THE WHITE STORM (SOU DUK /SAODU) by Benny Chan 

THE SEVENTH WALK (SAATVIN SAIR), the latest film by Indian director, Amit Dutta, will be the closing film of CinemaXXI, the program section at the 8th Rome Film Festival taking place November 8 to 17, 2013. THE WHITE STORM (SOU DUK /SAODU) by Benny Chan will close the festival.

THE SEVENTH WALK / SAATVIN SAIR by Amit Dutta, India, 2013, 70’

The extraordinary landscape of the Kangra valley, which Amit Dutta had already filmed in Nainsukh (2010), is the setting once again for the latest film by the Indian director. But whereas Nainsukh was based on the artistic history of an XVIIIth century painter, whose work was figurative Saatvin Sair is inspired by the works of a contemporary Indian artist who paints abstract landscapes, giving free rein to the imagination, as is customary in the modern Western tradition (oil on canvas). In the film, wandering through a forest a painter sees a mysterious footprint and hears the strains of music, which lead him deeper into nature in pursuit of its source, hoping that it might lead to his innermost seeking. As he wanders, he rests under a tree; in his sleep he sees himself walking, painting, stones defying gravity, a small girl taking the sky-route to deliver his daily fruit and milk, seasons changing and years passing. He wakes up and walks into the landscape made-up of his own paintings where the object of his quest might await him. 

THE WHITE STORM (SOU DUK /SAODU) by Benny Chan, China, Hong Kong, 2013, 140’
Cast: Sean Lau, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung, Yuan Quan, Lo Hoi Pang

Tim (played by Sean Lau) is the ambitious chief inspector of the narcotics bureau, who puts his career above all else. Chao (played by Louis Koo) is a policeman who works undercover, in the depths of Hong Kong’s illegal trafficking. Wai (played by Nick Cheung) is Tim’s loyal subordinate who hopes, some day, to earn the respect of others. The three are life-long friends, but a new mission will put their brotherly bond in danger. In fact, the leader of the Chao gang, Hak Tsai is about to make the biggest drug deal in his criminal career with the notorious Eight-Faced Buddha, South East Asia’s most powerful and feared “drug lord”. Tim is convinced that capturing the Eight-Faced Buddha could be a pivotal moment for his career, while Chao reluctantly agrees to leave Hong Kong and go undercover to infiltrate Hak Tsai’s gang: this will be his last mission before beginning a new life with his pregnant girlfriend. Wai, whose girlfriend has just left him, simply wants to restore his confidence in himself and achieve success. The mission ends in a showdown in which Buddha gets the upper hand and forces Tim to choose which of his two friends will live. With great anguish, Tim chooses Chao and Wai is pushed off the cliff. Five years later, Buddha’s name resurfaces in Hong Kong. Tim and Chao reunite to take revenge, but find that Wai is still alive and involved in a dangerous plot. The three friends will once again have to sacrifice their friendship….