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James Marsh
Originally from England, James is a freelance film critic and journalist who has been based in Hong Kong since 2001. In addition to writing for the Post, he is resident film critic on RTHK Radio 3’s Morning Brew, and Asian Editor of ScreenAnarchy.com. He serves as a consultant for Fantastic Fest, and has a problematic addiction to physical media.
TV show La Grande Maison Tokyo spin-off with Ok Taec-yeon and Kyoka Suzuki a feast for the eyes but not the ears as Kimura butchers French.
The 2025 HKIFF boasts a line-up of nearly 200 films to be shown over 12 days. Here is our pick of unmissable movies and programmes.
Director Ayuko Tsukahara’s story follows a middle-aged woman who travels back in time to save her marriage and her husband’s life.
Singaporean filmmaker Nelicia Low’s feature film debut has some visual flourishes but is let down by glaring weaknesses in its narrative.
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A flimsy plot and sketchy logic spoil this story of a pastor and a detective who go after a recently released sex offender.
A video-game adaptation and a Steven Soderbergh thriller are coming, several franchises are updated and Disney drops a live-action remake.
Directed by and starring Yutaka Matsushige, The Solitary Gourmet movie gives a warmhearted tour of traditional Japanese small-town cuisine.
Quaid plays a timid introvert who dates a colleague, sees her abducted by a brutal gang and takes matters into his own hands to get her back.
Lien Chien-hung’s film follows a lonely chicken farmer who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after being scammed on a dating app.
Complicated and convoluted, this sequel to the most successful animation ever continues the wild ride of half demon Ne Zha.
Park Ji-hyun plays a youth protection officer who starts writing pornography to pay for car repairs in this non-risqué erotic comedy.
Where Oscar winner CODA was warm-hearted, Mipo O’s film makes its child of deaf parents in Japan so unsympathetic he is hard to root for.
Two nuns resort to extreme measures, including exorcism, to save the life of a possessed boy, and in the process defy their church superiors.
Actors depict red and white blood cells in Hideki Takeuchi’s laugh-out-loud movie about how the human body battles cancer and loose bowels.
Wuershan’s rollicking fantasy adventure sequel to his Creation of the Gods has an expanded role for Nashi, and the actress is a revelation.
The debut feature from Japanese-American director Neo Sora, Happyend is a deft cocktail of teen angst and invasive technology.
Anna Cathcart returns as Kitty Song Covey for a second semester in Korea, but the new season wastes opportunities to explore engaging topics.
Nam A-rum’s documentary is an intimate study of her family, her civil servant father and former activist mother, told through home movies.
As the finale of Hajime Isayama’s anime series opens in Hong Kong, a reminder of its plot, the controversies and why it is special.
This sexy K-movie follows a conductor who sleeps with the replacement player for his cellist fiancée, who seems to have disappeared.
From a Thai tear-jerker to a Korean cross-dressing romcom and a hand-drawn Japanese anime, our pick of the best Asian films of the past year.
Other films being released from December 2024 to March 2025 include Paddington in Peru, Captain America: Brave New World and The Brutalist.
Hou Hsiao-hsien acolyte Huang Xi’s second feature is an absorbing, skilfully crafted family drama anchored by Chang’s nuanced performance.
Kenji Kamiyama directs this animated film set 200 years before LotR and starring the voices of Gaia Wise, Brian Cox and Luke Pasqualino.
From takes on the Legend of the White Snake to baffling tales of half-snake girls and soft-core erotica, 10 movies for the Year of the Snake.
Despite interesting cultural observations in the first third, this comedy thriller is let down by poor writing and very stilted performances.
The controversial movie starring Sebastian Stan that chronicles Donald Trump’s rise to power was cut for its Hong Kong cinema release.
Yang is the stand-out star in this ambitious, heartfelt series that sends up police procedural TV shows and addresses racial stereotyping.
Kasumi Arimura and Kentaro Sakaguchi talk coffee, playing the piano and which of their body parts they would like to live on in someone else.
