Now you see me in Chinese Macau.
As one of the world’s four largest casino cities, i.e., Monaco di Montecarlo, American Las Vegas, Macau and Atlantic City, Macau is a Chinese autonomous territory on the western side of the Pearl River Delta in East Asia. Macau was administered by the Portuguese Empire and its inheritor states from the mid-16th century until late 1999, when it constituted the last remaining European colony in Asia. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 1550s. In 1557, Macau was rented to Portugal from Ming China as a trading port. The Portuguese Empire administered the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty until 1887, when Macau, through a mutual agreement between the two countries, became a colony. Macau sovereignty over Macau was transferred to China on 20 December 1999, as Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
Unlike Hong Kong, Macau is not so remarkable in the world. Of course, Macau is of less population, less economic gross, smaller area of the territory, smaller role in international affairs, and finally, less political significance. And there are few movies that are set in Macau, compared to Hong Kong. Some famous Hollywood blockbusters, Like Transformers: Age of Extinction, Battleship, Pacific Rim, are all set in Hong Kong. But now, Macau has the opportunity to turn over to show up in Now You See Me 2. Now You See Me 2 is a 2016 American heist thriller film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Ed Solomon. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. It is sequel to the 2013 film Now You See Me and follows the Four Horsemen who resurface and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off an almost impossible heist.
In Now You See Me 2, the Horsemen gather together, and they try to expose the unjust acts of a tech tycoon, but fail. And the supporter behind them, Dylan Rhodes, is in the depths of crisis. Behind all this is the science wizard, Walter Mabry. Walter forces the Horsemen to do the impossible job of theft task. The Horsemen have no choice but to perform an unprecedented magic show to prove themselves and expose the mastermind behind.
The Chinese Jay Chou parts show disorder.
When the Horsemen passing security check, Lula says that all ordered system tend toward disorder. Of course, what Lula says has nothing to do with second law of thermodynamics. But the word disorder is the best to describe all the Chinese elements in the film. Disorder!
Jay Chou plays as the boss of Iong’s Magic Shop, Li. When the Horsemen enter the shop, Li and his grandma show up. In my personal experience of American films, the least conspicuous characters and things determine the development of the plot and the ending of the story. So, I paid much attention to Li and his grandma about what they would do to influence the film. Right now, the Horsemen are in trouble, and they go into the shop for help. In the shop full of old offbeat antiques and strange things, an old woman with a wrinkled face and the young oriental face make the atmosphere very mystic, and this make us think that they will get help. And the Horsemen give a list of tools to order, but no pictures show that the tools and made and used. IN a word, Jay Chou in the film just passes by. As well as starring in the film, Jay Chou also composed and sung the ending theme “Now You See Me”.
When the Horsemen first show up in Macau in the Chinese restaurant, falling from the pipe and down to the container, the restaurant people immediately get them out, yelling in Cantonese. First, in common knowledge, something or someone unexpected suddenly appears, people around at least give a surprise look, or a sudden peace. But, in the film, the restaurant people seem to wait for them to get them out without hesitation. Second, the film deliberately shows the Chinese hostility. The Chinese people yell at the Horsemen, get them out impertinently, and push them forward. And the hat of the leader of the Horsemen is even taken, though he manages to get it back. In fact, China is the most friendly and safest country for the white people. The film wants to show the Horsemen’s dilemma that a man who loses position and influence may be subjected to much indignity. But it is unnecessary to make people misunderstand China and Chinese people in film which is a widely spread media.
And, the language disorder. First, when the Horsemen show up in the Chinese restaurant, the restaurant people yell at them in Cantonese. Second, when the Horsemen show up in the magic shop, Li and his grandma speak Chinese Mandarin. Third, when the Horsemen pass the security check, the guards speak Cantonese. Forth, the Horsemen, Li and his grandma all speak English in the end. It really is a language hodgepodge.
Finally, the film people give us the wave of flattery to Chinese market. The indescribable appearance of Chinese scene makes people feel that the film only wants to make money in China. Less appealing to Chinese audiences and more cool magic will make the film better.
The real home of magic in China is Zhaozhuang Town, Baofeng County, Henan Province.
The Iong’s Magic Shop, which is managed by Jay Chou in the film, really exists in Macau with dozens of years’ history. In the film, the director makes the shop more complicated to convey the history precipitation of Macau magic, and adds a sense of mystery.
But, the real home of magic in China is Zhaozhuang Town, Baofeng County, Henan Province. The source of Zhaozhuang magic is distant and the stream long, with a history of thousands of years. It dated back to the Chunqiu Period (770~476, B.C.), got great development in Tang and Song Dynasty (618~1129, A.D.), and widely spread in Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368~1912, A.D.), and gets prosperous nowadays. From 1579 A.D. to the present, Baofeng Magic Convention is held every year, on April 8th of the Chinese lunar calendar, lasting almost 400 years. There are 1400 performing art groups of 55,000 people that create an income of more than $57,783,500 every year. So, if the film people have done enough homework, they will make the Horsemen to travel thousands of miles from Hong Kong to Baofeng County to make custom tools, which will greatly further flatter the Chinese audiences.
