https://www.scmp.com/rss/325889/feed From Danny Boyle to Michael Haneke, from Francois Truffaut to Ingmar Bergman, from Soviet Montage to French New Wave to Romanian New Wave, and from Berlin film festival to Cannes to Venice, this is the place to go for features, interviews and reviews about movies both classic and new from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and every other country in Europe. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The battered wooden trunk had been in the family for a century – shifted from attic to barn to garage as it was handed down through the generations. No one knew a cinematic treasure was inside. That was until retired American teacher Bill McFarland’s curiosity got the better of him. For the past 20 years, McFarland, 76, has been the keeper of the trunk, which originally belonged to his late great-grandfather who showed silent films to audiences in rural Pennsylvania at the turn of the 20th... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349874/how-french-cinema-pioneers-lost-1897-film-was-found-us-family-heirloom-trunk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349874/how-french-cinema-pioneers-lost-1897-film-was-found-us-family-heirloom-trunk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:16:19 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak After more than four decades of working with world-renowned European auteurs, from Krzysztof Kieślowski and Michael Haneke to Olivier Assayas and Claire Denis, French actress Juliette Binoche has simple advice for creating great art that moves people: be very human and trust one’s intuition. “The purpose of films is to transform the audience so they become richer at the end of watching a film. It is nourishing their soul and putting questions in their lives,” she says in an interview at the 50th... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349876/why-french-film-icon-juliette-binoche-isnt-worried-about-ai-replacing-human-talent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349876/why-french-film-icon-juliette-binoche-isnt-worried-about-ai-replacing-human-talent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars After winning the Cristal for a Feature Film at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, French filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu’s directorial debut Arco went on to be nominated at every major awards ceremony this past season, only to be eclipsed by Netflix’s cultural juggernaut, KPop Demon Hunters. While the latter’s success is undeniable, Arco is more than worthy of recognition, emerging as a charming and delicately handled sci-fi fable with a powerful ecological message. In the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349216/arco-movie-review-annecy-cristal-winner-peter-pan-esque-sci-fi-tale-our-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349216/arco-movie-review-annecy-cristal-winner-peter-pan-esque-sci-fi-tale-our-times?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:15:07 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in our From the Vault feature series, in which we reflect on culturally significant movies celebrating notable anniversaries. Released 25 years ago this month, the 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary was a huge success, earning its star, Renée Zellweger, an Oscar nomination and spawning three sequels that helped the franchise gross nearly US$900 million worldwide. A London-set romcom about one woman’s search for a “nice, sensible man”, it cleverly repackaged certain... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348077/why-bridget-joness-diary-feels-so-dated-25-years-after-beloved-romcoms-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348077/why-bridget-joness-diary-feels-so-dated-25-years-after-beloved-romcoms-release?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh The Hong Kong International Film Festival returns in April, celebrating its 50th edition with a mouth-watering retrospective of classics from the last half-century of Chinese-language cinema. New and old works alike from masters of the art form, including Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming-liang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, will play alongside a typically eclectic selection of some of the finest recent offerings from around the world. Acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen’s latest work, We Are All Strangers,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346869/hong-kong-international-film-festival-2026-highlights-12-must-see-movies-and-programmes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346869/hong-kong-international-film-festival-2026-highlights-12-must-see-movies-and-programmes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:15:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh The future of Hollywood has never looked more uncertain, with the encroachment of artificial intelligence threatening to eradicate jobs across the industry, while the impending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery casts doubt over the studio system itself. Nevertheless, for the everyday movie-goer, there remains – for now, at least – a steady stream of enticing prospects to lure us out of our homes and into the nearest multiplex. Below are 12 of the most exciting new releases coming to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346088/12-new-hollywood-films-watch-march-june-2026-including-toy-story-5-and-michael?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346088/12-new-hollywood-films-watch-march-june-2026-including-toy-story-5-and-michael?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 23:15:10 +0000 SCMP Style Reporter SCMP Style Reporter On February 10, the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) played host to a figure who has shaped the global film conversation for more than three decades. Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), delivered a Masterclass presented by Rolex – an exchange that quietly affirmed the Swiss maison’s long-standing dedication to the art and evolution of cinema. Since 2025, Rolex has been the first-ever partner of the NFTS Masterclass programme, a globally... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3344548/style-edit-rolexs-national-film-and-television-school-masterclass-cameron-bailey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3344548/style-edit-rolexs-national-film-and-television-school-masterclass-cameron-bailey?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 02:00:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram The Berlin International Film Festival has always been a politically charged event, but this year’s 76th edition was a cauldron. Early on, author Arundhati Roy resigned from her duties at the festival after Wim Wenders, the German filmmaker and head of the jury, said filmmakers should stay out of politics. This followed a jury press conference where a journalist questioned the festival’s stance on showing solidarity with victims of global conflicts, but ignoring Gaza. In the wake of this, over... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3344441/10-best-movies-2026-berlin-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3344441/10-best-movies-2026-berlin-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:12:21 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The British Academy Film Awards and BBC apologised on Monday for a racial slur that was broadcast during Sunday’s show while two stars of the film Sinners were on stage. The Tourette syndrome campaigner who shouted the slur said he was “deeply mortified” and what he said was “not a reflection of my personal beliefs”. The highly offensive word could be heard as Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, who are both black, were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344384/bbc-and-tourettes-advocate-apologise-sinners-stars-racial-slur-during-baftas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344384/bbc-and-tourettes-advocate-apologise-sinners-stars-racial-slur-during-baftas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:48:03 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram This may be the year of the abrasive Hollywood heroine. Think of Rose Byrne, who received an Oscar nod for her role as a nerve-frazzled mother in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, or Jennifer Lawrence, kicking up a storm at a family party as she becomes gripped by post-partum psychosis in Die My Love. Alongside them, there are the gun-toting female revolutionaries of One Battle After Another, led by the indefatigable Teyana Taylor. Then there are the women who form the heartbeat of Joachim Trier’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3342179/why-joachim-triers-sentimental-value-most-acclaimed-european-film-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3342179/why-joachim-triers-sentimental-value-most-acclaimed-european-film-year?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:15:36 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars Shot virtually back-to-back with 28 Years Later, last year’s hit revival of the zombie horror franchise that began with 2002’s 28 Days Later, this stomach-churning sequel is a deeply unsettling ride, although not for the reasons you might think. Here, the enemy is not those infected with the so-called Rage virus. Rather, the true threat comes from the uninfected – those left to survive who have lost their moral compass. Picking up immediately where the previous film ended, The Bone... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3339724/28-years-later-bone-temple-movie-review-ralph-fiennes-leads-savage-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3339724/28-years-later-bone-temple-movie-review-ralph-fiennes-leads-savage-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 21:00:12 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars The terrible burden of grief is laid bare in The Thing with Feathers, a gloomy but undeniably touching drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The celebrated source is Max Porter’s prize-winning 2015 debut novella, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, which was previously turned into a play by Enda Walsh that Cillian Murphy headlined in 2019 at London’s Barbican. Here, the story is adapted by Dylan Southern, a first-time feature director whose previous work includes No Distance Left to Run... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338911/thing-feathers-movie-review-benedict-cumberbatch-carries-moving-tale-grief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338911/thing-feathers-movie-review-benedict-cumberbatch-carries-moving-tale-grief?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 08:15:09 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh The onset of the holidays means it is awards season in Hollywood. While plenty of this year’s contenders, including Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good, have already opened in Hong Kong cinemas, the likes of Marty Supreme, starring best actor hopeful Timothée Chalamet, have yet to secure a release date. Similarly, the Hong Kong release of the season’s biggest blockbuster, James Cameron’s eagerly awaited Avatar: Fire and Ash, has been indefinitely... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3336602/12-new-hollywood-movies-watch-winter-2025-hamnet-song-sung-blue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3336602/12-new-hollywood-movies-watch-winter-2025-hamnet-song-sung-blue?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 23:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh The last few days have seen Hong Kong reeling from the unspeakable tragedy of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, which has left at least 146 people dead and 79 injured, with 40 still unaccounted for. Initial investigations suggest possible negligence on the part of those overseeing renovation work, leaving the community angry and desperate for justice. Meanwhile, the way in which the city’s population has rallied together to provide support for those affected has been truly humbling. In times... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334761/want-find-solace-film-10-movies-may-offer-catharsis-and-hope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334761/want-find-solace-film-10-movies-may-offer-catharsis-and-hope?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 10:15:08 +0000 Agencies Agencies British playwright Tom Stoppard, who won an Oscar for the screenplay for the 1998 film Shakespeare In Love, has died at the age of 88, United Agents said on Saturday. “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved client and friend, Tom Stoppard, has died peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family,” the talent agency said. “He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334646/oscar-winning-uk-playwright-tom-stoppard-dies-aged-88?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334646/oscar-winning-uk-playwright-tom-stoppard-dies-aged-88?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 18:14:14 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. Founded in 1982 as an offshoot of Channel 4, Film4 was committed to reinvigorating British cinema by platforming new voices and exploring complex, contemporary subjects. The 1988 immigration drama Soursweet is a prime example. Based on the Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by British-Asian writer Timothy Mo, the film stars Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334297/soursweet-british-drama-hong-kong-immigrants-showed-grim-reality-their-new-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334297/soursweet-british-drama-hong-kong-immigrants-showed-grim-reality-their-new-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 04:15:08 +0000 Kylie Knott Kylie Knott For first-time visitors to Hong Kong, a tram ride to The Peak or a walk up to Lantau Island’s Tian Tan Buddha are usually on their to-do list. But Garance Marillier is not your average visitor. The French actress, who was in the city last week for the ongoing 54th Hong Kong French Film Festival (HKFFF), had a different itinerary. Amid her hectic HKFFF schedule, the 27-year-old squeezed in a visit to Chungking Mansions, a sprawling complex in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood known for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334030/why-french-film-star-garance-marillier-just-had-visit-hong-kongs-chungking-mansions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334030/why-french-film-star-garance-marillier-just-had-visit-hong-kongs-chungking-mansions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:15:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo told a group of leading Hollywood actors and filmmakers on Saturday that cinemas were struggling to survive and that more should be done to protect them and preserve the shared experience of watching films. Screen stars Cate Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Viggo Mortensen were among those invited to the private Vatican audience, along with award-winning directors Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant and Sally Potter. Leo, the first US pope, said cinema was a vital “workshop of hope” at a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332953/pope-hosts-hollywood-stars-vatican-laments-decline-cinema-going?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332953/pope-hosts-hollywood-stars-vatican-laments-decline-cinema-going?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 18:35:38 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh A visually ravishing journey into the afterlife is proving a hit in Hong Kong this week, as the animated feature Another World, an adaptation of Naka Saijo’s novel Sennenki: Thousand-Year Journey of an Oni, is generating plenty of discussion about its unusual subject matter. The film tells the dark, absorbing story of a deceased young girl (voiced by Christy Choi Hiu-tung) who is escorted through the afterlife by the spirit guide Gudo (Chung Suet-ying) as she searches for her little brother. Its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3331421/10-best-animated-films-set-afterlife-grave-fireflies-soul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3331421/10-best-animated-films-set-afterlife-grave-fireflies-soul?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 05:15:08 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak A sweaty, velvet-suited Colin Farrell runs panicked through humid, neon-lit Macau, stalked by Tilda Swinton disguised as a tacky tourist and yelled at in Cantonese by locals – such is the intense, somewhat surreal energy of Ballad of a Small Player, a new film that begins streaming on Netflix this week. Set and filmed in Macau, the fast-paced psychological thriller drags us from posh casino floors to dodgy back alleys through the eyes of Lord Doyle (Farrell), an aristocrat drinking expensive... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3330464/how-netflixs-ballad-small-player-colin-farrell-was-inspired-macau-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3330464/how-netflixs-ballad-small-player-colin-farrell-was-inspired-macau-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Belgian action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme has always had a close association with Hong Kong. Besides appearing in John Woo Yu-sum’s Hollywood debut Hard Target and numerous films by Ringo Lam Ling-tung, the actor sometimes used the city as a de facto base for his Asian shoots. Here are four of his films with deep and sometimes surprising Hong Kong roots. No Retreat, No Surrender (1986) While he had a short scene as a gay karate expert in 1984’s Monaco Forever, Van Damme landed his first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3329346/jean-claude-van-damme-films-hong-kong-roots-bloodsport-knock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3329346/jean-claude-van-damme-films-hong-kong-roots-bloodsport-knock?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak Every immigrant story is different, but Calif Chong Ngai-man, a Hong Kong-born, London-based filmmaker, has found a way to make one relatable as well as humorous. Chong’s debut feature, High Wire, premiering at the BFI London Film Festival in the UK on October 15, is a coming-of-age film centred on a Hong Kong-British girl wanting to join the circus in a rural part of England. It is a story about taking risks, chasing dreams and realising them. “This could be an impulsive decision, but it is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3328083/high-wire-hong-kong-born-filmmaker-uk-reflects-her-immigrant-experience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3328083/high-wire-hong-kong-born-filmmaker-uk-reflects-her-immigrant-experience?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 09:15:08 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. In 1986, Leong Po-chih’s comedy-drama Ping Pong became the first British film ever made by a director of Chinese descent and the first shot in London’s Chinatown. Not only is this a shameful commentary on the racial barriers of the industry, it also does a disservice to the film itself, which is something of a lost gem. Leong is an interesting, if... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3327616/what-happened-1986s-ping-pong-pioneering-first-film-shot-londons-chinatown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3327616/what-happened-1986s-ping-pong-pioneering-first-film-shot-londons-chinatown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2025 09:15:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Sixties screen siren Claudia Cardinale, who died on Tuesday aged 87, entranced audiences across the globe with the sultry gaze that made her the muse of Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. With her fierce beauty and husky voice, Cardinale not only captivated Italy’s greatest filmmakers, she played opposite most of the leading men of the time, from Burt Lancaster to Alain Delon and Henry Fonda. She died at Nemours near Paris, in the presence of her children, her agent said, adding that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326606/italian-screen-siren-claudia-cardinale-dies-aged-87?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326606/italian-screen-siren-claudia-cardinale-dies-aged-87?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 22:16:37 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has been saying goodbye to the series for nearly as long as it has existed. By the fifth season, he had even grown accustomed to writing more definitive endings, not knowing that there would be a sixth season and three feature films to come. But 15 years after the world first met Violet Crawley, Lord Grantham, Lady Mary, Mr Carson, John Bates, and everyone else upstairs and downstairs at that beautiful estate, the creators are really, truly closing a chapter... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3325670/downton-abbey-grand-finale-hits-cinemas-if-where-it-ends-im-happy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3325670/downton-abbey-grand-finale-hits-cinemas-if-where-it-ends-im-happy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:15:09 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh With the end of the year in sight, Hollywood traditionally pivots away from crowd-pleasing blockbusters towards more highbrow, potentially award-winning fare. But that does not mean that movie-goers in search of big-budget spectacles will be left wanting. On the contrary, cinemas are more desperate than ever to entice audiences off their sofas, away from the streaming platforms and back into cinemas, so big stars, thrilling entertainment and action-packed excitement are never too far away. Below... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3325672/12-new-hollywood-movies-watch-autumn-2025-zootopia-2-avatar-fire-and-ash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3325672/12-new-hollywood-movies-watch-autumn-2025-zootopia-2-avatar-fire-and-ash?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 09:15:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram One of the biggest surprises of the 82nd Venice Film Festival was saved until the very end, when Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother took the Golden Lion for best film. Starring Adam Driver, Tom Waits and Cate Blanchett, this slight, minimalist triptych study of familial relations recalled last year’s winner, Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door, in the sense that a director who has never won a major festival top prize finally did so with a relatively middling film. The film was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324742/venice-2025-10-festivals-best-films-smashing-machine-no-other-choice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324742/venice-2025-10-festivals-best-films-smashing-machine-no-other-choice?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 20:15:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A gentle study of dysfunctional families by veteran American director Jim Jarmusch clinched the top prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, while a harrowing docudrama about the Gaza war took second. Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, drew mostly positive reviews for its humorous portrayal of awkwardness and guilt. The Broken Flowers director, who wrote the script for three family get-togethers in upstate New York, Dublin and Paris,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324625/us-indie-film-beats-out-gaza-war-docudrama-venice-top-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324625/us-indie-film-beats-out-gaza-war-docudrama-venice-top-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 21:30:23 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars Silent Friend, the latest film from Hungarian auteur Ildiko Enyedi, marks the first role in a European production for Tony Leung Chiu-wai. The internationally renowned Hong Kong star of In the Mood for Love and Lust, Caution has, surprisingly, never ventured into the European film industry until now. While he finds a gentle work here that feels entirely suited to his tranquil demeanour, Enyedi’s film probably sets another precedent for the veteran actor: he is also sharing billing with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324182/venice-2025-silent-friend-movie-review-tony-leung-chiu-wai-stars-botanical-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324182/venice-2025-silent-friend-movie-review-tony-leung-chiu-wai-stars-botanical-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:05:07 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. At the turn of the millennium, Jet Li Lianjie tried everything he could to crack the international market. The martial arts star took on the ageing Riggs and Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon 4, and tackled Shakespeare (of a sort) in Romeo Must Die. But nothing brought him the combination of critical and commercial success he had enjoyed back home in Hong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324275/why-jet-lis-kiss-dragon-was-banned-china-despite-being-global-hit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324275/why-jet-lis-kiss-dragon-was-banned-china-despite-being-global-hit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 09:15:06 +0000 Gloria Tso Gloria Tso As the Venice Film Festival draws to a close, we look back on some of the most stunning sartorial moments on this year’s red carpet. From Cate Blanchett taking flight in a feathery Maison Margiela couture look, to Kaia Gerber hard launching her new relationship wearing Givenchy, there was no shortage of viral high fashion stories on social media to dissect and discuss. Here are eight stand-out looks from the 82nd Venice Film Festival. Amanda Seyfried in Prada Amanda Seyfried’s voluminous Prada... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324455/8-stand-out-looks-venice-film-festival-red-carpet-kaia-gerber-givenchy-amanda-seyfried-prada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324455/8-stand-out-looks-venice-film-festival-red-carpet-kaia-gerber-givenchy-amanda-seyfried-prada?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:32:33 +0000 Gavin Yeung Gavin Yeung There’s a chill in LGBTQ communities both at home and abroad these days. There was the sudden cancellation of this year’s Pink Dot, one of Hong Kong’s largest annual LGBTQ events, as well as increasing attacks on the global community concurrent with the rise of far-right political movements. All of which highlights the need for LGBTQ filmmakers to reclaim their voice through creative expression. The latest in these efforts can be seen at the 36th Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (HKLGFF),... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3324419/what-watch-hong-kong-lesbian-and-gay-film-festival-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3324419/what-watch-hong-kong-lesbian-and-gay-film-festival-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 04:45:07 +0000 Cherry Liu,Gloria Tso Cherry Liu,Gloria Tso As the summer season draws to a close, all eyes have shifted to the Venice Film Festival – where cinematic artistry meets impeccable style. Now celebrating its 82nd edition at the iconic Lido di Venezia, the world’s oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals continues to set the stage not only for groundbreaking films but for unforgettable fashion moments. While women captivate in bespoke gowns, the men have redefined red carpet elegance, trading casual summer wear for impeccably... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324276/male-actors-who-stunned-venice-film-festival-dior-celine-and-bottega-veneta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324276/male-actors-who-stunned-venice-film-festival-dior-celine-and-bottega-veneta?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 04:49:19 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak For most of her life, veteran filmmaker Mary Stephen has carried a quiet mystery with her, one embedded in her very name. Born and raised in Hong Kong to what she describes as “a typical Chinese family”, she has a birth certificate that names her parents as Henry Stephen and Yick Chuk-kwan. This anomaly is the driving force behind her new documentary film, Palimpsest: the Story of a Name, which is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada on September 11. “We were, by... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324000/hong-kong-born-filmmaker-mary-stephen-digs-her-familys-past-new-documentary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324000/hong-kong-born-filmmaker-mary-stephen-digs-her-familys-past-new-documentary?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 09:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Even with the film and streaming industries in an upheaval, and too few new titles finding their under-marketed way to theatres this year, the movie summer of 2025 stayed alive. Job one: done. Autumn comes next, and this lovely season has a way of raising our quality expectations. We have the usual quotient of critical successes coming soon, having premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. More of these prestige titles will follow suit after first-look appearances at the Venice, Telluride... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3323867/10-films-watch-fall-anemone-nuremberg-and-springsteen-biopic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3323867/10-films-watch-fall-anemone-nuremberg-and-springsteen-biopic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 02:00:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2.5/5 stars “It happened at Yale.” So reads the caption in Luca Guadagnino’s slickly packaged, often exasperating After the Hunt, the tale of a philosophy professor caught in the crossfire of a sexual assault case. Julia Roberts is Alma Imhoff, first seen hosting a drinks party alongside her husband Fredrik (Michael Stuhlbarg), with PhD student Maggie (The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri) in attendance. When Maggie leaves, she does so with the flirtatious professor Hank Gibson (Andrew Garfield). But later... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323604/venice-2025-after-hunt-movie-review-julia-roberts-luca-guadagninos-muddled-tale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323604/venice-2025-after-hunt-movie-review-julia-roberts-luca-guadagninos-muddled-tale?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Aug 2025 16:50:08 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. Anthology films consist of several shorter works, often connected by a common theme or wraparound story. Sometimes they have multiple directors, such as 1989’s New York Stories, which features tales by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen. Named after the Greek god of love and desire, Eros (2004) explores different ideas of eroticism.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3320906/how-wong-kar-wais-short-hand-made-2004-anthology-film-eros-worth-watching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3320906/how-wong-kar-wais-short-hand-made-2004-anthology-film-eros-worth-watching?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein might be the earliest example of body horror, a subgenre of horror that focuses on mutation, destruction and transformation of the human form. These ideas were explored further in classics like The Wolfman and Phantom of the Opera, or intertwined within science fiction in everything from The Fly to Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Body horror hit its heyday in the 1980s, where advances in practical effects work helped realise the tactile, sanguineous visions of filmmakers... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3320814/14-best-body-horror-films-last-10-years-old-substance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3320814/14-best-body-horror-films-last-10-years-old-substance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 11:45:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh Every summer, the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) stages Summer IFF, a mini showcase that presents a crowd-pleasing smorgasbord of brand new festival delights, future cult favourites and restored classics from around the world. This year’s line-up includes a number of highlights from the latest Berlin and Cannes film festivals, including It Was Just an Accident, the Palme d’Or winner from controversial Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi. The programme also includes documentary, animation... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3319989/hong-kongs-summer-international-film-festival-2025-10-must-see-movies-and-programmes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3319989/hong-kongs-summer-international-film-festival-2025-10-must-see-movies-and-programmes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jul 2025 10:16:44 +0000 dpa dpa British horror film 28 Days Later by director Danny Boyle was a surprise hit in 2002 and soon became a milestone in the genre. Five years on came the sequel 28 Weeks Later, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Now, Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland are back with a third installment, 28 Years Later – the first in a possible trilogy. “I think what had happened was we both had a very particular affection for the original film,” Garland said. “That also means you want to protect it as well as... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3315020/28-years-laters-aaron-taylor-johnson-ralph-fiennes-and-danny-boyle-horror-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3315020/28-years-laters-aaron-taylor-johnson-ralph-fiennes-and-danny-boyle-horror-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jun 2025 11:15:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram The Rage Virus is, well, all the rage once more, as the much-anticipated 28 Years Later tears its way into cinemas this week. In the 23 years since the release of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, zombies and the infected have invaded pop culture like no one could have predicted. No one should therefore be surprised the series is back. Certainly not George A. Romero, the director of 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, the grandfather of all zombie movies, which set the template by using horror to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3314756/28-years-later-hits-cinemas-how-zombie-films-infected-pop-culture-little-else?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3314756/28-years-later-hits-cinemas-how-zombie-films-infected-pop-culture-little-else?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jun 2025 21:00:07 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. Sometimes an outsider’s perspective can tell you more about a place than you might expect. This is especially true for Hong Kong – a city of endless comings and goings – and the filmmakers who chose it as a location. Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung made waves with his 1993 debut The Scent of Green Papaya, which won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3314124/different-sides-hong-kong-shown-tran-anh-hungs-critical-flop-i-come-rain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3314124/different-sides-hong-kong-shown-tran-anh-hungs-critical-flop-i-come-rain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 23:15:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh Summer is upon us once again, which in Hong Kong means an onslaught of heat and humidity matched only by what is lining up to be a torrent of sequels, remakes and bona fide blockbusters that will dominate cinema screens between now and the new school year. Comedies, thrillers, spine-chillers and superhero extravaganzas will be duking it out for our attention, so here is our pick of 15 of the most promising offerings to open in Hong Kong this summer (opening dates are for Hong Kong). 1. F1: The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3313839/15-new-hollywood-movies-watch-summer-2025-superman-and-smurfs-f1-movie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3313839/15-new-hollywood-movies-watch-summer-2025-superman-and-smurfs-f1-movie?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jun 2025 23:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh This week sees the cinema release of Ballerina, the first in a series of planned spin-off movies from the incredibly successful John Wick action franchise. Focusing on a new character, Eve, portrayed by Ana de Armas (No Time to Die), the film follows the exploits of a young orphan who is recruited into the secret Ruska Roma organisation, where she is raised as a deadly assassin. Once unleashed into the world, however, Eve applies her new skill set to track down the gangsters responsible for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3312842/15-best-female-assassin-movies-ballerina-new-john-wick-spin-releases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3312842/15-best-female-assassin-movies-ballerina-new-john-wick-spin-releases?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jun 2025 09:15:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram The 78th Cannes Film Festival had a bit of everything. Tom Cruise jetted into town for the final Mission: Impossible film. Robert De Niro received an honorary Palme d’Or and spoke out powerfully against the Trump regime. Denzel Washington got snappy with a photographer on the red carpet. But in a year where the stars really did turn out in force, the quality of the films was somewhat mixed, with nothing on the scale of Parasite or Anora that might make it all the way to the Oscars. Still, there... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3311851/cannes-2025-10-festivals-best-films-sentimental-value-pillion-and-urchin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3311851/cannes-2025-10-festivals-best-films-sentimental-value-pillion-and-urchin?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 May 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg French film producer Dimitri Rassam was destined to make movies. The son of Bond girl Carole Bouquet – whose role in 1990’s Too Beautiful for You saw her pick up a best actress award from France’s César Awards – and French film producer Jean-Pierre Rassam, he has been immersed in cinema since birth. Francis Ford Coppola is his godfather. In 2024, Rassam’s The Count of Monte Cristo was one of the top-grossing films in France. Now, he has big plans to produce global blockbusters in English, with a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3311086/accursed-kings-which-inspired-game-thrones-could-get-its-own-film-saga?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3311086/accursed-kings-which-inspired-game-thrones-could-get-its-own-film-saga?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 May 2025 08:15:06 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars Wes Anderson’s latest feature, a spy movie rendered in the way only he can, feels like the antithesis to the latest Mission: Impossible film. Playing in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where his last two features premiered, The Phoenician Scheme is an old-fashioned espionage caper styled in the exquisite, delicately hewn manner for which Anderson is famed. Here he gets to work with Benicio del Toro, who featured briefly in Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch but... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310594/cannes-2025-phoenician-scheme-movie-review-wes-andersons-exquisite-espionage-caper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310594/cannes-2025-phoenician-scheme-movie-review-wes-andersons-exquisite-espionage-caper?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 May 2025 18:45:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars There was a time when Jennifer Lawrence was known as one of the most fearless actresses of her generation. More recently she has taken a step back, shifting down gears with films like Causeway and No Hard Feelings. But her reputation will surely be bolstered on the back of Die, My Love, in which she gives a searing turn as a married mother who comes apart at the seams after giving birth. Playing in Cannes Film Festival’s main competition, this adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s novel is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310818/cannes-2025-die-my-love-movie-review-jennifer-lawrence-anchors-lynne-ramsay-psychodrama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310818/cannes-2025-die-my-love-movie-review-jennifer-lawrence-anchors-lynne-ramsay-psychodrama?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 May 2025 10:35:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russian filmmaker Roman “Roma” Liberov had long been fascinated by writers who fled his country after the 1917 Russian Revolution. He never imagined that he would one day become an exile himself. In January 2021, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, Liberov left Russia because of a powerful conviction that its people had become “hostages of the state” and that a long-simmering conflict with Ukraine would erupt into full-scale war. Thirteen months later, his fears became reality when Russia... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3310499/pain-russian-musicians-and-other-creatives-home-and-abroad-explored-filmmaker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3310499/pain-russian-musicians-and-other-creatives-home-and-abroad-explored-filmmaker?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 May 2025 05:15:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram A director of 37 films in 36 years, Steven Soderbergh is a Hollywood filmmaker who has long been ahead of the curve. Shifting effortlessly between studio movies (the Ocean’s trilogy, Magic Mike), art-house (Che, Kafka) and streaming (Kimi, No Sudden Move), he has also worked in TV (The Knick) and made web dramas (Command Z, Full Circle). Soderbergh has always had an uncanny ability to stay in tune with the industry: his 2005 film Bubble, which was released in cinemas, on cable and on DVD... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310129/black-bag-director-steven-soderberghs-10-best-films-ranked-oceans-eleven-traffic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310129/black-bag-director-steven-soderberghs-10-best-films-ranked-oceans-eleven-traffic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 11:15:07 +0000