Chinese filmmaker John Woo's new action movie made its debut here at the 74th edition of Venice Film Festival on Friday.
"Manhunt" (Zhuibu) runs out of competition, starring Chinese Zhang Hanyu, Qi Wei, and Angeles Woo, Japanese Masaharu Fukuyama, and South Korean Ha Ji-won.
The film is an adaptation of a novel by Japanese Juko Nishimura, which had inspired a first crime film titled "Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare" (You Must Cross the River of Wrath) in 1976.
Set in Japan, the story tells of a Chinese lawyer (Zhang Hanyu) working as attorney for a pharmaceutical firm, and getting unwittingly involved in a murder case. The man realizes he is being framed for the crime.
Believing him the perpetrator, Japanese police launch a wide manhunt for him. This would trigger the lawyer's own desperate effort to unveil the conspiracy, and reach for the truth.
Meanwhile, a veteran detective (Masaharu Fukuyama) does not believe the case to be so clear, and would gradually develop a bond with the fugitive man.
John Woo's "Manhunt" was meant as a tribute to late Ken Takakura, the iconic Japanese actor who starred in the original film directed by Japanese Junya Sato and released in China in 1978.
After Venice, the action movie is to be presented at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.
Source: Xinhua
