The Mermaid (2016) - Stephen Chow

A colossal hit worldwide, Stephen Chow's The Mermaid was completely dumped stateside and its a real shame, as the one-of-a-kind filmmaker has created another truly singular vision that defies conventional genre classification, delivering a thoroughly entertaining film from start to finish that also bringing to the forefront an important message about environmental conservation.  The film is centered around billionaire Xuan, a land developer whose latest project Green Gulf Bay promises to make him very rich.  Xuan has little interest in anything outside of money, pushing forward with the project at a rapid rate, showing no regard for anything but financial success. Unbeknownst the Xuan, Green Gulf Bay is where mermaids live in secrecy, the last of their kind due to mankind's penchant for greed over conservation.  In an effort to protect the remainder of their species, the mermaid collective sends Shan, a young, beautiful mermaid, to seduce and assassinate Xuan, with things getting far more complicated when the two fall in love with each other.  The world and mythology which Stephen Chow's The Mermaid creates is wholly immersive, full of imagination and creativity, making it a film that as one can't help but smile at due to the creative energy pumping through every frame.  One thing that has always stood out to me about Stephen Chow's films is the spontaneity and energy they evoke, with The Mermaid being no exception in its ability to seamlessly transition from comedy to drama to romance.  The flamboyant nature of excess is something Stephen Chow's filmmaking style embraces, which in turn gives The Mermaid such vitality in its vision, having an aura of unpredictabiliy, improvisation, and endless charm.  The uncertainty in the humor is what gives the film so much energy, having an idiosyncratic style all its own, making it completely common place for comedy and drama to live in the same space, much like life itself.  Make no mistake, The Mermaid wears its environmental message on its sleeve, being blunt but never too didactic, understanding the importance of remaining imaginative and playful while commenting on humanities penchant for greed and destruction.  It's a minor miracle that a film this complex, from a genre and tone perspective, works so well,  seamlessly going from absurdist humor to social commentary, with Chow's skills as a storyteller in full display.  With populace cinema being so by the numbers and bombastic these days it's a real shame that The Mermaid wasn't even given a chance to succeed in the United States, being a film that should be able to appeal to all audiences.  It's a film that impressively balances genres and tones, being absurdist and socially important, but perhaps the true reason the film works so well is simply due to Stephen Chow's infectious storytelling, one that seems to always put having fun as the #1 priority, no matter its more complex intentions.

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