Red Corner

Red Corner (1997) is an American legal thriller directed by Jon Avnet — watch online on iFILM. Jack Moore, played by Richard Gere, flies to Beijing to close a satellite TV deal. He wakes up in a hotel room next to a dead woman he barely remembers meeting.

Under Chinese criminal procedure as it stood at the time, the accused starts guilty and the burden runs backwards. The death penalty was applied in roughly 60 percent of trials. Jack's court-appointed defense attorney, Shen Yuelin (Bai Ling), is a true believer in the system — she's not there to subvert it on his behalf. What develops between a man who knows he's innocent and a lawyer who can't afford to believe him is the actual engine of the film.

Gere was a vocal critic of Chinese government policy in Tibet at the time of filming, which gives the casting its own edge. The procedural detail is specific enough that the trap never feels abstract. Stream Red Corner online on iFILM.