Red Corner

The thriller Red Corner is set in China and is about an American businessman, Jack Moore, who is arrested and charged with a murder he did not commit. The evidence points to him, for the girl he spent the night with was found dead in his room and he himself was smeared in blood. What is worse, the murdered woman is the daughter of a high-ranking officer.

The embassy is not keen on getting mixed up in the awkward case, so Jack Moore's only support is his appointed defence counsel Shen Yuelin, a young woman. She too finds it hard to believe in Jack's innocence, but gradually the outlines of a conspiracy become clear. The problem is just that nobody else in the justice system is willing to acknowledge that Jack might be innocent. He has been condemned in advance - to death.

Red Corner tells an exciting story, but at times it is weighed down by cringe-inducing clichés. On the plus side is a reasonably nuanced view of both Americans and Chinese, who are mostly allowed to speak their own language.