While I'm sure that rushing Yu Likwai's Plastic City so that it could screen in the Venice and Toronto film festivals last year seemed like a good idea at the time, god knows that the powers associated with the picture had already begun to regret the decision by the time TIFF rolled around. You see, the film just wasn't done yet and everybody involved knew it but you just can't commit to two of the world's biggest film festivals and then withdraw at the last second and so they gritted their teeth and went through with it after having sales outfit Celluloid Dreams send out a notice asking that buyers not come and see the film at these festivals. Yes, that's right: they got the film into two of the largest showcases in the world and then asked people not to come.

And it's a shame, really, because the film was one of the most anticipated titles on the circuit last year thanks to the combination of director Yu - Jia Zhang-Ke's regular cinematographer - and lead actors Anthony Wong and Joe Odagiri. Throw that trio into an international crime picture and fans of both sides of the arthouse / genre divide could be heard licking their chops. All has been quiet on the Plastic City front since Toronto, though that has now changed with a theatrical release due soon in Japan. And with the release comes the first public trailer for the picture. Yu can shoot amazing film, no doubt about that, but I have to hope they've correcting some of the dubbing problems that marred the original version.

You can check the trailer below the break but be sure to check who's standing behind you first. It never quite crosses the line into outright naughtiness but it certainly comes close.