Across the Furious Sea (2023) User Reviews

Two families, Six lunatics, One tragedy

[Andarin_ · 8/10 · 1 December 2023]

Love, divorce, mental problems, desire to be loved, Japanese animation, these have always been unavoidable problems for most traditional Chinese families. We can even arbitrarily say that when a problem child appears, he or she will be involved in the above problems to a greater or lesser extent.

And these antinomies are exactly the propositions that the entire movie wants to discuss.

The first half of the movie has a very tense pace. Thanks to Huang Bo's unparalleled acting skills, drum-intensive soundtrack, and fast-paced narrative, the audience will always be in a state of adrenaline.

As the story reaches its climax in the middle, we can see two people with completely different identities, genders, and wealth start an offensive and defensive battle for their children, and become increasingly crazier. Until finally, when all pursuits are over, Bring the subject back to the problem itself.

The second half of the movie is so calm that it's hard to get used to it. Although it avoids a hasty ending with a boilerplate Happy Ending, the ending still lacks an in-depth discussion of the theme of the movie. This not only makes people doubt that director Cao Baoping wants to give Is the audience watching a reflection on family education, or is it just a chase scene?

The overall narrative of the movie is very compact, making it difficult to follow the pace. In order to enhance the atmosphere and make the plot more dramatic, the director will even design some unreasonable plots. You can feel the director trying to tell the story as he sees it.

Although it leaves much to be desired, the film is still worth watching. Such a story can be successfully told and attract everyone's attention, which is already a very big progress.

Not a great film, but culturally important

[cyj-89825 · 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.

There is no love--The Complex Layers of "Across the Furious Sea"

[kaikaiko-25924 · 8/10 · 15 December 2023]

"Across the Furious Sea" falls into the category of a "father avenges his daughter" film. Despite facing censorship, the movie was released four years after its completion. However, it transcends the simple revenge genre. Director Cao Baoping's narrative ambitions extend beyond revenge, using it as a clever disguise for exploring

An Incompetent And Angry Father

The film introduces Huang Bo's character, Lao Jin, a typical middle-aged man and influential figure on the local island. Busy fishing day and night to support his daughter Xiaona's education abroad, Lao Jin embodies the image of a caring father who wishes the best for his child. However, things take a drastic turn when he receives news of his daughter's disappearance during a long voyage.

Initially, Lao Jin's complaints about his numerous ships seem like a disturbance to his peaceful life. However, when he sees his daughter's body and the reality sets in, his anger surfaces dramatically. The movie skillfully portrays his emotional transition, from physical reactions to smashing his head against the wall in grief. The contrasting families-Lao Jin's angry fatherhood and Jing Lan's strong yet weak motherhood-become the focal point of the film's main dramatic conflict.

Jing Lan, played by Zhou Xun, emerges as a new character, taking the initiative to collaborate with Lao Jin in pursuing the truth. Her proposal to hand over the suspect, Li Miaomiao, to the police within three days challenges conventional expectations of a mother's protective instincts.

As the plot unfolds, Lao Jin's unconventional means, fueled by societal and class differences, highlight the movie's exploration of revenge and its consequences. The film subtly conveys the complexities of love and societal expectations.

Love as a Performance

Erving Goffman's theory of dramatization is metaphorically applied in the film. The characters perform specific roles on the social stage, responding to societal expectations and norms. "Across the Furious Sea" weaves together themes of revenge, family dynamics, and societal expectations, presenting love and hate within the original family as intertwined elements.

The film reaches a climax during a typhoon scene, where tensions and emotions are visualized through a collision of three cars. The intertwined space lines symbolize the characters' fates, leading to Li Miaomiao's capture by Lao Jin.

However, the film takes an unexpected turn with the typhoon disrupting the unequal power dynamic between Lao Jin and Jing Lan. Lao Jin, holding Li Miaomiao, symbolizes possession of the truth. But is the truth what Lao Jin believes it to be?

As the film progresses, the director questions the performative nature of love and highlights the hypocrisy behind identity-based obligations. The characters' deliberate demonstrations of love become a complex "performance" influenced by societal expectations.

The movie concludes with impactful scenes, exposing hidden motives, resentments, and the harsh reality faced by the characters. The film's criticism revolves around its overt directing techniques, which some viewers find indoctrinating, aiming to manipulate emotions.

Family of Origin: Original Sin or Opportunity for Change?

The portrayal of the family of origin in the film focuses on creating the image of an incompetent and angry father, Lao Jin. However, as he reflects on his daughter Xiaona and her tragic fate, Lao Jin realizes that he never truly understood or respected his daughter.

The film delves into the pain experienced by contemporary young people, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging individual trauma within the family. While attributing all problems to the family of origin may be a psychological misunderstanding, the film succeeds in sparking broader empathy for the characters' struggles.

In exploring family relationships under patriarchy, the director critiques the imitated actions of love and the consequences of a performative father figure. The film questions whether the family of origin is an inherent obstacle or an opportunity for change.

The ending, far from a false reconciliation, challenges the characters to face the realities of their relationships. The film concludes with a powerful message: love is not about imitation; it requires genuine understanding and response.

As we navigate the complexities of family relationships, the film suggests that everyone has their own secret traumas. While pain cannot be quantified, taking initiative and being responsible for one's life is crucial. The film encourages viewers to firmly hold the reins of their lives, resolving fears, guilt, and anger towards parents to prevent their transfer onto future relationships.

suki & ai..my poor baby girl NANA

[joanneee-70323 · 9/10 · 25 November 2023]

I feel so sorry for the girl NaNa, who is mostly alone and floundring in the world feeling that no one in the world is loving her. And because of that reason, she need to search for the extreme love that can prove the truth of her being valued. At the last moment before her death, she did the drawing of sun with her blood just like what she did in her childhood, wishing the sky turning bright. Which touches me the most is she standing in the class, maybe reading some sentence work aloud with the word "suki" and "ai", both mean "love" in English. After being told the difference between the two words, she found herself cannot make a sentence with the latter one, the word which means two sides are deeply caring about and loving each other, even with her family. I can't cease crying for her. And i do hope that all of her pain can be taken away.i feel so sorry my babe.

High speed chase thriller

[alain-kapel5 · 8/10 · 15 January 2024]

Chinese director Cao Baoping's relentless crime thriller is simply more proof that there's ample life in Mainland China's genre cinema.

A propulsive, intense flick that barrels forward with numerous inquiries and high-speed pursuits, never letting up for at least two thirds of its duration. Anchored by Huang Bo's committed turn as a desperate father searching for his missing daughter, the film is quite successful in creating a chaotic atmosphere that swallows it whole, for better or worse (but mostly the former). In that light, it often reminded me of The World of Kanako.

So, the positives first; the performances are uniformly good, the pacing just about as relentless as it gets, the chase scenes as expertly filmed as anything in modern Chinese thrillers. And the story is quite an emotional rollercoaster too; despite the film's structural deficiencies, it still manages to hit the required story beats. The most impressive sequence here marries both cathartic emotions and visceral action, coinciding a freeway chase with an incoming storm, complete with a huge tornado and fish that rain from the sky.

However, parts of this film fail to completely satisfy, for example its barely coherent storytelling that is partly masked by enthusiastic filmmaking, but reveals its weaknesses upon later reflection. Some events happen almost randomly, characters disappear without further explanation and/or circumstances regarding their fates remain unclear. I've encountered these problems in other Chinese thrillers too, so it's not like I was too surprised by their appearance. Transitions between some scenes are abrupt and editing sometimes feels off; altogether more proof this film needed some more time in post-production.

That being said, Across the Furious Sea is one of China's more successful genre efforts in the last few years; both commercially and creatively. Cao Baoping isn't new to crime thrillers, so this will serve just fine to further boost his profile. Genre enthusiasts would do well to check this one out, provided they keep their expectations realistic.