'China Sea' Courtesy of PÖFF Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment A canceled Lithuanian martial arts champion finds refuge in a Taiwanese family's restaurant as he tries to piece his life back together in China Sea, a hard-hitting drama about the weight of guilt and second chances from director Jurgis Matulevičius (Isaac, 2019) and writer Saulė Bliuvaite, whose feature directorial debut Toxic won the top award at Locarno 2024. The movie, inspired by the real-life story of a Lithuanian fighter, world premiered at the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia, where it just won the Critics' Picks Competition. Related Stories Movies Oscars: Academy Reveals Full Lists of Qualifying Documentary, International and Animated Features Movies Spencer Lofranco, 'Gotti' and 'Unbroken' Actor, Dies at 33 "Champion fighter Osvald (Marius Repšys) is banned from competing after injuring a girl in a street fight," reads a synopsis for the film. "Stranded in his bleak Lithuanian hometown, he takes refuge in a run-down Taiwanese restaurant owned by his only friend, Ju-Long. Court-ordered therapy leads him to Skaistė, a woman who offers a glimpse of a life he's never known. But as Osvald clings to this fragile hope, his violent past resurfaces, forcing him to choose between redemption and self-destruction." The cast also features Jag Huang, Severija Janusauskaite, Sonia Yuan, and Vaidotas Martinaitis. Watch a trailer for China Sea here. THR spoke to the film's director and writer about putting China Sea together as the first-ever co-production between Lithuania and Taiwan, mixing a true story and fiction, and exploring the dark sides of humanity in a proudly gritty style. "This story is inspired by a real person, a real fighter from Lithuania, who was a superstar in Asia, especially in Japan, in the early 2000s. He was a world superstar, really well known abroad," explains director Matulevičius. "So, some producers came to me and asked if I wanted to do a biopic about this guy, but they said that this film would be praising him. I Googled him, and I saw that yes, he was a superstar, but he was also a very controversial figure, so I would not praise him in a biopic. That's not my style." So, "Jurgis rejected the idea, but the story stayed in our heads because this guy came from my hometown," recalls Bliuvaite. "And I was reading a lot about the stories that would come out. He was a superstar outside of his home country, but at home, he was known for very violent incidents and being associated with a bad crowd." And he was shot in 2015 with an automatic rifle. There was another man that the filmmaking duo was curious about. In Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, there was a small Asian restaurant called China Sea. "You would see this middle-aged Asian guy just standing there [outside the restaurant] all isolated and smoking all the time," she explains. "And so for me it became very interesting to explore this immigrant story in Lithuania," adds Matulevičius. A common theme between the two men struck him. "These are two very different people, but they both live their lives in a certain isolation. This kickboxing superstar feels isolated because he comes home and nobody really thinks of him as a star. And this family is trying to run an Asian restaurant in Lithuania, which is also an isolating experience. So, we felt that there was a connection there." 'China Sea' China Sea starts off with actual TV footage of a fight with German commentary, taken from Eurosport, meshed together with footage filmed with the movie's lead actor. This writer must admit he could not tell, to which the director replies: "It's edited for you not to know. This first scene is to show his super-stardom." Frustration, rage, and toxic masculinity all play into his challenges in finding a path in life that leaves him satisfied, though. "Our main character has a man's body, but his mindset is still stuck in his teenage years," explains Matulevičius. "The world is changing, but you're still stuck in your teenage years, where you probably lived in a poor neighborhood, your role models were men full of toxic masculinity, and you tried to be a part of their world, because otherwise you would be a sissy, and they didn't show you any emotions. So, you only know anger and violence, and you can't express yourself because you were taught that men don't cry, men are strong, and don't have feelings. I think that's the tragedy of our main character." He is hoping for a transformation, though. "He starts thinking, 'I'm probably doing something wrong, and I need to change. I need to be a better person'," says the director. "And he tries to do that. He starts training kids and befriends these immigrants, and tries to help them in the restaurant." Bliuvaite chime