A difficult genre to effectively nail in today’s age, the neo-noir proves to be alive and well with Dave Boyle‘s Man From Reno. Full of perfectly cast characters (including Steven Seagal‘s daughter Ayako Fujitani in the lead role), the low-budget drama feels greatly authentic in its tone and execution. While comparisons to films from the Coens and even Chinatown are warranted, Boyle’s take is fresh enough to create an original, gripping mystery (read our full review).
Earning acclaim during its festival run, today we have an exclusive clip from the film, which stars Pepe Serna (Scarface and most recently Cake) as Paul Del Mora, a sheriff in a small San Francisco town who accidentally hits a man with his car on his drive home. Before Del Mora is able to continue an investigation of the incident, the man vanishes without a trace. While at the same time famous Japanese crime author Aki Akahori, played by Fujitani, visits San Francisco and meets an unknown Japanese man whom she has an affair with. Without warning the mysterious man that Aki has fallen for disappears, leaving only his suitcase. Paths collide when Sheriff Del Mora meets with Aki and tells her that the man she was involved with is directly involved in a murder investigation.
The clip below follows two of the leads as they are first getting to know each other when a mysterious figure appears in the background. Check it out below, along with the trailer, and see where it’s playing here.
In a small town south of San Francisco, Sheriff Paul Del Moral is driving home through the fog one night when he accidentally strikes a pedestrian, a lone Japanese man. However, before an investigation can take place the man disappears from the hospital without a trace.
At the same time, Japanese mystery author Aki Akahori takes a trip to San Francisco in order to escape the press tour for her latest book–a potboiler in her world-famous “Inspector Takabe” series. Feeling lonely and vulnerable, she begins a romantic affair with a mysterious Japanese traveller from Reno who is staying in the same hotel. Her new lover, Akira Suzuki, is charismatic and charming but abruptly disappears from the hotel, leaving behind his suitcase and a trail of questions…
MAN FROM RENO is directed by Dave Boyle (WHITE ON RICE & SURROGATE VALENTINE) and stars Ayako Fujitani (TOKYO!), Pepe Serna (SCARFACE), and Kazuki Kitamura (THE RAID 2 & KILL BILL). The film is produced by Ko Mori and written by Dave Boyle, Joel Clark, and Michael Lerman.
Man From Reno is now expanding. See the roll-out details here.