Across the Furious Sea [涉过愤怒的海] (2023)

Director Cao Baoping’s latest action film features a father [Huang Bo] responding to the death of his daughter in Japan in the most ludicrous manner possible.

Lao Jin [Huang] is the captain of a fishing boat fishing mainly illegally in foreign waters. His independent nature is shown early on when he fights off the heavily armed patrol of an unspecified foreign country.

His daughter Jin Lina aka Xiaona or Nana [Zhou Yiuran] has gone to Japan and is adjusting to the rather different pace of life while working in part-time jobs to support her studies. Then Lao Jin receives the news that his daughter is missing and he travels to Japan to search for her. However, her body is soon discovered. A wealthy Chinese national Li Miaomiao [Zhang Youhao] is suspected of murder but he quickly flees back to China.

As you would, Lao Jin follows him and breaks into Li’s family home. He eventually meets up with Li’s mother [Zhou Xun] who offers to turn her son over to the police if she is given three days. Of course, she has no intention of doing so.

If this sounds a bit unlikely, the film gets much more ludicrous from here on. Director Cao (who also co-wrote) seems to be aiming for a Chinese remake of Taken with appropriate levels of violence and stupidity.

Huang Bo has shown that he can act [Dearest, Gone with the Light] but here he seems to be aiming for a Chinese version of Liam Neeson (and this is not a compliment). Zhou Xun continues her campaign to appear in as many bad films as possible. Only Zhou Yiran – who seems to be in a different film – as the insecure daughter comes out of this with credit.

The film does potentially raise a range of important issues (in particular the relationship between parents and children in a rapidly changing society) .

But if the director and co-writer really intended a critique of patriarchy or Chinese parenting, a more low key movie might have been more effective.

As it is the focus is entirely on violence (including sexual violence) and car chases (preferably during a tornado with falling fish).

The claim that this movie has any serious intentions is just an attempt to give an intellectual veneer to what is in reality just a basic action movie.

The film is based on Lao Huang’s 2015 novel (left).

It gets 7.3 on Douban which is about twice what is deserves. At a ridiculous 144 minutes, for me it’s about 144 minutes too long. The film had topped the Chinese box office on release so obviously many people do not share my entirely negative view.