Hong Kong movie Confession of Pain which lands at cinemas Friday may be a strong competitor to Curse of the Golden Flower, according to Shenzhen reporters who watched the limited screening Wednesday.

Starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Shu Qi and Xu Jinglei, the film is co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It tells the story of a police officer (Leung) and his former colleague (Kaneshiro) who quit to become a private detective. 　

The director is so confident that he tells the audience at the very beginning, in a few flashback scenes, that Leung is the murderer.

There are, however, many twists to the story before it reaches its climax when Leung commits suicide after getting his revenge.

Although it is another police story by Lau and Mak, Confession is very different from their 2002 cop movie Infernal Affairs, which depicted a fierce face-off between an undercover officer and his mafia opponent. Confession is more of a tense thriller that snares the audience with its plot line and reasoning. 　　

Apart from the middle-class wife played by Xu Jinglei, who lacks a real feeling of emotional tension and struggle, the rest of the cast do quite a good job in portraying their roles, Shenzhen reporters agreed. 　　

While other movies have been pushed out of local cinemas over the Christmas period by Curse which cost 360 million yuan (US$45 million), Confession should attract moviegoers with its better storytelling and a more realistic look at life. 　

"The two movies belong to different genres, which will attract different audiences. Although Curse occupies most cinema schedule lists, it does not mean Confession has no chance of winning," said a local cinema manager. 　　

(Shenzhen Daily December 22, 2006)