Top five films to watch in Hong Kong this week (August 30-September 5), from Hindi Medium to Believer

A Bollywood comedy of manners, a Japanese animator’s family drama, another parenthood tale from the team behind Juno, a Korean remake of Johnnie To’s Drug War, and a gore-splattered 90 minutes of Mark Wahlberg make up our top five this week

Film reviews

Edmund Lee

Published: 7:04am, 30 Aug 2018

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1. Hindi Medium

A box office success in India and China, this lively comedy of manners from Bollywood – about a garment merchant’s family who try hard to get their daughter into a prestigious school – should resonate with Hong Kong audiences already attuned to their own absurd education system. (Opens on August 30)

2. Mirai

While Mamoru Hosoda may be more admired overseas for action fantasies such as The Boy and the Beast , the Japanese animation director is no stranger to intimate human dramas. Don’t miss this heart-warming story about a young boy who learns, thanks to a vivid imagination, to live harmoniously with his newborn sister. (Now showing)

3. Tully

Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have previously garnered critical acclaim for their teenage pregnancy drama Juno. Here, the pair have come up with another frank and funny movie about parenthood, starring an outstanding Charlize Theron as a mother of three who bonds with her new night nanny. (Opens on August 30)

4. Believer

It goes without saying that Johnnie To’s 2012 crime thriller Drug War – arguably the Hong Kong filmmaker’s best movie in 10 years – doesn’t call for a remake. Still, this sleek and vibrantly coloured take on To’s film by South Korean director Lee Hae-yeong, packed with larger-than-life performances, does offer its own pleasures. (Opens on August 30)

5. Mile 22

Mark Wahlberg’s fourth collaboration with filmmaker Peter Berg is a little dead inside. But for audiences looking merely for an hour-and-a-half of gory and at times exhilarating violence, this simple tale of an elite US paramilitary unit leader forced to traverse a Southeast Asian city populated with killers is right on the money. (Now showing)

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