Juvenile delinquency portrayed in a new film sparks online debate

"Across the Furious Sea," a new crime thriller currently at the top of China's domestic box office chart since opening a week ago, has aroused heated debates online regarding the influence of family structure on delinquent behavior.

Directed by award-winning director Cao Baoping, the film revolves around a Chinese teenage girl who moves to study and live in Japan, where she meets a love interest, who later was suspected to have fatally stabbed her to death. 

Both the suspect and the victim are the children of divorced parents. "What does family education mean? If an adult fails to lead a proper life, how could he or she become responsible for educating their babies?" recalled a netizen after watching the film, which was released in multiple formats, including IMAX, and has so far earned over 250 million yuan ($35 million US dollars) at the box office.

Earlier, director Cao said that he hopes the movie will be more than a captivating crime story, and move people to reflect on parenting problems, citing the lack of love as a widespread problem in family education. 

"I believe parents should go to carefully watch this film," noted a moviegoer. 

"Across the Furious Sea" received rave reviews from audiences. 

"Both families where the victim and suspect come from are abnormal," commented another moviegoer. 

"Reviewing the comments from those moviegoers, their most frequently used word is 'crazy'," concluded a film critic. 

To make the scenes feel quite "crazy," sound effects, which include the real sounds of waves and thunder, contributed to the character development and atmosphere creation, according to sound director Wang Gang, who also disclosed that 95 percent of the dialogue had been recorded on set. 

Much of the film's dialogue happens between veteran actor Huang Bo who portrays Lao Jin – a father who unwittingly neglects his daughter – and reputed actress Zhou Xun who plays Jing Lan, a mother who shows limitless indulgence to her son who had even attempted to murder his grandmother and younger sister. 

The film is widely believed to function as a warning to those who undertake harmful parenting practices, and even labeled by some netizens as "a trial for those irresponsible parents." It is these public opinions that prove films have an important role in informing people about social issues.