Let's fly to Italy where Asian movie stars are making their presence felt at the Venice Film Festival. Apart from Andy Lau and Li Bingbing, who walked the red carpet for the premiere of "Detective Dee", Chinese actress Maggie Cheung and Asian star Michelle Yeoh also showed up to promote their latest work.

 

'Detective Dee', the only Chinese entry to the Venice competition, stars Andy Lau and Li Bingbing, both major stars in China and was directed by Vietnamese born Tsui Hark.

'Detective Dee' is set in 690 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty. In the city of Luoyang a giant Buddhist pagoda is under construction. On the date of its completion, China's first female emperor, Wu Zetian, would formally ascend the throne of the largest and most powerful country in the world. But a series of unexplained incidents is threatening Wu's rise to power. Several men have spontaneously combusted in public. Determined to solve the case before her ascension, she turns to detective Dee Renjie, played by Andy Lau for help...

And long-time-no-see Chinese actress Maggie Cheung talks about her latest film, "Better Life," at the Venice Film Festival. The film is directed by Isaac Julien. In it Cheung plays a the Goddess Mazu from the 15-century Chinese fable. "Better City" explores the dreams and fantasies of people willing to risk everything for an improved existence.

Another movie worth mentioning at the Venice Film Festival is John Woo's latest effort "Reign of Assassins" starring Michelle Yeoh. "Reign of Assassins", set in ancient China, stars Yeoh as a skilled assassin who is on a mission to return the remains of a mystical Buddhist monk, believed to hold special powers, to their resting place, and rid her life of violence and bloodshed.

Along the way, she falls in love with a man named Jiang, played by Korean star Jung Woo-sung, whose father was killed by her gang. Unaware that he also is a trained martial artist, love blossoms but tensions arise as the truth of her past unfolds.

The film marks a return for the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star Yeoh into martial arts movies, and a new direction for the genre.