Chapter 36: The Invincible Promotional Film for the Scenic Area

The movie *The Shallows* begins by showcasing the terror of a shark, followed by Fan Bingbing chatting with her driver, Leslie Cheung, about the island and beach. Upon arrival, she changes into her gear and heads into the water with her surfboard. These scenes are a masterclass in visual storytelling, presenting breathtaking, sun-drenched landscapes accompanied by upbeat, vibrant music.

Fan Bingbing’s performance is consistently compelling, so much so that in the theater, many, including Zhao Wei and Zhang Ziyi, felt a sudden, visceral urge to go surfing and visit the sea. When she enters the water with her hair flowing, the overhead helicopter shots of the waves are nothing short of spectacular, triggering a dozen gasps from the audience. The combination of stunning coastal scenery, Fan’s expertly directed performance, and the rhythmic editing of the surfing sequences makes the audience sway along with the music, as if they were in a high-energy nightclub.

Suddenly, the audience begins to wonder: what about the shark and Andy Lau from the opening? As Fan paddles out, she calls out to Andy Lau and Joey Wong, who are nearby, asking about the local water conditions, the location of reefs, and tidal patterns. Even as they talk, despite the beautiful scenery and high spirits, the audience is forcibly reminded of the lurking shark. The music remains upbeat, and the trio shows off their surfing skills, leaving the audience breathless. Old Wang turns to Zhao Wei and asks, "Should we go to Hong Kong for a trip after the movie?"

For the first dozen minutes, aside from the initial shadow of the shark, it feels like a high-end tourism commercial designed to brainwash the audience into wanting a beach vacation. It isn't until Fan goes ashore to rest and calls her sister to talk about their mother’s beach that the film shifts into a more dramatic phase. As she talks to her sister and father, her face radiates joy and pride, yet the close-up shots reveal a profound, lingering sadness in her eyes. The conflict between her bright smile, her cheerful tone, and the heartbreak in her gaze is so intense that even Zhang Ziyi feels intimidated, thinking, "Damn, is she using a cheat code?"

After resting, Fan returns to the water. The cinematography once again turns the sea into a fairyland. Watching Fan at the center of this visual splendor, Gao Yuanyuan whispers to Old Zhang, "No wonder she’s the undisputed top beauty in Asia; she’s practically brainwashing me. It’s so beautiful! Shall we go surfing next year?"

Before the talented musician Old Zhang can reply, the music turns ominous and eerie. Andy Lau and Joey Wong exit the screen, leaving Fan alone on her board. Her expressions of confusion, perfectly synced with the score, snap the audience back to attention. Is the Great White Shark coming? Tension mounts until a large fish breaches the water, passing right by her, causing the audience to scream.

In the bright light, however, it is revealed to be a dolphin, followed by a whole school playfully darting past her. The ominous music shifts back into a lighthearted, upbeat track, and the theater erupts in playful groans. But soon, the real crisis begins: the protagonist falls off her board, injures herself, and surfaces only to find her board gone. She spots a whale carcass and swims toward it to rest, but the shark arrives. Though the shark isn't shown directly, Fan’s underwater terror and desperate struggle to climb onto the whale carcass leave the other actresses in the theater stunned.

Severely injured, she escapes from the carcass to a nearby reef, where the wound on her thigh tears open. The scene where she uses her earrings and necklace as needles to stitch her own wound is so emotionally raw and convincing that it moves many to tears. It is a grueling, agonizing moment—no anesthesia, just a woman performing surgery on herself using whatever she has on hand. Her portrayal of pain makes the audience’s skin crawl.

*The Shallows* is not an art-house film or an awards-bait project. By this point, even professionals like Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi are too captivated to think about whether they could have acted as well. The average audience members are completely immersed. They are left wondering: how can one survive on a small reef, hundreds of meters from shore, injured, without food or water, with a shark circling?

It is a true fight for survival. In the darkness, Fan’s performance captures the panic and the desperate need to survive, even showing her disgust as she catches and eats a small crab. By dawn, she spots a hungover man on the beach. She calls out for help, only to watch in horror as he enters the water and, after paddling for a few meters, suddenly vanishes. Her range of expressions—from infinite hope to the grim realization of his fate—is masterfully executed. The screen only shows him for a few seconds; the rest of the tragedy is conveyed entirely through her face and body language.

The theater is stunned. When the camera finally cuts to the man being dragged onto the beach, bitten in half, the audience understands perfectly.

As the sun rises, Fan remains on the reef. Andy Lau and Joey Wong return to the water, but in a different area. Fan, her face pale and sickly, screams to warn them, but she is too far away. The shark strikes, dragging Joey Wong under. Andy Lau attempts to swim back to shore but is cut off by the shark and forced to head toward Fan's reef. Just as he is about to reach it, the shark drags him under.

With only twenty minutes left in the ninety-minute film, the climax features a battle of wits and swimming skill. Fan maneuvers herself against a submerged, jagged metal structure, narrowly dodging the shark's final lunge, which leads the creature to impale itself on the rusted iron bars. The crisis ends. She eventually drifts to shore, is rescued by Leslie Cheung and his son, and the film concludes with her returning to the beach with her father and sister.

As the credits roll, Zhao Wei looks at Old Wang, dazed, and asks, "What did you think?"

Old Wang lights a cigarette. "A pretty good popcorn flick. Deserves the success."

He doesn't say the truth—that Fan Bingbing's charisma on screen had long since surpassed Zhao Wei's. He hadn't been with Zhao Wei long, and he hadn't officially broken up with Zhang Min, nor had he stopped finding Zhao Wei's friend, Li Yu, fascinating. Even so, Zhao Wei feels like she’s about to cough up blood. In such a massive blockbuster, the former "servant girl" Jin Suo had single-handedly carried 80% of the screen time. If professional actors were drawn in by her performance, what hope did the average viewer have? Critique? There was no room for it; it was better to hide away, lest she lose any more face.