Bel Canto — Official Trailer

added: Tue, Aug 7th '18

Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe are caught up in a tense hostage standoff in the official trailer for "Bel Canto."

The film is an adaptation of author Ann Patchett's international best-seller of the same name, which was loosely inspired by the 1996 Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Lima, Peru.

Moore plays a famous American opera singer. When traveling to South America, she agrees to perform a private concert for a Japanese mogul (played by Watanabe), who is celebrating his birthday party at the Japanese embassy. But things take a dark and shocking turn when the Japanese embassy is suddenly taken over by an anti-government group of South American guerrilla rebels. And as a result, Moore's opera singer and Watanabe's wealthy businessman are taken hostage at gunpoint.

Screenwriter/director Paul Weitz, who previously co-created the Amazon series "Mozart in the Jungle" and wrote and directed the critically acclaimed films "Grandma" and "In Good Company" -- and also co-directed "About a Boy" and "American Pie" with his brother Chris Weitz -- directs the upcoming film from an adapted screenplay that he co-wrote with Anthony Weintraub.

Co-starring Sebastian Koch (Bridge of Spies), Christopher Lambert (Highlander), and Olek Krupa (Hidden Figures), "Bel Canto" is opening in theaters on September 14th and will then be available on VOD September 21st.

synopsis:
Based on Ann Patchett's best-selling novel, BEL CANTO is a dramatic love story that follows a famous soprano (Julianne Moore) who travels to a military dictatorship in South America to give a private concert at a party for a wealthy Japanese industrialist (Ken Watanabe). Just as the glittering gathering of diplomats and politicians convenes, the mansion is taken over by a guerrilla rebel group demanding the release of their imprisoned comrades. Threats are made, lives are lost, a tense negotiation begins, and a month long standoff ensues. While they are confined to the house, the hostages and their captors, who speak different languages, are forced to find ways to communicate. Music, especially the beautiful arias performed by Moore's character, a songbird in captivity, sparks a shared sense of comradeship and even love, uniting the disparate housemates as they form unexpected bonds, overcome their differences, and discover their shared humanity.

directed by Paul Weitz

starring Julianne Moore, Ken Watanabe, Sebastian Koch, Christopher Lambert, Olek Krupa, Ryo Kase, Phil Nee, Elsa Zylberstein, Melissa Navia, Maria Mercedes, Johnny Ortiz, Eddie Martinez, Thorbjorn Harr

release date September 14, 2018 (in theaters), September 21, 2018 (on VOD)