Director bets on latest thriller to raise awareness

After wrapping up the shooting of his directorial debut feature, My Dear Liar, in 2019, Shen Ao turned to the internet, immersing himself in headline news stories in search of inspiration for his next movie.

His attention was grabbed by the news of a criminal syndicate enslaving Chinese programmers in a Southeast Asian country, forcing them to participate in cyberfraud.

Shen's interest was further piqued when he unexpectedly came across a related story from a friend, who revealed that an acquaintance had taken his own life after losing 500,000 yuan ($68,879) by gambling online through a site connected to cyberscams.

"The impact of this incident on me was immense. Online scams have caused misery for so many people, who have experienced broken families and financial ruin. I believed it was necessary to turn this into a film to raise awareness among the public," Shen told China Daily during a telephone interview.

From early 2020 to mid-2021, Shen and his team conducted interviews with approximately 30 victims and more than 50 police officers, who were primarily involved in handling cybercrime cases.

After researching more than 10,000 cases, generally sourced from news reports, Shen collaborated with two fellow writers to work on the script. The movie was then filmed in South China's Hainan province, chosen for its Southeast Asian aesthetic.

The film, No More Bets, which premiered domestically on Aug 8, is now soaring as the biggest dark horse in the fiercely contested August movie market.

In the three days since its opening, the film has surpassed 500 million yuan in box-office earnings, breaking a record by overtaking advanced screenings of all previous Chinese movies.

"I could never have expected the movie would be so popular and successful," says Shen.

"When we started preparing three years ago, some even believed that it was a relatively niche subject. However, as we began conducting interviews and research, we realized that the number of people affected by this type of online scam was substantial. The market response now proves that this subject matter easily resonates with many people," the director explains.

While studying at the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy, Shen gained recognition for his debut directorial short film, The Opposite Shore, which won an award for talented students at the 57th San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2009.

Shen's ability was further acknowledged when his short film Tide and Wave won the Best Short Film award in the youth section at the annual FIRST International Film Festival held in Xining, Qinghai province, in 2011. This caught the attention of Ning Hao, one of the country's most renowned directors, leading to an opportunity to shoot his debut feature film, My Dear Liar.

Mostly drawing inspiration from real-life stories, Shen's movies are often full of suspense as they delve into the exploration of complex human issues. No More Bets continues to demonstrate his signature stylish cinematography.

Starring actor Zhang Yixing as a programmer at an online education company and actress Jin Chen as a model, the movie tells the story of the pair who are enticed to travel abroad by the promise of lucrative work. However, they soon realize that they have fallen into the clutches of a Chinese-controlled overseas gang, becoming enslaved and forced to participate in online gambling fraud.

Threaded with multiple, intricately woven storylines, the film also features actor Darren Wang as a postgraduate student who becomes entangled in the world of online gambling, depicting his downward spiral into debt and despair.

So far, the movie has received a rating of 6.9 out of 10 on Douban, one of China's most popular review aggregators. Many viewers have commented that it serves as a valuable cautionary tale, reminding them not to fall victim to cyberscams.

"When I read the reported cases, what stood out to me was the large number of such incidents that have led to many families being financially devastated and torn apart. Behind each victim, there is a family, which means that more people suffer from these online scams," says Shen.

In the movie, the victim, portrayed by actor Wang, finds himself 8 million yuan in debt, after mortgaging his family home and losing it all in an online gambling scam.

The movie also features some scenes depicting brutal acts of violence carried out by the gangsters, as they beat and torture their victims.

Despite the horrific nature of some of the acts portrayed, according to Shen, the director and his fellow creators have explored real-life cases where the methods employed by criminals were even more savage.

Following the conclusion of the movie, viewers will witness interviews with actual victims, with their faces intentionally blurred to protect their identities. Among them is an individual who had four fingers on his left hand severed, as his family was unable to afford the exorbitant ransom demanded, says Shen.

"The process of Chinese police rescuing the victims and hunting the criminals overseas is also incredibly challenging. They sometimes face complex local issues that hinder their efforts, and they also encounter situations where the internet connection is poor or technological means are unavailable," he adds.

With the movie having grossed over 3 billion yuan as of Wednesday, it has also become a trending topic on several major social media platforms, including Sina Weibo.

Zhang Pinze, a law professor at the People's Public Security University of China, comments that the film resonates with a wide audience because of its realistic and accurate portrayals, exemplified by the brutality of the fraud syndicate and their exploitation of human weakness.