Japan | 1991 | Colour | 35mm | in Japanese with Chinese and English subtitles
Natsuko, perpetually dragging an icebox along, has been living with his amnesiac brother since his discharge from the hospital. They begin a life together in a house dilapidated to the point of being surreal. Their halcyon days—filled with a hushed tension—in March Comes in Like a Lion are but occasional daydreams from their quotidian lives. Hitoshi Yazaki wavers between taboo and pure love, creating a Japanese independent film classic still relished by the cinephiles.
The artist Ho Sin Tung is passionate about cinema. References to her favourite films permeate her work (such as in her solo exhibition Hong Kong Inter-vivos Film Festival, a film festival that never existed). March Comes in like a Lion is a film that struck Ho Sin Tung with shock in her youth. Eventually, Ho’s interest in ineffable feelings and marginalised relationships pushed her to explore these themes in her work. In March Comes in like a Lion, Natsuko and Haruo hover ambiguously between being lovers and siblings, echoing the principal themes of Ho’s work.
Ho Sin Tung will attend the artist’s talk after the screening; the talk will be conducted in Cantonese, with simultaneous interpretation to English provided.
Free Admission. Please reserve your seat on the Tai Kwun website