Abstract:

 The twists and turns in plot development of genre film stories depend on the creating, developing and solving of narrative conflicts. A crossgenre comparison between the Japanese film Manhunt (1976) and the Chinese film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2006) shows that the two films are not only distinctive in terms of style and genre, but also divergent in the nature of narrative development of conflicts and ways of solving conflicts.The former presents social contradictions bluntly by constituting dualistic conflicts between individuals and society; and taking the genre of suspense and thriller, it criticizes the prevailing materialism which corroded the healthy Japanese society in the 1970s. The later focuses the main narrative conflicts on the relationship of alienation caused by lack of communication between individuals; and taking the genre of literary film, it constructs and solves narrative conflicts in the perspective of transnational cultures, with a view to reflecting on the embarrassing situation experienced by traditional Chinese interpersonal relationships under the severe impact of commodity tide in the early 21st century. Despite the difference, the analysis finds that the two films share the same theme, i.e., calling for tolerance and trust to reconstruct the alienated interpersonal communication and understanding.

Key words: thriller, literary film, theme expression,  narrative conflicts, genre elements