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Header image courtesy of Netflix
It’s Oscar season! Held on the morning of 11 March (Hong Kong time), the ceremony will award the best of the 2023 cinematic world. Once it’s all over, we’ll discuss winners, and maybe end up seeing some of the flicks in theatres.
And if cinemas are not for you, there’s always our trusted movie companion, Netflix. Luckily, a few of this year’s nominated films are already available on the platform, including Maestro, Society of the Snow, and Nyad, which we’ve recommended in the past.
You can also check out the following nominees: the dark comedy El Conde, musician Jon Batiste’s biographical documentary American Symphony, animated fantasy film Nimona, civil rights fighter Bayard Rustin’s life story Rustin, and short film The After. For the rest, here’s what we’re watching on Netflix this March 2024.
Japanese movie The Parades follows the story of Miniko, who ends up in an in-between world after death, lingering among spirits who have unfinished business on Earth. Finding it difficult to come to terms with her death and missing her son, she joins a monthly parade where spirits work together in hopes of finding the people they love. Expect a moving after-life movie, with emotional scenes, beautiful cinematography, and a soulful soundtrack.
Calling all sci-fi fans: the adaptation of Remembrance of Earth’s Past (commonly referred to as The Three-Body Problem) is coming to Netflix! The celebrated Chinese novel series’ plot revolves around a physicist, her encounter with an alien civilisation, and the chaos that ensues decades later when they reach Earth because of her. Available 21 March.
A new action-packed series has arrived on Netflix, and its depiction of the French capital is worlds apart from the romanticised one shown in Emily in Paris. Furies is part-revenge, part-gangster series, and follows the story of young Lyna, who seeks her father’s assassin by joining forces with Selma, the leader of Paris’s gangster families. It’s led by a heavyweight cast, and the eight-episode storyline is one of ruthless and bloody underground criminality.
If thrillers and action movies are not your cup of tea, more wholesome content is coming to Netflix too, including the fourth season of reality TV show Blown Away. The Canadian show is a glassblowing competition, with each season leaving us more and more inspired. In every episode, the candidates are given a glassblowing challenge, with one contestant eliminated each time. The various techniques and end results will blow you away!
This 2012 movie, helmed by Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, was recently added to Netflix Hong Kong. It tells the tale of a couple who are forced to face their shared reality of being alcoholics, and their journey and decision to quit. Smashed is a touching story tackling the difficult topic of alcoholism in a grippingly realistic way.
The Believers is a Thai TV series about three failed start-up founders who embark on a scam using Buddhist temples as their hook. Unethical at best, their business plan turns full-on criminal when they get greedy. It is scandalous and entertaining, with colourful sets and a suspenseful storyline. Available 27 March.
If you enjoyed Rustin, you might be keen on Shirley. The biographical movie retraces Shirley Chisholm’s run in the United States presidential election of 1972. As the first Black congresswoman, she dedicated her life to fighting for civil rights. This movie retraces her brave attempt, making younger generations more aware of her untold story. Available 22 March.
This new Netflix series reprises the legendary stories surrounding ninjas and imagines them still hiding in plain sight in our modern world. Set in Japan, the “House of Ninja” is, in fact, a retired ninja family who is called back to duty when danger arises. The eight-episode ensemble mixes ninja tropes with a modern catastrophist plot.
Although its last season aired in 2019, Suits was one of the most-watched shows on Netflix last year, suggesting that we might all be in need of a new legal drama. Inspired by true events, Maamla Legal Hai is set in the Patparganj District Court in Delhi, India. Just like Suits, it has its fair share of arrogant lawyers, ambitious women, and Harvard-educated recruits. It is more light-hearted, but still leaves room for chaos and great dialogue.
This South Korean movie is based on the I Met Loh Kiwan novel. It is a dramatic romance between a man who flees North Korea and seeks asylum in Belgium, and a depressed Korean-Belgian woman. It is a heart-wrenching story about asylum, identity, citizenship, and love.
This limited series is for true-crime fans, but it comes with a serious trigger warning: the Outreau case is a real-life criminal case of sexual abuse against children. The chilling story of the victims was aggravated by judiciary and media mishandling, with the French president calling it a “judicial disaster” at the time. Two decades later, this docuseries looks back on what happened. Available 15 March.
Looking for something different? Chicken Nugget might be worth a try once you hear about the plot: A woman turns into a chicken nugget after entering a weird machine, pushing her father and the guy who has a crush on her to try and bring her back. The South Korean drama series thinks outside the box, to say the least… but we’re strangely obsessed with how it might turn out. Available 15 March.
Millie Bobby Brown stars as a distressed betrothed noblewoman in dark fantasy film Damsel. Elodie fights for herself, waiting for no prince to rescue her (especially since her prince’s family is the one scheming to kill her). Although it has castles, crowns, and even a ferocious dragon, Netflix wants you to know this is not a fairytale.
The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon is a Taiwanese thriller by Hong Kong director Wong Ching-po. Released in late 2023, it has joined the Netflix Hong Kong catalogue this month. In it, a hitman diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer discovers he’s only ranked as the third-most-wanted criminal in his country. Upset by the news, he pushes himself to reach number one on that list before dying.
As far as watching Netflix goes, we’re usually looking for distraction from the real world. But occasionally, a documentary is released that brings us back to reality. Joining that category is Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. A reprisal of the first Turning Point docuseries about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this new instalment explores the Cold War, the end of the Soviet Union, and how these events led to the war in Ukraine today. Among the people interviewed for the documentary are Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Available 12 March.
Art of Love is a Turkish art heist movie. While this is a popular genre these days, Art of Love puts a twist on the classic “thief versus detective” dichotomy. In this particular case, the art thief, Guney, and Interpol officer, Alin, have a romantic past—which, from the trailer, isn’t only in the past. Will justice or love prevail? We don’t know, but we’re certainly looking forward to finding out. Available 14 March.
Born and raised in the French countryside, Lily arrived in Hong Kong looking for an adventure. Passionate about books, she spent some time in Parisian publishing houses and is the author of an illustrated book about hair. Life in Hong Kong for her entails looking for seaside places to eat and a lot of hiking.
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