Top five films to watch in Hong Kong this week (April 19-25), from Isle of Dogs to Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

Click on the film titles to read SCMP.com reviews.

1. Isle of Dogs

The idiosyncratic director Wes Anderson’s second stop-motion animated film – after Fantastic Mr. Fox – may well be his quirkiest outing yet. A bleak story about the canine population on a rubbish-infested island, it blends references to Japanese cinema with overt political commentaries to very charming effect. (Opens on April 19)

2. Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

Every admirer of Ryuichi Sakamoto – as well as anyone who’s fascinated by the creative process – should check out this intimate documentary on the legendary Japanese composer, who was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago but went on to make one of the greatest albums of his illustrious career. (Opens on April 19)

3. Loveless

An impending divorce, the disappearance of an unloved son, and the parents’ futile attempt to search for him form the narrative backbone of this utterly grim account of the state of contemporary Russian society. This a modern-day masterpiece earned its director, Andrey Zvyagintsev, his second Oscar nod. (Now showing)

4. China’s Van Goghs

Directed by father-daughter pair Yu Haibo and Kiki Yu Tianqi, this portrait of a peasant-turned-painter who churns out replicas of renowned Western paintings in a Shenzhen village offers an unexpectedly profound look at the purpose of art-making, as well as the devastating reality of today’s global marketplace. (Opens on April 21)

5. A Quiet Place

Giant predators roam the world in this wonderfully suspenseful thriller, directed by John Krasinski from a deadly efficient screenplay he co-wrote with genre specialists Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. Krasinski also stars opposite his real-life spouse, Emily Blunt, as parents who must maintain absolute silence to survive. (Now showing)

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