words james marsh

This year seems to have been a non-stop flurry of film festivals in Hong Kong, whether it was the main International Film Festival in March, the Wreath for Madame Kawakita screenings of Japanese classics, the current Godard retrospective or now the annual HK Asian Film Festival, showcasing more than 50 films from around the continent. As ever, it's an eclectic selection, with plenty to appease, amuse and perplex Hong Kong audiences.

Here are a few I'll definitely be checking out:

The Warrior and the Wolf
The opening film is a large scale historical epic, starring Japanese navel-gazing superstar Odagiri Jo and originally Tang Wei – her with the hairy armpits in Lust, Caution. But since being banned from appearing in Mainland productions, the infinitely more attractive, though perhaps not as talented Maggie Q, steps into the fold. Directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang – not a New Romantic band, but rather the highly acclaimed director of films like The Horse Thief and Springtime in a Small Town, as well as the elegant snoozefest, The Go Master. This looks bigger, louder, faster and sexier, so here's opening the festival opens with a bang.

At the End of Daybreak
The closing film this year comes from Ho Yuhang, the award-winning Malaysian director of Sanctuary and Rain Dogs. The film details a secret relationship between a simple working class lad and a wealthier schoolgirl, a tryst that turns sour leading to blackmail and far worse. Examining their fractured family lives, the lack of parental control, class divisions and broader criticisms of society, At The End of Daybreak continues to cement Ho's reputation as one of the most important filmmakers in a region of ever-increasing relevance.

Breathless
Actor Yang Ik June turns Writer, Producer and Director in this bold, brutal and uncompromising tale of domestic violence and self-destruction. Picking up a slew of awards on the global festival circuit, Breathless is the largely autobiographical tale of a brutish, deeply disturbed debt collector, who crosses paths with an equally abrasive schoolgirl, only for this mismatched pair to strike up an unlikely friendship. The cutting edge of Korean Independent Cinema.

Mother
Highly acclaimed and internationally successful director Bong Joon Ho (Memories of Murder, The Host) has, by all accounts, turned in another masterpiece. Controversially centring this tale of murder, corruption, justice and revenge on an aging female protagonist, the film follows the titular matriarch as she sets out to clear the name of her handicapped son, accused of murdering a schoolgirl and coerced by authorities into signing a confession. Mother is slated to be Korea's official entry into next year's Academy Awards and promises to be an intelligent, yet thrilling experience.

Air Doll
Hirokazu Koreeda's latest film, after a string of critical hits including Nobody Knows and Still Walking, seemed at first glance to be a controversy-baiting piece of poorly judged titillation, casting Korean star Bae Doo Na as a sex doll that miraculously comes to life. What has emerged, however, is a different beast entirely. Air Doll is a delightful tale of unrequited love examining what it means to be human and the loneliness of urban life, while putting a decidedly Japanese spin on the old Pinocchio story.

Face
Always a talking point, the films of Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang often defy description. This is especially true of his latest French co-production, Face. Purportedly about a Taiwanese filmmaker (Tsai's regular cohort Lee Kang Sheng) travelling to Paris in order to stage an adaptation of Salome at The Louvre, Face is a bold, challenging spectacle, brimming with beautiful imagery and even the occasional show tune. Some have loved it, some have hated it, some have been bored to tears – but everybody who has seen Face has come away with a strong, opinionated response.

Crows: Zero II
Whether he is making depraved horror films like Visitor Q or Audition, or big budget family-friendly fare such as The Great Yokai War or Yatterman, a new Miike Takashi movie is always worthy of attention.
This clumsily titled sequel to 2007's Crows: Zero (which played at last year's HKAFF) guarantees fisticuffs galore as he continues to adapt Takahashi Hiroki's school gang manga for the big screen. Expect fighting, swearing, wonderful accessorising of militaristic school uniforms and, this time out, an entire army of skinheads. Not particularly highbrow, but sure to be lots of fun.

The Housemaid
Widely hailed as one of the greatest Korean films ever made, this 1960 psychodrama tells the tale of a regular family torn apart after their newly-hired maid turns out to be a sexual predator with her own increasingly evil agenda. Largely unknown outside of Korea until the 1990s, this is a revelatory piece of work that had the Global Film Community finally looking East to the Han Peninsula.

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Director in Focus: Sono Sion
By quite a stretch, this is the segment of the festival I am most excited about. A chance to delve deeper into the catalogue of one of Japanese Cinema's most singular talents, in an industry seemingly brimming with them. HKAFF here includes six of the performance poet/director's films, including 2001's Suicide Club, which opens with a platform full of schoolgirls jumping in unison under the wheels of a subway train. If you didn't get a chance to see the awesome Love Exposure back in March at the HKIFF, then here you get a second chance. 237 minutes of religion, sin, guilt, sex, love, loneliness and up-skirt photography – it's worth every second! Also included are Sono's debut, Bicycle Sighs and his latest work, Be Sure To Share, a quiet reflection of one man's relationship with his father.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. As ever, the joy of a festival like this is discovering new and exciting films and filmmakers and unearthing hidden gems you previously knew nothing about. Hopefully I have helped point you in the direction of a film or two you may have otherwise passed by, I certainly intend to check out plenty more from the bountiful selection on offer.

The HKAFF will open on October 15 and tickets are now on sale - see the listings or visit www.hkaff.asia for full schedule and ticket details.