262. Animal World (Dongwu shijie); movie review

ANIMAL WORLD (DONGWU SHIJE)
Cert 15
130 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence

It starting so intriguingly with wild dreamlike action scenes and highlights in slow motion.
But what took over was a life-or-death game of rock, paper, scissors and head-spinning mathematical equations.
It is fair to say that Animal World is quite different to any movie which will be screened in 2018.
Han Yan's picture begins with its main character, Zheng Kaisi (LI Yi Feng) losing his sick mother's house after signing up to a dodgy deal.
This also leaves him, inadvertently, in debt to a mobster, played by Michael Douglas who offers him the opportunity of writing it off if he signs up to play 'a game' on a huge cargo ship.
The movie then centres on moral dilemmas over what an individual would do to save his own skin.
Yan builds up tension during the game in which each competitor must accrue stars during challenges with cards containing images of rock, paper and scissors.
If they are eliminated they go to a mysterious back room where it is believed they will either face medical experiments or death.
With no other rules, Kaisi is faced with working out the best tactics for survival.
In itself this is pretty gripping but its link to the clown character, into which Kaisi dreams that he morphs and slices apart demons, is rather confusing.
Then he also daydreams scenarios in which he gives his enemies a violent comeuppance.
Chinese movies often have this type of surreal quality which, in this case, seems to be intended to thrill the audiences who find the maths of counting cards a bit dull.
I was rather torn on Animal World. I was impressed by Feng, quite struck by Douglas and gripped by the moral dilemmas in its denouement.
I also admired some of the slow-motion chase scenes which would have been even more inspired on a big screen (I was sent a link so saw the movie on my laptop).
However, the clown elements were baffling and I admit I didn't really understand the mathematical conundrums.
Nevertheless, it is well worth a watch.

Reasons to watch: Different to any film I have seen this year
Reasons to avoid: Its surreal tangents may be too much for some

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10

The big question - What would you do to save your own skin?

Share this post