John Woo’s tribute to Ken Takakura
With the Chinese version of Manhunt, screened at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, the filmmaker salutes a Japanese star who influenced generations in China. Xu Fan reports.
Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo has been a longtime admirer of the late Japanese actor Ken Takakura. But Woo did not get a chance to work with Takakura, who died in 2014.
Now, with the Chinese version of Manhunt, which has been screened at the ongoing Venice International Film Festival, Woo uses the silver screen to honor a star who has influenced generations in China.
The original Japanese film, also called Manhunt, which is about a procurator who wants to clear his name, influenced Chinese ideas about screen heroes when it was released in 1978. And it made Takakura one of the most popular foreign stars in China back then.
A day before Woo and the Chinese cast of the new film flew to Italy to attend the screening, also the movie’s global premiere, they attended an event in Beijing where it was announced that the film would hit Chinese mainland theaters on Nov 24.
While previous reports said that Woo’s Manhunt is a Chinese remake of the Japanese action thriller by the same name, Woo says: “We have added a lot of new content as the copyright deal requires it.
“The movie and the novel are both set in the 1970s, but the Chinese version is a present-day story. Besides, the Chinese tale is more romantic,” he says.
The Chinese movie, featuring mainland actor Zhang Hanyu, actress Qi Wei and Japanese actor Masaharu Fukuyama, is based on the Japanese novel Kimi Yo Funnu No Kawa O Watare (You Must Cross the River of Wrath) by Juko Nishimura.
Hong Kong-based Media Asia Films company bought the movie rights to the novel from its Japanese publisher Tokuma Shoten Publishing in 2015.
The new story features the protagonist as a Chinese lawyer working for a Japanese medicine company. After being framed for murder, the lawyer, played by Zhang, attempts to clear his name.
Woo, 71, is widely regarded as a pioneer of Hong Kong action movies, especially those in the 1980s and ’90s.
His films such as A Better Tomorrow (1986), The Killer (1989) and Hard Boiled (1992) paved his way to direct Hollywood blockbusters Face/Off (1997) and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), making him one of the most recognized Chinese names in the West.
But in recent years, Woo has seen failure with The Crossing films, based on the true story of the sinking of the Chinese liner Taiping.
The two films — which had a combined budget of 400 million yuan ($61.2 million), and stars like Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Song Hye-kyo — were released in 2014 and 2015. They raked in around 250 million yuan at the box office.
Woo turned down invitations to direct superhero movies from Hollywood when he decided to do The Crossing movies. But he says he has no regrets.
“I am not a fan of sci-fi stories and I am not good at directing such movies. Personally, I like stories with human interest,” he says.
Most of Woo’s movies showcase brotherhood and promise, which he says is because of his education and the historical figures he admires.
Speaking about his connection with Japanese cinema, Woo says he is a diehard fan of Akira Kurosawa, one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema.
“Every year I watch Kurosawa’s classics at least once. And Seven Samurai has inspired me on editing, shooting and pace of filming,” he says.
As for his comfort zone — action movies — Woo will soon get international reactions to Manhunt.
Venice has been lucky for Woo. He was presented the Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement in 2010, making him the first Chinese filmmaker to take home the award. And, Manhunt is expected to give a boost to the veteran filmmaker’s career.
But some critics say that youngsters — now a major force among moviegoers in China — may not be as nostalgic as earlier generations.