The Surprise Film, in competition at the 64th Venice Film Festival, is Shentan, a schizophrenic detective film from Hong Kong by Johnnie To and his partner/collaborator Wai Ka-Fai. With Shentan, Johnnie To is back at the Venice Film Festival for the third time in recent years, having taken part in 2004 with Throw Down (Rudao longhu bang), out of competition, and last year with Exiled (Fangzhu), in Competition.

Shentan (Hong Kong, China; 89, v.o. Cantonese, st. Italian/English) with Tony Ching Wan Lau, Andy On, Ka Tung Lam and Kelly Lin, will be screened:

Wednesday 5 September, 7.00 pm in the Sala Perla, for accredited daily press only.

Wednesday 5 September, 8.30 pm in the PalaLido, for all accredited visitors (with Press or Industry priority).

Thursday 6 September, 0.00 midnight in the Sala Grande, for public and all accredited visitors.

The film begins with the disappearance of a police pistol linked to a recent series of heists and murders. Its owner, Wong, earlier vanished while pursuing a suspect in the mountains, though his colleague Chi-Wai miraculously returned unharmed. Ho, the regional Crime Unit inspector in charge of the serial killer investigation, knows that the only way of solving the case is to ask for help from his mentor and ex-boss, Bun. Once considered an expert criminal profiler before going mad a number of years before, Bun has the gift of seeing into people’s souls, where subconscious desires, emotions and mental states are laid bare. For the ex-cop, these are the keys to discovering a killer’s identity. Bun’s conclusion is that Chi-Wai has a total of seven personalities, and that these alternative identities are responsible for his murderous behaviour. However, Ho feels betrayed when Bun’s investigation stretches beyond the scope of the imagination. What begins as a search for answers takes a schizophrenic turn wherein truth and lies, reality and illusion are interwoven.