A Sino-Japanese movie About Love, which tries to display the friendly communication between the two countries' youth, will be released in China on Friday.

 

The movie follows three independent romances which unfold in Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai, as three young people overcome the language obstacle and meet three people from the other country. The three couples develop affections each other with different results.

 

Co-produced by Japan-based Movie-eye Entertainment Inc., Toho Company and China-based Tianjin Film Studio, the movie's three parts were presented by three directors from three regions. Japan's Shimoyama (Innocent World) directed "Tokyo," Taiwanese Yee Chih-yen (Blue Gate Crossing) directed "Taipei" and Chinese mainland's Zhang Yibai (Spring Subway) directed "Shanghai."

 

 

The leading actors also are teen idols in each region -- Misaki Ito (Copy Cat), Ryo Kase (Antenna) and Takashi Tsukamoto (Battle Royale) from Japan, Mavis Fan (Private Eye Blues) from Taiwan and Li Xiaolu (Send down Girl) from the Chinese mainland. Li won the best actress at the Romania International Film Festival for her role in the movie, which was released in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore last year.

 

Ren Huanqi, vice director of the Tianjin Film Studio, told Xinhua News Agency they made the movie to reflect the amicable communication between the two countries' youth.

 

"The communication among the youth, who are the spokespeople of our times, is not only that of people but of culture. Friendship, love and the irrelevance of national boundaries are the perpetual themes. The passion for life and for people shown by young people is most powerful," he said.

 

Movie-eye has shown its interest in further cooperation and the next co-produced movie may be about a story of a Japanese teacher in China, according to Ren.

 

Despite a long-standing bitter feud between China and Japan, movie producers of the two countries are continuing to increase their cooperation.

 

After two kung fu movies Hero and House of Flying Daggers, China's most renowned director Zhang Yimou returned to the art house style by inviting veteran Japanese actor Takakura Ken to star in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles in 2005.

 

The tearjerker tells of Ken's character, Japanese fisherman Takada, to fulfill the last wish of his dying son, traveling thousands of miles to China's southeastern province of Yunnan to search for the secret behind a local opera play.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2006)