Top five films to watch in Hong Kong this week (November 8-14), from An Elephant Sitting Still to Napping Kid

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

1. An Elephant Sitting Still

This hit on the film festival circuit has been rendered all the more mythical by the suicide of its 29-year-old director during the film’s post-production. The four-hour drama follows a quartet of characters in a northern Chinese town who are struggling to deal with their troubled lives. (November 9 and 11, part of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival)

2. Overlord

No horror action movie fans should miss out on this outrageously gory, but also surprisingly thoughtful, genre hybrid produced by J.J. Abrams about a small group of American paratroopers who find themselves being confronted by undead super soldiers in Nazi-occupied France during the second world war. (Opens on November 8)

3. Napping Kid

An ode to social activism disguised as a convoluted detective mystery, this second feature by Dot 2 Dot director Amos Why begins with a case of corporate computer hacking and ends up championing the younger and more idealistic side in Hong Kong’s generational conflict. One of the most sophisticated local films in years. (Opens on November 8)

4. The Quake

It’s only early days, but this may well be turning into a most unlikely series in which the characters encounter every natural disaster known to mankind. After surviving a deadly tsunami in 2015’s The Wave , the Norwegian family in this character-focused action sequel now find themselves at the centre of a major earthquake. (Now showing)

5. Hichki

This story about a class of troublemaking students in Mumbai who warm to the earnest efforts of their teacher is predictable to a fault. But Rani Mukerji’s star turn as a teacher suffering with a lifelong speech defect brings plenty of charm and freshness to a consistently uplifting education drama. (Opens on November 8)

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