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James Marsh

The Hong Kong International Film Festival’s summer showpiece has arrived, with a rich and diverse selection of new offerings, many fresh from the Cannes Film Festival, together with an exciting and eclectic range of restored classics and auteur retrospectives.
Here are 10 films not to miss at this month’s Summer IFF:
Pain and Glory (and Almodovar series)
Antonio Banderas was named best actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of a troubled filmmaker, reflecting on his life as it comes crashing down around him. Inspired by the experiences of its writer-director, Pedro Almodóvar, Pain and Glory opens this year’s Summer IFF, and ushers in an eight-film retrospective of the director’s work, including Oscar winners All About My Mother and Talk to Her.




A Rainy Day in New York
Despite what you may think about Woody Allen and the way he conducts his personal life, his prolific cinematic output continues to attract Hollywood’s best and brightest talents. Allen’s latest offering casts Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning as a young couple holidaying in the Big Apple, whose romantic getaway is disrupted by bad weather, leading to a series of illicit high jinks. Jude Law and Selena Gomez also star.


Fagara
Writer-director Heiward Mak Hei-yan teams with producer Ann Hui On-wah for a story that will warm your heart. The sudden death of a Hong Kong restaurateur leads his daughter (Canto-pop superstar Sammi Cheng Sau-man) to discover he sired two other daughters, one in Taiwan (Megan Lai), and another in China (Li Xiaofeng). United for the first time, these three women pledge to restore the restaurant’s fortunes and realign their understanding of family.


The Dead Don’t Die
Jim Jarmusch, the godfather of American independent cinema, casts his cynical eye over the zombie genre, with predictably hilarious results. Bill Murray and Adam Driver head up an all-star cast, as a pair of small-town policemen whose sleepy community is set upon by the walking dead. Skewering America’s current political climate with his signature deadpan wit, The Dead Don’t Die is a shuffling, late-night delight.


Deerskin
A far cry from his dashing, Oscar-winning turn in The Artist, French comedian Jean Dujardin here portrays a crumpled loser with a thick, greying beard, whose life is turned upside-down after buying an expensive deerskin jacket. Convinced of his new “killer style”, Dujardin tries his hand at filmmaking, and wooing Adèle Haenel’s young waitress, before director Quentin Dupieux (Rubber) sends his absurdist folly spiralling into dark, murderous territory.


Koko-di Koko-da
On a camping trip out in the woods, a couple fall prey to the murderous rampage of a trio of bloodthirsty psychos. But time loops back on itself, giving the couple countless opportunities to relive their grisly murders and, hopefully, find a way to escape their fate and break the cycle. A horrifying reimagining of Groundhog Day directed by Johannes Nyholm, this is one of the year’s most genuinely terrifying cinematic events.


Diego Maradona
British documentarian Asif Kapadia follows the award-winning successes of Senna and Amy with this fascinating exploration of the diminutive soccer legend. A hero to millions in his native Argentina, Maradona’s life has been dominated by fluctuating highs and lows, from his controversial, star-making performance against England at the 1986 World Cup to his battles with drug addiction, and questionable associations with Naples’ organised crime network.


The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee) continues to cement his position as South Korea’s most exciting leading man in this stylish, three-pronged crime thriller. When a vicious serial killer (Kim Sung-kyu) foolishly attacks one of Seoul’s most notorious crime lords (Ma), not only does he fail in his murderous intentions, he triggers an uneasy alliance between the gangster and the hard-nosed detective (Kim Mu-yeol) assigned to catch him.

Tokyo Twilight
While it may appear to cover familiar Yasujiro Ozu territory, this 1957 film sees the master of the Japanese family drama delve into markedly darker territory. Setsuko Hara plays the elder of two sisters, who returns home after leaving her husband, while her younger sibling (Ineko Arima) becomes pregnant out of wedlock. On discovering that their long absent mother is still alive, their world is turned upside down.


Do the Right Thing
Thirty years after exploding onto screens, Spike Lee’s defining cinematic work is more vital and relevant today than it has ever been. Lee casts himself as Mookie, delivery boy for an Italian pizzeria, in an ethnically diverse Brooklyn neighbourhood. It’s the hottest day of the year, and as the temperature rises, so too do the tempers of the local residents, escalating towards an inevitable violent showdown. Urgent, unmissable cinema.
Summer IFF runs from August 13 to 27 at various venues. For full programme details, visit www.cinefan.com.hk.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


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Hong Kong International Film Festival

Hong Kong Summer International Film Festival 2019: 10 best films, from Woody Allen romcom to Maradona documentary

Antonio Banderas in a still from Pain and Glory, the opening film of the 2019 Summer International Film Festival in Hong Kong.

A still from Tokyo Twilight, Yasujiro Ozu's 1957 film

Selena Gomez and Timothée Chalamet in a still from Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York, one of the films featured in the Hong Kong Summer International Film Festival.

Line Walker 2: Nick Cheung and Jazz Boon on Louis Koo, heroic bloodshed films and police characters

Nick Cheung in a still from Line Walker 2.

Louis Koo (left) and Nick Cheung in a still from Line Walker 2.

Louis Koo (left) and Francis Ng in a still from Line Walker 2.

Actor Nick Cheung Ka-fai in Kwun Tong. 27JUL19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Edward Wong

Director Jazz Boon (left) and Louis Koo on the set of Line Walker 2.

Hong Kong film director Jazz Boon in Kwun Tong. 27JUL19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Edward Wong

From left: Louis Koo, Francis Ng and Nick Cheung in a still from Line Walker 2.

Line Walker 2 reunites actor Nick Cheung (left) with director Jazz Boon for a compelling homage to the “heroic bloodshed” films of the 1980s and ’90s. Photo: Edward Wong

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw director on his Hong Kong action influences

Dwayne Johnson (left) and Jason Statham in a still from Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw

Jason Statham in a still from Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw

Jason Statham (left) and Dwayne Johnson in a still from Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw

From left: Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and Vanessa Kirby in a still from Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw

Idris Elba (right) in a still from Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch (right) and executive producer Kelly McCormick at the world premiere of the film at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Photo: AFP

Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino on Bruce Lee fight scene in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino talks about his latest film Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood. Photo: Kevork Djansezian

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." (Andrew Cooper/Sony-Columbia Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows, from left, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." (Andrew Cooper/Sony-Columbia Pictures via AP)

Margot Robbie as Sharon Tait in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood directed by Quentin Tarantino picture suplied NZH 08Jun19 -

Director Quentin Tarantino poses for a picture as he takes part in a photo call for his movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. July 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Director Quentin Tarantino poses with cast members Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie at the premiere of "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Leonardo DiCaprio in a still from Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood. Photo: Andrew Cooper/Sony-Columbia Pictures via AP

Elevated horror: how films like Midsommar, The Lighthouse and Doctor Sleep are bringing new thrills to the genre

Octavia Spencer as Sue Ann in a still from Ma, released in Hong Kong this week, which its director Tate Taylor calls a “cautionary tale” about social interaction and responsibility.

Left to right: Emily Blunt and Millicent Simmonds in A QUIET PLACE, from Paramount Pictures.

Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson in a still from The Lighthouse

Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden on self-censorship, Chinese art-house film, and his late start in movies

Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden. “Filmmakers in China know to adopt self-censorship,” he says. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Sonam Wangmo and Jinpa in a still from Jinpa.

Sonam Wangmo in a still from Jinpa.

Genden Phuntsok (left) and Jinpa in a still from Jinpa.

Pema Tseden poses for a photograph in Hong Kong. 22JUN19 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen [FEATURES 2018]

Jinpa, who plays the titular role, in a still from Jinpa.

Genden Phuntsok in a still from Jinpa.

Actor Jinpa plays the title role in Pema Tseden’s latest film, Jinpa, about a truck driver who accidentally runs over a sheep.

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Also worth seeing: an Almodovar retrospective, Jim Jarmusch’s take on the zombie genre, Hong Kong-set Fagara, and one of the most terrifying films of the year
As well as new releases, the festival includes restored classics. Don’t miss Spike Lee’s classic Do the Right Thing – more relevant than ever



A Woody Allen romcom, an Almodovar retrospective, a Maradona documentary and Jim Jarmusch’s take on the zombie genre are among a slew of new releases and restored classics. Don’t miss Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.


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