettable addition to the zombie horror genre, Hong Kong director Alan Lo Wai-lun’s debut feature – loosely expanded from his 2012 short Zombie Guillotines – ultimately distinguishes itself as a mind-bending parable of apocalyptic teen angst. (Opens on June 29)
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