Crying Freeman

Crying Freeman is a 1995 action film starring Mark Dacascos, Julie Condra, and Tchéky Karyo, and directed by Christophe Gans. It is an adaptation of the best-selling manga of the same name by Kazuo Koike and Ryoichi Ikegami, drawing primarily upon the "Portrait of a Killer" arc. The film was an international co-production between Canada, France, and Japan, and was filmed on location in British Columbia in October 1994. Despite being heavily promoted by Viz Media in Animerica magazine and reprints of the Crying Freeman graphic novel, the film was not released in the United States until November 2018 on Amazon Prime Video. Plot While painting the landscape on a hill in San Francisco, a young woman named Emu O'Hara witnesses the murder of a Japanese Yakuza member. She notices that while the assassin stands emotionless in front of her, his eyes begin to shed tears. The assassin introduces himself to Emu as "Yo". Days later, after Emu returns to her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Shido Shimazaki makes his appearance at the local police precinct, announcing a war between his clan, the Hakushin Society, and the "Sons of the Dragons" - a Chinese Triad that ordered the assassination of Shimazaki's son in San Francisco. Interpol detective Netah explains that the Sons of the Dragons are descendants of 108 Buddhist monks who rebelled against the Manchu reign in China centuries ago, and that the "Freeman" is their bringer of death. Shimazaki then tells everyone that Emu is the Freeman's next target, as she was the only witness to his son's assassination, and the assassin's code is that a person who is given Freeman's name becomes his next kill. However, shortly after their meeting is adjourned, Shimazaki and his bodyguards are ambushed outside the precinct by a masked Freeman and his assistant Koh. After dispatching the bodyguards and disabling the nearby police officers, Freeman successfully kills Shimazaki before running off. During his escape, he passes by Emu, who recognizes his eyes through his mask. As Freeman and Koh flee the scene, Emu utters Yo's name to the surprise of Detective Forge, who is assigned to protect her.