That moment when Rock/Paper/Scissors gets real. No, I’m serious. This is the plot of the movie. And then Michael Douglas shows up, cuz somebody’s got to speak English and, you know, why not Michael Douglas? And our hero fancies himself a murderous clown, but only in his more lucid moments. This is a weird and polished film by American standards; one can only wonder how the Chinese government greenlit the picture. Maybe there’s help yet for modern Chinese art.
When you hear the phrase “The Most Dangerous Game in the World,” I bet Rock/Paper/Scissors doesn’t come to mind. I mean, Risk … Uno … Jai Alai … even Hopscotch or Four Square might get there before this tribute to drawing lots without lots. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Zheng Kaisi (Li Yifeng) is a slacker. It takes a unique mindset that can summon no energy while wearing a full clown suite, and that’s Zheng. Oh, if slacking were his only vice – as a boy, Zheng was traumatized while watching a cartoon about a knife-wielding slasher clown (geez, China, and I thought our TV was bad for kids). The result of this PTSD is whenever adult Zheng finds stress, his mind morphs into CGI mode and he becomes the knife-wielding slasher clown dispatching every last “monster” on the subway. If nothing else, the CGI is this film really is quite impressive –especially given that it’s completely unnecessary.
After half-assing his clown arcade job, Zheng half-asses his life, checking in his comatose mother and his would-be girlfriend, the nurse who takes care of her. Because Zheng is crappy at his low-paying job and comas aren’t free, money is always a problem for the kid. Hence, he gives in when his insider trading buddy offers to turn a second mortgage into gold. Of course, that doesn’t happen. What does happen is that his buddy screws up so badly that Zheng, now in HUGE debt, is brought before Michael Douglas, the only English speaking character in the film.
Now you may ask, “What have I done so wrong in my lifetime that I get seated before Michael Douglas?” And you’re not wrong; this is so universal a punishment that even the Chinese recognize it. I wonder if the Geneva Convention has gotten wind.
Anyway, remember The Game, that movie where Michael Douglas had to run all over the place trying to figure out the scam? This isn’t it. Michael tells the hapless Zheng that unless he wants to be poor forever, he’ll take a cruise and play a game. The game? Rock/Paper/Scissors. The winners remain alive and debt free; the losers, well, “medical experiments for the lot o’ ya.” I won’t get into the details of game play; there’s really no point; if –like me- you’re fascinated with the idea of a life-and-death Rock/Paper/Scissors tournament, it probably doesn’t get better than this film.
Oh, and the gaming, the wonderful gaming – the cheating, the stacking, the anticipating, the selling short, the card-counting … The world hasn’t had a better film on Game Theory since A Beautiful Mind. Animal World is quite genuinely among the oddest films ever made; the premise and polish feels very American, and yet nothing could be further from the truth. And what an odd choice for plots, huh? Tell me, is it a “War” film if the combatants play the card game, “War?” And the juxtaposition of bloody violation with a game most Americans associate with “who gets to ride in the front seat?” It’s all very odd.
As someone who has studied Game Theory, I was skeptical that there exists a wealth of knowledge and an ability to manipulate a Rock/Paper/Scissors tournament. Oh, silly me. You can “game” the NCAA basketball tournament, a format in which every contest yields just two outcomes. My guess is that writer/director Yan Han is a serious game theory master and wanted to tell a game theory story, but had to dumb it down to be relatable. Even poker manipulation is beyond some audiences – and besides, it’s been done. Rock/Paper/Scissors? Nobody’s done that. I can’t tell whether my fascination is tied to Game Theory, this absurd premise, or the fact that Animal World is a legitimately decent picture, but one way or another, this is my favorite Chinese film in quite some time.
Which is the best -do you agree-
Of rock, paper, scissors to me?
Feel free to claim ranks
But take it from Yanks:
Ignorance bests all three
Not Rated, 132 Minutes
Director: Yan Han
Writer: Yan Han
Genre: On “three” we’ll both state the genre and decide who wins
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Game theorist
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Coulrophobes
