Summary
Operation Mekong (Chinese: 湄公河行动) is a 2016 Chinese-Hong Kong crime action film directed by Dante Lam and starring Zhang Hanyu and Eddie Peng. The film is based on the 2011 Mekong River massacre. It was released in China on 30 September 2016 and became one of the highest-grossing films in China.[2][3]
| Operation Mekong | |||||||||||
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 Poster | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 湄公河行動 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 湄公河行动 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Mekong River Action | ||||||||||
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| Directed by | Dante Lam | ||||||||||
| Screenplay by | Dante Lam Kang Ki-chu Lau Siu-kwan | ||||||||||
| Produced by | Candy Leung Huang Jianxin | ||||||||||
| Starring | Zhang Hanyu Eddie Peng | ||||||||||
| Cinematography | Edmond Fung | ||||||||||
| Edited by | David Richardson | ||||||||||
| Music by | Henry Lai Julian Chan Lam Kwan-fai | ||||||||||
Production company | |||||||||||
| Distributed by | Distribution Workshop | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 124 minutes | ||||||||||
| Countries | China Thailand | ||||||||||
| Languages |
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| Box office | $173 million[1] | ||||||||||
Plot edit
A merchant vessel operating in the Mekong River Delta is attacked by bandits, causing the death of 13 people. When a huge amount of drugs is found onboard, Chinese authority teams up with police forces from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar to investigate the case. The movie is inspired by a true event that took place in 2011.
Cast edit
- Zhang Hanyu as Gao Gang
- Eddie Peng as Fang Xinwu
- Feng Wenjuan as Guo Bing "Aphrodite"
- Sun Chun as Yu Ping
- Chen Baoguo as Minister of Public Security Jiang Haifeng
- Liu Xianda as Xie Wenfeng "Icarus" (哪吒 meaning Nezha)
- Jonathan Wu Linkai as Kuai Yitong "Hermes"
- Zhao Jian as Guo Xu "Poseidon"
- Zhan Liguo as Fu Baowei "Panoptes" (二郎 meaning Erlangshen)
- Shi Zhanjie s Jiang Xing "Ares" (木星 meaning Jupiter)
- Wu Xudong as Wild Bull Team Leader
- Carl Ng as Pierre
- Pawalit Mongkolpisit as Naw Khar
- Vithaya Pansringarm as P'Som
- Ken Lo as Xing Deng
- Ron Weaver as Puja
- Ganesh Acharya as Mr Zar
- Mandy Wei as Fang Xinwu's girlfriend (cameo)
The members of the operation have aliases: in the Chinese version they are named after deities in Chinese folk religion,[citation needed] while in the English versions the names are changed to deities in Greek mythology.[4]
Production edit
Production began in September 2015. Shooting locations include China (Beijing and Yunnan), Myanmar, and Thailand but a few scene include HQ task force and another place in Penang,Cameron Highlands Pahang and Perak.
Release edit
Operation Mekong was released on 30 September 2016. It concerns an incident that occurred in Chiang Saen District of Chiang Rai Province on 5 October 2011 when 13 Chinese crew members from two cargo ships were murdered by a Myanmar drug-trafficking ring.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, responding to news of the film's imminent release, said that the film would be banned in Thailand if it was found to "damage" the country. "I have ordered authorities to check the content of Operation Mekong. If it is damaging, it will be banned," Gen Prayut said.[5] Some believe that the reason for his government's nervousness is that Thai troops, the "elite" anti-drug Pa Muang Task Force, were known to have been at the scene of the massacre.[6] Nine soldiers were arrested, but "...have since disappeared from the justice system."[6] Naw Kham, a Golden Triangle drug kingpin, and his gang were found guilty of attacking the two Chinese cargo ships in collusion with Thai soldiers. He was executed in March 2013 in China along with three accomplices, including a Thai national.[5]
Reception edit
The film has grossed CN¥1.17 billion at the Chinese box office.[2]
Jessica Kiang of Variety stated that Operation Mekong "hurtles by in an enjoyably giddy, propulsive rush right until the final titles, which dedicate the film to the dead fishermen and detail the fate of the real Naw Kham."[4] Kiang stated that the sense of escapism in the film may be interfered with by the references to real life tragedies.[4]
Awards and nominations edit
Accolades edit
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Director | Dante Lam | Nominated | [7] |
| Best Writing | Dante Lam, Zhu Jingqi, Liu Xiaoqun, Tan Huixian, Lin Mingjie | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Zhang Hanyu | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Feng Wenjuan | Nominated | ||
| 31st Golden Rooster Awards | Best Picture | Operation Mekong | Won | [8][9] |
| Best Art Director | Li Jianwei | Nominated | ||
| 12th Chinese American Film Festival | Golden Angel Award Film | Operation Mekong | Won | [10] |
| Best Actor | Zhang Hanyu | Won | ||
| Best Producer | Won | |||
| 13th Guangzhou Student Film Festival | Most Popular Film | Operation Mekong | Won | |
| 24th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Actor | Zhang Hanyu | Nominated | |
| Eddie Peng | Nominated | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | |||
| Favorite Film | Operation Mekong | Won | ||
| Favorite Actor | Zhang Hanyu | Won |
References edit
- ^ "Operation Mekong". Box Office Mojo
- ^ a b "湄公河行動（2016）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "湄公河行動 (2016)". movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Kiang, Jessica (22 October 2016). "Film Review: 'Operation Mekong'". Variety.
- ^ a b Jitcharoenkul, Prangthong (28 September 2016). "PM mulls 'Operation Mekong' ban". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Whitewash at Chiang Saen". Bangkok Post. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "第34届大众电影百花奖提名名单公布". Netease (in Chinese). 7 November 2018.
- ^ "金鸡奖提名：《潘金莲》领跑 范冰冰周冬雨再争影后". ifeng (in Chinese). 16 August 2017.
- ^ "邓超范冰冰分获影帝影后《我不是潘金莲》成金鸡大赢家". ifeng (in Chinese). 16 September 2017.
- ^ "第十二屆中美電影節星光熠熠——開幕式暨金天使獎頒獎典禮耀動洛城". cafilmfestival.org. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
External links edit
- Operation Mekong at IMDb
