But one day, So-mi and her mother disappear. When it becomes apparent that mobsters connected to So-mi’s mother’s drug dealing have kidnapped them, Tae-shik is forced to leave his private sanctuary and to go out into the world in search of his one and only friend. In a bid to ensure So-mi’s safety, Tae-shik agrees to perform a one-off job for the gangsters holding the girl. The job turns out to be a set-up that makes him the target of both a rival gang and of an intense police manhunt. On the run from both sides of the law, and risking him life every step of the way, Tae-shik moves ever closer to discovering So-mi’s whereabouts, but in doing so, he also risks revealing the hidden secrets of his past…”

Like a lot of eastern films it has a much sentimentality that western audiences find hard to come to grips with but this is balanced with some of the most kick ass fight scenes I've seen in a while. It is also beautifully shot and straddles that fine line between art house and action film with aplomb.

I don't want to give to much away but there is a short scene where our hero is on a chase and he runs down a corridor and crashes out the first story window to the ground level. I'm sure you are thinking Oooh K - but the magic in this shot is that the camera follows the guy Bourne style down the corridor and out through the window. It's like extreme film making and the effect works it really brings you into the action and I don't think I've seen this done before.

The other outstanding scene is when our hero is up against maybe 15 guys and he only has a knife, fortunately his shady past prepared him exactly for this kind of scenario as he unleashes a blood letting of note. If you were impressed by the hammer scene in Oldboy or Jude Law's corridor fight-out (a rip of Oldboy) in Repo Men you'll be blown away by this fight.

I've might have just ruined 2 moments from the film but I really wanted to give you a flavour of what to expect.

I'm not the only one who thinks The Man from Nowhere is the business it was awarded the Grand Prize at the 3rd International Festival of Detective Films of Beaune 2011. Last year's Grand Prize was awarded to The Secret in Their Eyes, so you know it's in good company.

Others winners this year included Michael R. Roskam's Bullhead and Baran bo Odar's The Silence sharing the Jury Prize.

A young Limburg cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille is approached by an unscrupulous veterinarian to make a shady deal with a notorious West-Flemish beef trader. But the assassination of a federal policeman, and an unexpected confrontation with a mysterious secret from Jacky's past, set in motion a chain of events with farreaching consequences. BULLHEAD is an exciting tragedy about fate, lost innocence and friendship, about crime and punishment, but also about conflicting desires and the irreversibility of a man's destiny.

Special Police Prize 2011 went to the eagerly anticipated Matthew Vaughn & Jane Goldman story The Debt directed by John Madden

Rachel Singer is a former Mossad agent who endeavored to capture and bring to trial a notorious Nazi war criminal - the Surgeon of Birkenau - in a secret Israeli mission that ended with his death on the streets of East Berlin. Now, 30 years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has surfaced, and Rachel must go back to Eastern Europe to uncover the truth. Overwhelmed by haunting memories of her younger self and her two fellow agents, the still-celebrated heroine must relive the trauma of those events and confront the debt she has incurred.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson

The Critic's Prize went to both Michael R. Roskam's Bullhead and David Michod's brilliant Animal Kingdom.

Tells the story of seventeen year-old J (Josh) as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.

And New Blood Best Film went to Yvan Gauthier's L.A. I Hate You

The lives of an action star wannabe, a frustrated family man, and a guilt-ridden boyfriend, intertwine in three tales of sex, violence, redemption and murder all taking place in the City of Angels: Los Angeles, California.

The films above that I haven't seen yet have been added to my must see list and I'm looking into getting over to the The International Festival of Detective Films of Beaune 2012.