No More Bets

2023 crime film directed by Shen Ao
No More Bets
Official film poster
Simplified Chinese孤注一掷
Traditional Chinese孤注一擲
Literal meaningTo Bet All In
Hanyu PinyinGū Zhù Yī Zhì
Jyutpinggu1 zyu3 jat1 zaak6
Directed byShen Ao
Written byShen Ao
Zhang Yifan
Xu Luyang
Produced byNing Hao
StarringLay Zhang
Gina Jin
Yong Mei
Eric Wang
CinematographyWenqiang He
Production
companies
Dirty Monkeys
Bad Monkey (Shanghai) Culture Communication Ltd.
Shanghai Ticketmaster Film&TV culture Co., Ltd.
China Film Corporation
Beijing Shanglion Culture Communication Co.
Release date
  • August 8, 2023 (2023-08-08) (China)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Box office$540.5 million[1]

No More Bets (Chinese: 孤注一掷; pinyin: Gū Zhù Yī Zhì) is a 2023 Chinese crime thriller film directed by Shen Ao and produced by Ning Hao. The film chronicles a story about Chinese people being trafficked overseas and forced to commit Internet fraud. It features Lay Zhang, Gina Jin, Yong Mei, and Eric Wang. The film was released in China in both regular theaters and IMAX on August 8, 2023 and achieved box office success, earning a gross of over $500 million.[2] In response to the film, Cambodia banned showings of the film due to it negatively portraying the country, and the film was criticised by the governments of Myanmar and Thailand.

Plot

Programmer Pan Sheng and model Liang Anna are lured overseas by a supposed high paying job. However, it turns out that the promised employment is actually a slave-camp-like fraud factory. Imprisoned and abused by their handler, they are forced to commit cyber fraud on online victims.

As a result of their actions, a stranger named Gu Tianzhi becomes addicted to online gambling. After losing all his savings, Gu attempts suicide by jumping off a building. Gu's girlfriend calls the police. Police Zhao Dongran starts investigations and eventually cracks down on the syndicate.

Cast

  • Lay Zhang as Pan Sheng (Chinese: 潘生), a programmer trapped in the fraud factory
  • Gina Jin as Liang Anna (梁安娜), a model trapped as a croupier in the fraud factory
  • Yong Mei as Zhao Dongran (赵东冉), a Chinese police officer
  • Eric Wang as Lu Bingkun (陆秉坤), the manager of the fraud factory
  • Darren Wang as Gu Tianzhi (顾天之), a stranger defrauded by Pan and Liang
  • Zhou Ye as Song Yu (宋雨), the girlfriend of Gu
  • Sunny Sun as An Juncai (安俊才), the second hand of Lu

Sheren Tang and Lam Wai appear as Tianzhi's mother and father, respectively.

Production

Director Shen Ao is a newcomer signed by Ning Hao's Dirty Monkey 72 Transformations Film Project. This is his second feature film, following My Dear Liar in 2019. In 2020, a friend told him a suicide case due to cyber fraud and gambling. He decided to turn it into a crime film.[3]

Before filming, the director team, with the support of the police and the anti-fraud center, collected overseas online fraud cases in the past three years. The materials including pictures, texts, audio and videos, reached 1TB hardware size. The script writing took one year and a half. Tens of thousands of cases had been analyzed and distilled.[4]

In June 2021, the Dirty Monkey studio revealed the film and its cast, featuring Lay Zhang and Gina Jin.[5]

Production companiesBad Monkey (Shanghai) Culture Communication Ltd., Shanghai Ticketmaster Film&TV culture Co., Ltd., China Film Corporation, Beijing Shanglion Culture Communication Co.

Release

The film began test screening on Aug 5, 2023 and scheduled the general release on Aug 11, 2023. It quickly became a box office hit in China.[6] The film then changed its general release date to Aug 8, 2023.[7]

Reception

Box office

By August 8, 2023, three days since the test screening, its box office gross was $69.3 million. This makes it the highest test screening gross in Chinese film history.[2] On the opening weekend after general release, the film earned $88 million gross, making it the No.1 box office in the world on that weekend.[8] After its first five weeks, it grossed $505 million USD.[9]

The Japan Times stated that "Crime action film “No More Bets,” which has topped the Chinese box office since its release in early August, offers an unprecedented peek into the intricate workings of cybercrime in Southeast Asia."[10]

Controversies

Ban by Cambodia

The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia announced on 27 September 2023 that it will not allow No More Bet to be screened in theatres over fears the film would damage Cambodia's international reputation.[11] In particular, the Ministry fears that the film would discourage foreign investors and tourists from Cambodia.[12] Although no particular country is mentioned, Khmer text can be seen throughout the film.[13] Pa Chanrouen, President of the Cambodia Institute for Democracy, said to new site Cambodianess that “the movie will make international tourists scared of coming to Cambodia."[14] The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has cooperated with other government agencies to restrict access to the film in Cambodia. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication in particular was tasked with censoring clips of the film online and stopping its spread through social media. According to the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Song Man, the ministry sent a letter to the Embassy of China in Phnom Penh asking them to cooperate with Cambodian authorities.[15] They also requested Chinese authorities halt showings of the film in China.[16] According to a report by the United Nations released on 29 August 2023, at least 100,000 people may be held in Cambodia where they are force to operate scams.[17]

Criticism by Myanmar

The Military Junta of Myanmar has criticised No More Bets as hurting its reputation, due to the similarities of Myanmar and the unnamed Southeast Asian country featured in the film. No More Bets has not been shown in Myanmar cinemas.[18]

Myanmar's Consul-General in Nanning, China, U Kyaw Soe Thein, met with the Director of the Foreign Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Lian Yin, on 26 September to discuss the film's role in "hurting" Myanmar's reputation in China.[19] A poll conducted by the Japan Times on Weibo found that 48,000 of the 54,000 polled would shun travelling to Myanmar.[20]

Criticism by Thailand

Puangpet Chunlaiad, Thailand's Prime Minister Office Minister, raised concerns on 27 November 2023 to Han Zhiqiang, ambassador of China to Thailand. She said that the film risks the confidence of Chinese tourists in visiting Thailand, and that the crimes depicted in the film do not occur in Thailand. In response, Han said he didn't believe it affected the amount of tourists visiting Thailand. Several clips in the film showcase messages written in Thai.[21] Vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand Surawat Akaraworamet said in September 2023 that the film soured Chinese feelings toward travelling to mainland Southeast Asia, which has been weak in recent times.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gū Zhù Yī Zhì (孤注一掷) (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b "'No More Bets' breaks the box office". Chinadaily. 2023-08-08. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  3. ^ "专访《孤注一掷》导演申奥: 现实远比电影惨烈得多". sohu (in Chinese). Qianjiang Evening News. 2023-08-09. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  4. ^ "万起境外网络诈骗真实案例 凝炼出惊心动魄《孤注一掷》" (in Chinese). Yangtse Evening Post. 2023-08-10. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  5. ^ "坏猴子公布2021年度片单，宁浩文牧野等新片曝光". dzwww (in Chinese). Qilu Evening News. 2021-06-15. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  6. ^ "《孤注一掷》成中国影史点映票房冠军". chinanews (in Chinese). China News Service. 2023-08-08. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  7. ^ "《孤注一掷》提档，"逼真写实"是影片特质". The Paper (in Chinese). 2023-08-07. Archived from the original on 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  8. ^ "China Box Office: 'No More Bets' Beats 'Barbie' to World-Leading Weekend Haul". yahoo. Variety. 2023-08-14. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  9. ^ "The dark underworld of online fraud". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  10. ^ Chen, Alyssa (2023-09-04). "Hit Chinese movie raises fears of travel in Southeast Asia". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  11. ^ "Cambodia Seeks Chinese Action on Online Crime Movie". Cambodianess. 2023-09-27. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  12. ^ "Cambodia To Block Release of Chinese Cyber-Scam Film". The Diplomat. 2023-09-28. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  13. ^ "Cambodia Bans Chinese Anti-Scam Film No More Bets As It "Seriously Damages [Cambodia's] Reputation"". 8days. 2023-09-27. Archived from the original on 2023-10-08. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  14. ^ Hobbs, Coby (2023-10-06). "Cyber-scam hits the big screen, and Cambodia isn't happy - Focus Cambodia". Focus. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  15. ^ Loon, Yee (2023-09-27). "Cambodia bans Chinese blockbuster 'No More Bets' over negative portrayal concerns". Gutzy Asia. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  16. ^ "#trending: Chinese netizens afraid of Southeast Asia travel after hit movie No More Bets shows human trafficking scams". TODAY. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  17. ^ "Hundreds of thousands trafficked into online criminality across SE Asia | UN News". news.un.org. 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  18. ^ AFP (2023-10-02). "Junta angry over 'tarnishing' of Myanmar's image by Chinese hit film". Myanmar Now. Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  19. ^ "Myanmar Consul-General Clarifies 'No More Bets' Movie - Global New Light Of Myanmar". 2023-09-29. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  20. ^ Chen, Alyssa (2023-09-04). "Hit Chinese movie raises fears of travel in Southeast Asia". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  21. ^ "Minister tells Chinese envoy of concerns over crime movie". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  22. ^ Lim. "Perception boost needed in China". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  • No More Bets at IMDb
  • No More Bets at Douban (in Chinese)