Octopus with Broken Arms
误杀3
China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 108 mins.
Director: Gan Jianyu 甘剑宇.
Rating: 6/10.
Third of a series of unrelated crime dramas starring Mainland actor Xiao Yang is the darkest yet but let down by an over-complex, roundabout script.
STORY
A city in Thailand, 3 Jun 2024. On the Buddhist holiday of Vesak Day, Zheng Tingting (Ye Quanxi), the young daughter of widowed billionaire businessman Zheng Bingrui (Xiao Yang), chairman of Ruiting cosmetics group, is kidnapped from his riverside mansion during celebrations. He is convinced the kidnapper is Shi Fu’an (Feng Bing), a onetime friend and fellow Chinese refugee from Manga. Zheng Bingrui tells detective Zhang Jingxian (Duan Yihong), from the Anti-Kidnapping Group commanded by Mendoza (Yin Ziwei), that Shi Fu’an had come to the house that afternoon begging to borrow money for his child’s heart operation. Zheng Bingrui had given him 300,000. Witnesses say Shi Fu’an had left on his own; but Zhang Jingxian proves that he had an accomplice, Zheng Bingrui’s mute gardener Lu (Xu Yifan), who had bundled Zheng Tingting into the back of Shi Fu’an’s vehicle. Lu is arrested but refuses to confess. Zheng Bingrui tells Zhang Jingxian he wants to handle the case on his own, with the help of his girlfriend (and Zheng Tingting’s teacher) Li Huiping (Tong Liya). Zhang Jingxian has no option but to stay in the shadows. Zheng Bingrui is told by the kidnapper to take 100 million in cash to a bridge, and from there to board a speedboat. On the way the kidnapper, whose voice is disguised, feeds him clues as to where Zheng Tingting is in the form of questions, like a quiz game. The whole event is live-streamed on the internet by the kidnapper, so the whole city, as well as the police, can follow it. Zheng Bingrui is led to the rundown Vulcan Orphanage in Khungsai, where he himself grew up. There, tied up in a bag, is not Zheng Tingting but a young boy, Slasong Pankong. Zheng Bingrui is told to bring the boy and the ransom money to Thornsai Pier to exchange them for Zheng Tingting. Li Huiping, who’s been accompanying Zheng Bingrui, objects, and one of Zheng Tingting’s fingers is chopped off by the kidnapper. Zheng Bingrui appears to know who Slasong Pankong is. On the way to the pier Zheng Bingrui confesses to Li Huiping that he was once involved in child kidnapping and trafficking, despite being an orphan refugee himself, and that the current head of the National Security Agency, Daymond Pankong (Gao Jie), is also a former child trafficker. So the kidnapper is looking for revenge on both Zheng Bingrui and Daymond Pankong, as Slasong is the younger son of the latter. When they arrive at the pier, Zheng Tingting is not in the warehouse there; but then the police arrive, along with Daymond Pankong, who demands to know where his son is. Zheng Bingrui refuses to say where the boy is, as he wants his own daughter back. Suddenly explosions go off around the pier and in the chaos Zheng Bingrui escapes on a motorbike driven by childhood friend Wu Dayi (Wang Longzheng). (On the wall of the warehouse there had been a message for Zheng Bingrui referring to an incident on 19 Jun 2017, when a ship with 23 child refugees had sunk, following a mysterious onboard explosion. Since then, the general public had suspected a high-level cover-up as no one was ever held responsible.) The kidnapper wants Zheng Bingrui to go public on what really happened that day and who was responsible.
REVIE
The kidnapping of a billionaire’s daughter exposes a whole history of high-up corruption and child trafficking in Octopus with Broken Arms 误杀3, the third of a series of unconnected crime movies all starring sad-faced, onetime comedian Xiao Yang 肖央 (in different roles), creatively produced 监制 by film-maker Chen Sicheng 陈思诚, and sharing the same Chinese title (误杀, literally, “Manslaughter”). Like the previous two entries, family drama Sheep without a Shepherd 误杀 (2019) and hospital hostage drama Fireflies in the Sun 误杀II (2021), it has a colourful English title that has hardly anything to do with the plot; unlike those two, which were remakes of non-Chinese movies, it’s from an original script, by a team including Chen himself and regular writer Li Peng 李鹏. That partly accounts for Octopus’ problems as, despite a strong cast and intriguing opening, the over-complex plot becomes increasingly unbelievable (especially on the tech side) and finally relies on big twists and multiple flashbacks to sort itself out. The darkest of the three to date, it took RMB933 million in the series’ usual end-of-year slot – very nice, but below both Sheep (RMB1.33 billion) and Fireflies (RMB1.12 billion).
Unlike the previous two features, which were both directed by first-timers, Chen has used a proven talent, Chongqing-born Gan Jianyu 甘剑宇, 36, who made an impressive solo debut with the dark, twisty crime drama Vortex 铤而走险 (2019), with Da Peng 大鹏 in his first non-comic lead role. In addition, the key crew are mostly from Fireflies, including d.p. He Shan 何山, composer Hu Xiao’ou 胡小鸥, regular editor Tang Hongjia 汤宏甲, and Hong Kong stylist Zhang Shijie 张世杰 [Stanley Cheung]. The result is a smoothly assembled, good-looking slice of increasingly dark entertainment that’s only let down by its over-complex plotting and roundabout structure.
Again set in an unidentified Southeast Asian country that’s clearly Thailand, the plot kicks off on the Buddhist holiday of Vesak Day when the young daughter of billionaire businessman Zheng Bingrui (Xiao) is kidnapped from his riverside mansion in broad daylight by someone he suspects is a fellow Chinese immigrant and onetime friend from way back. To the consternation of detective Zhang Jingxian (Duan Yihong 段奕宏), Zheng Bingrui is eager to solve the case himself, as he and the girl’s teacher (actress Tong Liya 佟丽娅) are led by the kidnapper from pillar to post to the handover of the ransom. All of this – hardly credibly – is live-streamed on the internet by the kidnapper, with the city’s population watching in as the police also tag along. But half-an-hour in, things get complicated, and much darker, as Zheng Bingrui’s past comes back to haunt him, as well as the pasts of several other characters.
The film’s mordant tone, and some surprisingly visceral violence, are both underscored by Hu’s dissonant score and He’s unvarnished widescreen photography. In his darkest non-comic role yet, Xiao, 45, makes a believable anti-hero laid low by a complex past, his underplaying well contrasted with the hammier style of Taiwan veteran Gao Jie 高捷 [Jack Kao], in his element as a corrupt high official. Chen’s ex-wife, Xinjiang-born Tong, 41, who’s a strong performer when given the chance (The Woman in the Storm 我经过风暴, 2023), is unfortunately stuck in a poorly defined role that’s little more than a script device, someone for Xiao’s character to talk to and explain the plot, who’s virtually ditched halfway through. As the detective who should be solving the case, the reliable Duan (The Dead End 烈日灼心, 2015; The Looming Storm 暴雪将至, 2017) is wryly effective within the limitations of his part. In smaller roles, actress Liu Yase 刘雅瑟 (the daughter in Beyond the Clouds 我本是高山, 2023) and Hong Kong’s Yin Ziwei 尹子维 [Terence Yin] (the starchy police chief in Fireflies) provide strong support.
There’s some awkward English dialogue, especially on the TV news show covering the kidnapping, but the script’s main problem is its structure. Despite having several intense moments, the plot becomes over-complex and unfolds in a roundabout way, with copious flashbacks. Around the 80-minute mark, when everything seems almost over, there’s a big twist, with the film’s remaining 20 minutes revealing multiple dark secrets from the characters’ pasts that get in the way of the basic theme of high-level cover-ups. On-screen statistics at the end, for child trafficking and modern slavery, further hammer home the film’s message.
Though it has little to do with the plot, the English title refers to a tattoo on the kidnapped girl’s hand. The film was shot in Thailand from Apr to early Jul 2024.
CREDITS
Presented by As One Pictures (Beijing) (CN), Wanda Pictures (CN), Shanghai Taopiaopiao Movie & TV Culture (CN), Shanghai Ruyi Film & TV Production (CN), Horgos Excuse Me Pictures (CN).
Script: Chen Sicheng, Wu Pipi, Li Peng, Hu Xiaonan. Photography: He Shan. Editing: Tang Hongjia. Music: Hu Xiao’ou. Art direction: Wang Kuo. Costumes: Zhu Yan. Styling: Zhang Shijie [Stanley Cheung], Luo Peisha. Sound: Wang Chao, Li Tao, Wu Wei. Action: Du Xiubin. Visual effects: Wang Shang, Jiang Yachen, Xu Mingjun. Opening stage play: Chai Zhongsi, Mo Li (direction), Bai Xiaosu (script/direction). Executive direction: Xu Xian.
Cast: Xiao Yang (Zheng Bingrui), Tong Liya (Li Huiping), Duan Yihong (Zhang Jingxian), Liu Yase (Yayin), Wang Longzheng (Wu Dayi), Feng Bing (Shi Fu’an), Zhou Chuchu (Tinaya, Shi Fu’an’s wife), Xu Yifan [Bokeh Kosang] (Lu, mute gardener), Gao Jie [Jack Kao] (Daymond Pankong), Yin Ziwei [Terence Yin] (Mendoza, Anti-Kidnapping Group head), Zhang Rongrong [Sandrine Pinna] (Liang Su’e, police detective), Lu Huimin (TV news presenter), Chen Hao (Zuo, male police detective), Fan Jingyi (Jie, female police detective), Ye Quanxi (Zheng Tingting, Zheng Bingrui’s daughter), Yang Sen (younger Daymond Pankong), Jiang Yiru (teenage Zheng Bingrui), Zhang Mi (Niuniu, Yayin’s daughter), Wang Yijin (boy Zheng Bingrui), Wang Junzhe (boy Wu Dayi).
Release: China, 28 Dec 2024.