Movies - “The Mermaid”

Until the recent “Star Wars” reboot, “Avatar” was the biggest-grossing movie ever. Most of us love a good science fiction film. Witness Will Smith’s amazing run of #1 movies, or the “Alien” and “Terminator” franchises. “Blade Runner” is getting a sequel, and “Avatar” is getting three!

One of the reasons James Cameron’s “Avatar” connected so well is that it had an environmental message. Recently, China had a similar hit with the environmentally-themed fantasy, “The Mermaid.” It has become the all-time #1 movie in China, and it’s now out on Blu-ray and DVD here.

I recommend it for a weekend daytime viewing. This is when I might put on an animated film, for example, because it provides sheer escapism and tweaks the imagination. But while “The Mermaid” feels like a cartoon, it’s actually live action with lots of special effects, sort of like those old “Jason & the Argonauts” kinda films.

Directed by Stephen Chow, who had a huge breakout hit with “Kung Fu Hustle,” “The Mermaid” is definitely Chinese in its unique mix of fantasy, slapstick and, to westerners, occasional gross-out scenes. It reminds me of when I dated a lovely and elegant Chinese woman who loved to cook; we’d go to Asian markets, and there’d be lots of squid-like marine life in tanks, and it was no big deal to turn them into dinner. There’s an octopus-mermaid guy in the movie who has to deal with human confusion in this respect; gross but funny. Sexual organs are funny, too; a scene where the bad human developer tries to explain to two policemen that mermaids exist, their clueless drawings, trying to visualize what he’s telling them, are hilarious. There’s also some  climactic brutality that is unnerving, but leads to a successful resolution, much the way that “Avatar”’s natives lost their Great Tree but came back to win the battle and save their environment.

It’s not like anything you’ve seen before! The opening scene just seems silly, but stick with it while the main characters are developed, and I think you’ll be delightfully amused. (And what characters!)

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