cyj-89825 Review of Across the Furious Sea

Across the Furious Sea (2023)

Not a great film, but culturally important

[6/10 · 29 December 2023]

I went to the cinema with high expectations, I saw several Chinese videos talking about how this movie tackles father daughter relationships in non traditional way. However, I left feeling disappointed. There's so much flap to this movie, so much of it is unnecessary and convoluted, such scenes about Li Miaomiao's father and his new family. The unique dynamics between them is interesting, however, doesn't serve much to the main plot, which should focus on LaoJin and Nana. The parts that shine are Nana's posthumous memories. She is a blossoming young woman discovering herself in a foreign country. Every SNS entry shows how she is evolving, both for the better and for the worse. Nana is not a perfect person. Her idea of love is clearly toxic and unrealistic. However, she feels relatively fleshed out compared with other Chinese movie heroines. It's rare to see a Chinese movie reflect on father daughter relationships and hopefully this will start more conversations about father daughter dynamics in China. This is by no means a good movie, it's not engaging, not moving, it feels like an soap opera. But it's important for Chinese cinema. Hopefully opening doors for other movies to challenge family dynamics instead of writing something were parents and kids magically reconcile.