The Mermaid (2016) on Netflix
Liu Xuan buys the Green Gulf for a land reclamation project, and his sonar sickens the merpeople living there. They send Shan, a mermaid trained to pass as human, to stop him.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb6.2/1011,132 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes95%
Trailer
Plot summary
Property tycoon Liu Xuan has bought the Green Gulf, a coastal wildlife reserve, to reclaim the land. To clear the water he uses sonar, not knowing the gulf is home to merpeople. Many of them have died or fallen ill, and the survivors live in an abandoned shipwreck. They decide to kill Xuan, and Shan, a young mermaid taught to walk on her fins and move among humans, is chosen to seduce him. At a party for his business success she poses as a dancer and asks him to call her. Xuan takes her for an escort and dials her number to make Ruolan, his business partner and former girlfriend, jealous. Shan's attempts on his life keep failing.
Cast
- Mei'e Zhangas Mermaid
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Mermaid (2016)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Taiwanese quota rules allowed only ten mainland Chinese films into Taiwan each year, chosen by lottery, and The Mermaid drew number 44. It was the first time Taiwanese audiences missed a Stephen Chow film, and fans protested against Taiwan's cultural ministry.
- Lin Yun, then 18, won the role of the mermaid Shan after Stephen Chow's casting team picked her from over 120,000 participants in a talent contest in Shenzhen, choosing her for her demure personality.
- Lin Yun, who played the mermaid Shan, had to wear a safety harness for her underwater scenes, and because she was not used to it she suffered injuries all over her body; on one occasion she was nearly disfigured.
- For one scene, Stephen Chow had Deng Chao and Lin Yun eat 150 roasted chickens to get the result he wanted.
- The Mermaid was the first time directors Tsui Hark and Stephen Chow worked together, despite the two of them having careers spanning three decades each.
- The mermaids' shelter in the film was a major set built inside a large factory in Shenzhen that had once been used to make glass.
- Zhang Yuqi agreed to play the villain Ruolan when Stephen Chow called her; she was in a foreign country at the time while her car had broken down, and she called the role a personal challenge.
- Stephen Chow chose Deng Chao for the lead role of Liu Xuan even though Show Lo, who played Octopus and had worked with Chow on Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, was also considered.
