Chow gives away nothing — as usual

Stephen Chow is keeping up the mystery, again.

Chow and his cast members have toured 20 mainland cities to promote his latest directorial work, Mermaid, and 30 other cities will be covered in the days before the premiere on Monday, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

But the movie world has yet to get a clear impression of the Hong Kong genius’ latest bigscreen work.

“If you want answers, just go to the cinema,” says Chow.

He has turned down requests for media interviews and refused to offer sneak previews.

According to a storyline leaked on some movie sites, the tale revolves around a mermaid’s romance with a wealthy businessman.

“I’m actually a big fairy-tale addict. All my previous titles can be understood as fairy tales,” Chow told Hong Kong media earlier.

“In the world of fairy tales, the evil are punished and the good see a happy ending. I buy the idea,” he added.

But don’t expect Chow’s Mermaid to be a Disney-style feature.

In the latest 90-second trailer released on Sunday, the movie’s storyline appears to be a bit cruel and bloody.

It shows a world where humans and mermaids coexist, but some scenes also have men hunting the fabled creatures.

The plot could spark viewers’ memories of a previously acclaimed documentary.

The large-scale killing in Chow’s movie could remind viewers of the Japanese fishermen’s slaughter of dolphins in the Greek-American director Louie Psihoyos’ film The Cove (2009).

The scenes showing humans evolving from the same ancestors as mermaids could remind viewers of Japanese author-director Shunji Iwai’s sci-fi novel Wallace and Mermaid, which was translated into Mandarin in 2008.

An interesting twist and a China link was seen in an earlier trailer. In that clip, there is a clue hinting at legendary Chinese mariner Zheng He’s voyages in the 15th century.

But despite the mermaid tidbits, die-hard fans of Hong Kong’s “king of comedy” will be looking for typical comedy from Chow.

In a scene in one of the trailers, the tycoon, played by mainland actor Deng Chao, tells police that he has met a mermaid.

Now, for most people a mermaid is a creature who has the head and upper body of a sexy woman and a fish tail.

But Chow’s version is radically different.

Typical Spring Festival cuisine includes fish as a must-eat dish as the word for fish in Mandarin sounds similar to “surplus” — a sign of affluence — and this tradition is “saluted” in the Mermaid posters where the creatures are placed on disks for meals, as if they were fish.

Despite his box-office success, Chow is considered unpredictable by many in the movie business.

Industry sources say despite the fact that most of them are aware of his “demanding” personality in real life, the 53-year-old veteran, who entered the industry in 1980, is one of the icons of Hong Kong cinema.

His unique style and humor has even led to the creation of a new subgenre of comedy called “Mo Lei Tau”.

Reports say that most of the scenes in his latest film have been shot more than 50 times to meet his exacting standards.

Chow has even personally coached most of the cast on acting — from lead stars Deng, Zhang Yuqi and Lin Yun to Taiwan singer-actor Show Lo.

It was also announced that prominent Hong Kong film director Hark Tsui has a role in the movie, Tsui’s first appearance in a Chow title.

But to find out more about the film, heed Chow’s advice and head to the nearest cinema screening the movie.

JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY Stephen Chow (left) and Hong Kong film director Hark Tsui at a promotional event in Beijing for Chow’s new movie Mermaid that will premiere on Monday.