"Five Minutes to Tomorrow" made its debut in mainland China on Oct. 23, Thursday, which is more than a month before its release in Japan on Dec. 27, China.org.cn reported.
The film will have its premiere in Taiwan at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival on Nov. 12. However, it already debuted in South Korea at the Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 3.
Loosely based on the namesake Japanese novels by Takayoshi Honda, the story of the romantic thriller revolves around twin sisters who fell in love with the same man until one of them gets killed in an accident.
The film adaptation stars Jet Li's "Badges of Fury" co-star Chinese actress Liu Shihi, who will play both twin sisters Ruo Lan and RuMei. Liu will play opposite Japanese actor Haruma Miura as Ryo, the twins' common love interest. The script was written by Isao Anne Horiizumi.
Directed by Yukisada, "Five Minutes to Tomorrow" is a collaborative production of Japan, Taiwan and the mainland China.
Yukisada decided to set the story in China in the Mandarin language film, with some scenes filmed in Mauritius.
The twist of the story begins when the viewers are left wondering which of the twins survived a boating accident when they took a trip to Mauritius.
Miura's character Ryo is an introverted Japanese living in Shanghai, where he works as a watch and clock repairman.
Three months before filming "Five Minutes to Tomorrow," Miura started to study Mandarin, as he revealed on a Japanese variety show, according to Meniscus Magazine.
This significantly helped him portray an expat whose reserved personality is exacerbated by language barrier. It is said that Miura's delivery of Mandarin is almost perfect as all of his lines in the film are in the Chinese dialect.
Also playing a major role in the film is Taiwanese actor Chang Hsiao-chuan. His character Tian Lun is a rich film producer who is engaged to one of the twins, RuMei.