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European cinema

European cinema
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.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from Silent Friend.
Asian cinema

Best movies to watch at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2026

Silent Friend, Sirat, Good Boy and Pillion are among our top picks at this year’s festival, which is celebrating its 50th edition.

American cinema

12 new Hollywood movies to watch in spring 2026, from Toy Story 5 to Michael

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Style Edit

Style Edit: Rolex just presented a Masterclass with Cameron Bailey

Asian cinema

10 of the best movies from the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival

Controversy overshadowed an engaging selection at this year’s Berlinale, the best of which included Rose, Josephine and Queen at Sea.

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Juliette Binoche (left) and Anna Calder-Marshall in a still from Queen at Sea, which won the Jury Prize at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.
Britain

Bafta and BBC apologise for racial slur during awards show

Tourette’s campaigner ‘mortified’ after he shouted a racial slur at the Bafta Film Awards on Sunday night.

American cinema

Why Sentimental Value is the most acclaimed European film of the year

The Norwegian drama with Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning won the Grand Prix at Cannes and has 9 Oscar nods. What makes it so appealing?

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American cinema

Review | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Ralph Fiennes leads savage sequel

Fiennes plays a bigger role alongside Jack O’Connell in this unsettling follow-up that sets the franchise up for a grandstand finish.

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Ralph Fiennes in a still from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (category III), co-starring Jack O’Connell and Alfie Williams and directed by Nia DaCosta.
Film reviews

Review | The Thing with Feathers: Benedict Cumberbatch carries moving tale of grief

Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Spruell star in this touching drama about a father struggling to bring up his two boys after his wife dies.

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American cinema

12 new Hollywood movies to watch this winter, from Hamnet to Song Sung Blue

Project Hail Mary, Wuthering Heights, Anaconda and Scream 7 join Hamnet, Song Sung Blue and others on our list of anticipated upcoming films.

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Asian cinema

Want to find solace in film? 10 movies that may offer catharsis and hope

Following last week’s tragic fire at a Tai Po estate in Hong Kong, we look at films in which humanity endures through the darkest of hours.

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Arata Iura (left) and Ryo in a still from Distance (2001), which was conceived in the aftermath of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, carried out in March 1995 by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult.
Obituaries

Oscar-winning UK playwright Tom Stoppard dies aged 88

His work ranges from plays like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to the film Shakespeare in Love, which scooped seven Academy Awards.

British playwright Tom Stoppard arrives for the world premiere of “Anna Karenina” in London in September 2012. Photo: AP
Asian cinema: Chinese films

British film about Hong Kong immigrants showed grim reality of their new lives

Soursweet (1988), about a Hong Kong family’s UK struggles, was a progressive film, despite the narrative controlled by its British makers.

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American cinema

Why this French film star just had to visit Hong Kong’s Chungking Mansions

In town for the Hong Kong French Film Festival, Garance Marillier discusses her ‘must visit’ list and acting with Angelina Jolie in Couture.

Fame and celebrity

Pope hosts Hollywood stars at Vatican, laments decline in cinema-going

The pontiff urged filmmakers to confront violence, war, poverty and loneliness with honesty, and to resist ‘the logic of algorithms’.

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Pope Leo greets Australian actress and producer Cate Blanchett in Vatican City on Saturday. Photo: Vatican Media via EPA
Asian cinema

Can’t get enough of Another World? 10 animated films set in the afterlife

If you liked Another World, you will love these 10 afterlife animations, with subjects from rabbits and dogs to a pianist and a corpse bride.

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A screen grab from Soul, starring Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, one of 10 animated films focusing on the afterlife. Photo: Disney/Pixar
Asian cinema: Chinese films

How Macau and Hong Kong inspired Colin Farrell’s Ballad of a Small Player

Farrell and Edward Berger share why Macau was a ‘perfect setting’ for a tale about an erratic gambler and how he finds reprieve in Hong Kong.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Jean-Claude Van Damme films with Hong Kong roots, including Bloodsport

Action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has made a number of films either filmed in or linked closely to Hong Kong. Here are four.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Hong Kong-born filmmaker in the UK reflects on her immigrant experience

Filmmaker Calif Chong and actress Isabella Wei talk about Chong’s debut film High Wire and the realities of immigration in the UK.

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Isabella Wei (left) and Dominic Lam Kar-wah in a still from High Wire
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The story of Ping Pong, pioneering first film shot in London’s Chinatown

Also the first UK film made by a director of Chinese descent, Leong Po-chih’s Ping Pong flopped upon release but is being rediscovered.

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Fame and celebrity

Italian actress Claudia Cardinale dies aged 87

The actress, who starred next to leading men from Burt Lancaster to Henry Fonda, was the muse of Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini.

Fame and celebrity

After 15 years of Downton Abbey, ‘if this is where it ends, I’m happy’

Creator Julian Fellowes, actor Hugh Bonneville and producer Gareth Neame reflect on the period drama’s success and its enduring legacy.

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The cast of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and writer Julian Fellowes (front) at the world premiere of the film in London. Photo: AP
American cinema

12 Hollywood movies to watch in autumn 2025, from Zootopia 2 to Tron: Ares

Our list also includes Regretting You, Wicked: For Good, Predator: Badlands, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.

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Nick Wilde (left, voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) in a still from Zootopia 2. Photo: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
American cinema

10 of the best movies from the 2025 Venice Film Festival

You won’t find the Golden Lion winner on this list, which includes harrowing Palestinian drama The Voice of Hind Rajab and British film Ish.

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Venice Film Festival

US indie film beats out Gaza war docudrama for Venice top prize

Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ took home the Golden Lion, while ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ took second place.

Film reviews

Review | Silent Friend: Tony Leung Chiu-wai appears in his first European film

The Hong Kong star of In the Mood for Love and Lust, Caution plays a scientist in one section of Ildiko Enyedi’s three-part botanical film.

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Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from Silent Friend. Photo: Pandora Film
American cinema

Why Jet Li’s action thriller Kiss of the Dragon was banned in China

Kiss of the Dragon was a box office success in 2001, but its racial stereotyping, violence and sexual frankness caused it problems in China.

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Jet Li carries Bridget Fonda in a still from Kiss of the Dragon (2001), a popular film around the world that was banned in China. Photo: SCMP
Venice Film Festival

8 stand-out looks from the Venice Film Festival red carpet

Shu Qi, who just made her directorial debut, graced the red carpet in Gaurav Gupta, while Emily Blunt wore a Tamara Ralph gown.

On Our Radar

The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival is more relevant than ever

Showing 22 movies and 37 shorts, the 36th HKLGFF is a critical reflection on the challenges faced by an LGBTQ community under threat around the world.

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