[2023.01.04] FOR THE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, JANUARY 1 2023

For the week ending Sunday, January 1 2023

10 VIOLET NIGHT
    d. Tommy Wirkola
    David Harbour, Beverly D'Angelo, John Leguizamo

  9 THE MENU
    d. Mark Mylod
    Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult

  8 TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
    d. Ruben Ostlund
    Charlbi Dean, Harris Dickinson, Woody Harrelson

  7 THE FABELMANS
    d. Steven Spielberg
    Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano,
      Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen

  6 HONG KONG FAMILY
  Can : Gor Si Gor Jik
    d. Eric Tsang Hing Weng
    Teresa Mo Shun Kwan, Gardner Tse Kwan Ho, Edan Lui Cheuk On,
      Anson Lo Hon Ting, Hedwig Tam Sin Yin, Angela Yuen Lai Lam,
      Joey Leung Cho Hiu, Fung So Bo,
  Rating : IIA
  Length : 114 mins.
  Opening October 7 2022 at the Busan International Film Festival
  Opening October 25 2022 at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival
  Opening November 24 2022
  Site : https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/program/prog_view.asp?idx=61804&c_idx=369&sp_idx=&QueryStep=2
  Site : https://www.hkaff.asia/en/film/2022/detail/128
  Teaser : https://youtu.be/6X-gj8B0DbU
  Trailer : https://youtu.be/dppabXtFBTw

[ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ]
    The chaos began at the Winter Solstice dinner eight years ago. The father lost his temper, the son, not able to forgive his father, ran away from home. Eight years have passed, and the family's relationship is still cold and distant. A cousin returns to Hong Kong from England and hopes to gather everyone for a Winter Solstice dinner. The long-awaited gathering prompted everyone to rethink their relationships with family members. Some choose to leave, some are back. When things are about to fall apart, it might as well be an opportunity to mend connections.

[ BUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ]
    On the evening of the family's traditional winter solstice dinner, Chun and Ling, their daughter Ki and son Yeung, and Ling's brother Ming gather at Ling's mother's house. Tired of Chun’s incompetence, losing his job when they're looking to repair and move into the house they bought with everything they had, Ling demands a divorce. While attempting to mediate between the two, Yeung gets greatly disappointed and angry with Chun. And Ming, whose business failed, has a fight with his aging mother. That becomes the last family dinner. Eight years later, Ming's daughter Joy returns to Hong Kong, and the family plans for their traditional dinner on the winter solstice again. Can the years of pain and remorse bring the family together again? On this evening of Joy’s first winter solstice dinner, the film shows through the night scenery that a family can be whole even if it is not perfect. (CHOI Eun)

[ HONG KONG ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL ]
    Edan Lui, member of Hong Kong pop sensation Mirror, takes on his most challenging role yet in this powerful and unsentimental family drama. Based on the story of director Tsang Hing Weng Eric's own family, Tsang's directorial debut follows a family in a Hakka-walled village eight years after a combative winter solstice dinner tore the family apart. When a cousin returns home and seeks to reunite the family for another dinner, they must rethink their connection. In addition to his fellow Mirror member Anson Lo, Lui is also supported by a cast of both masterful veteran actors and talented up-and-coming stars.

  5 THE SPARRING PARTNER
  Can : Jing Yi Wai Long
  Lit : Justice Cloister
    d. Ho Cheuk Tin
    Yeung Wai Lun, Mak Pui Tung, Louisa So Yuk Wa, Michael Chow Man Kin,
      Jan Lamb Hoi Fung, Gloria Yip Wan Yi,
      Xenia Chong Wan Ching,
  Rating : III
  Length : 135 mins.
  Opening August 30 2022 at the Hong Kong International Film Festival
  Opening October 27 2022
  Trailer : https://youtu.be/YZ7g5Gp97B8

[ THE 46TH HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ]
    Adapted from a sensational real-life case in 2013, the intricate story begins when a young man partners with his friend to murder and dismember his parents. Pleading not guilty, the defense attorneys soon turn on each other, as the defendants play the devil and idiot game. Meanwhile, heated debates emerge inside the jury room, where nine jurors grapple with the truth. Crafting a complex, multi-layered narrative with surprising twists and turns, Ho Cheuk-tin sets himself a formidable challenge in this directorial debut.

[ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ]
    Adapted from a sensational 2013 family murder, Henry Cheung partnered up with his friend Angus Tong to murder and dismember his parents. In the courtroom, two veteran lawyers Wilson Ng and Carrie Yau were defending the pair pleading not guilty. The prosecutor Allen Chu suggests the murder was a calculated move for money. But the plot thickened when Ng and Yau began to present their case, and when Tong rebutted all accusations on his own. The truth becomes all the more elusive as the defendants played the role of 'genius' and 'idiot' in court. In the breakroom, discussions between the nine jury members spiraled into debates of right and wrong.

  4 TO MY NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD SELF
    Can : Cup Sup Gau Shui Dik Ngor
    d. Mabel Cheung Yuen Ting
    Documentary
  Rating : IIA
  Length : 136 mins.
  Opening August 21 2022 at the Hong Kong International Film Festival
  Opening October 12 2022 (Preview)
  Opening December 23 2022 (Preview)
  Opening January 26 2003

[ THE 46TH HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ]
    Sparked by the demolition and reconstruction of its century old campus, Ying Wa Girls' School embarks on a project to chronicle the transformation of its students through the penetrating camera of director Mabel Cheung, its distinguished alumni. Following a group of young students since 2011, the documentary captures the trials and tribulations that go with the most turbulent decade in Hong Kong's history. An up-close and honest coming-of-age saga, with fascinating stories to tell, and personal journeys of self-discovery and realisation.

  3 THE NARROW ROAD
  Can : Jat Lo Mei Chun
  Lit : Narrow Road Miniscule Dust
    d. Lam Sum
    Louis Cheung Kai Chung, Angela Yuen Lai Lam, Patra Au, Chu Pak Hong
  Rating : IIB
  Length : 116 mins.
  Opening August 15 2022 at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
  Opening October 25th 2002 at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival
  Opening October 29th 2022 at the Asian Pop Up Cinema
  Opening December 22nd 2022
  Site : https://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/index.php/2022/narrow-road/08-18_14-00#booking-panel
  Site : https://www.hkaff.asia/en/film/2022/detail/129

[ HONG KONG ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL ]
    In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, honest cleaning service owner Chak hits tough times as a terrible economy and a dearth of supplies threatens his business. In need of an assistant, he hires Candy, a young single mother with a penchant for stealing. The two slowly forge a bond, but the cruel realities of the pandemic loom on the horizon. Painfully timely but also tender in parts, Lam Sum's film is a poignant portrait of what happens when modern poverty is further exacerbated by an unprecedented calamity. It's a remarkably assured directorial effort enhanced by moving performances.

[ EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ]
    In the early days of the pandemic, Chak, struggling to keep his cleaning company afloat, hires single mother Candy. But as the chemistry between them develops, Candy finds it hard to abandon the survival tactics of deception she’s always needed to get by. Featuring gorgeous cinematography of night-time Hong Kong and a trio of exceptional performances, The Narrow Road is a humanist charmer, sensitive to the tough reality of lives lived with no margin for error. [15] Kate Taylor

[ SCREEN DAILY ]
    This social drama focuses on the owner of a small cleaning company who can barely make ends meet. A new hire of a young single mother helps keep his business afloat until the pandemic worsens.

  2 PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH
    d. Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
    DreamWorks Animation
    English Voices: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek
    Cantonese Voices: Jay Fung Won Him, Janice Vidal (Wai Lan),
      MC Cheung Tin Fu, Gareth T. (Tong Ling Shan)

  1 AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
    d. James Cameron
    Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana,
      Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet