CHINA SALESMAN

Film Review by FIORE

There are several conflicts of interest, political and economic, behind the release of CHINA SALESMAN.  Politically, President Donald Trump is clamping tariffs on China, accusing them of unfair trade practices and stealing of intellectual property.  CHINA SALESMAN is a tale of how China is a bastion in sharing intellectual property with the world, especially a third world entity like Africa.  It details the heroic adventures of its telecommunications sales force and their fight for global fairness.  Economically, China and Hollywood are now entwined lovers, cavorting under the sheets of box office returns.  They entered into agreements to ensure maximum profits by tying both markets together in an unholy alliance. 

The question now, for Director and Writer Tan Bing is how to sell a film with a message contrary to America’s leader, while still appeasing the demands of the Hollywood honchos.  The answer is to make the film a joint venture and incorporate recognizable names like Steven Seagal and Mike Tyson.  Seriously.  The end result is an action yarn which borders on the somatic and concludes with blatant Chinese patriotism. 

Yan Jian (Dong-Xue Li) is an IT professional, who is sent to Africa to secure the telecommunications business for DH Telecom, a Chinese firm.  Jian is sent because the company is short on salesmen.  Upon his arrival, he discovers companies from the West are also bidding, and are trying to stack the deck by utilizing a mercenary named Lauder (Seagal).  The conflict boils down to a righteous and moral East versus the corrupt and greedy West.  Toss into the mix, a delusional former African tribesman who wants to reclaim land for his people (Tyson), and the makings of a predictable plot emerge.  Also starring are Janicke Askevold, Zijian Want, Li Ai and Eriq Ebouaney. 

CHINA SALESMAN serves well as a propaganda piece, but not as well as an action film.  Tyson can’t act.  His mannerisms are forced and much of his dialogue is edited through the foley department.  If he wants to stay in movies, he needs some serious acting lessons and diction training.  Seagal is nothing more than a cameo.  He makes a few phone calls and appears in one fight scene, which is the highlight of the movie.  Total on screen time, is six minutes.  The rest of the characters are stereotypes played by actors who seem bored with their roles. 

The second act of the film is slow, so much so that you could leave the movie running, head into the kitchen to make a regal repast and return without missing anything of importance. CHINA SALESMAN claims to be based on true events, though it seems doubtful.  Jian is presented as the James Bond of IT techs, disarming terrorists, hacking government spy agencies and saving exploded transmission towers while falling from them.  Don’t think anyone has worked that hard for a commissioned sale.

As action films go, this one is forgettable after the Seagal fight, which is in the opening reel.  It’s obviously a propaganda ploy for claims against the Chinese stealing intellectual property but doesn’t have the celluloid moxy to pull off the ruse.