The White Storm, a crime thriller starring three of Hong Kong’s most prolific actors, has opened the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.

Lau Ching-wan, Louis Koo and Nicholas Cheung star in the action film about a clash between an undercover cop and a drug lord that director Benny Chan called his most defining work to date.

The three actors said at the opening ceremony of the festival on Friday night that while the movie is filled with explosions and gun fights, some of the more memorable scenes showed the trio at their quietest and most emotional.