Nomad

Patrick Tam's 1982 Hong Kong film is among the most contrary works of the city's new wave. Four young people drift through a summer without responsibility; their relationships tangle, and in the background a threat connected to the Japanese Red Army draws closer. The film's strength is showing aimless youth as a condition rather than a criticism. Tam's visual language is extremely bold: blocks of colour, wide framings and abrupt cuts. It is one of Leslie Cheung's early roles. The film was cut by the censors and different versions circulated for years. The ending breaks entirely with the tone of the rest and is shattering. Who it's for: viewers interested in the Hong Kong new wave and formal experiment. Who it's not for: anyone wanting narrative consistency, or put off by sexual content and sudden violence.