The story tells of a Japanese businessman, who is sent to assess some gems in a remote Chinese village, and a member of the yakuza, who is accompanying him to make sure his organization gets its proper share. The scenery of China is something not usually explored in Japanese film and thus was a massive change of pace for Miike, and a far cry from the recurrent themes of violence and sexuality present in his other films. Chinese locations in the movie include Dali City, Yunnan, the city characters enter through a stone arched gate and the Nujiang River, where they see people riding pulleys on steel cables over the water.
