Hit Or Miss: Netflix's Nowhere Man
On October 31st, Netflix is set to release its first Mandarin-language original series called Nowhere Man. The series will be shot entirely in Taiwan. It’s an intense tale of family ties and redemption. The show stars Joseph Chang, Alyssa Chia, Mavis Fan, Bo-Chiehh Wang, Jeremy Liu, Zhou Ming-Fu, and Greg Hsu. The story focuses on “Ah Quan (Joseph Chang) and his fellow triad brothers (Jeremiah Zhang, Po-chieh Wang, Ming-fu Zhou), fate seems to have left them few choices. One mysterious night led the brothers down a convoluted web of love, hate, manipulation, and revenge. As a result, Ah Quan must do whatever it takes to save his family and himself, and finally face the consequences of his past choices.” Ah Quan is on death row and believes fate has brought him there. The unexpected kidnapping spurs a strange phenomenon in which Ah Quan experiences strange visions that allow him to move on the path of redemption. DJ Chen, known for directing Formula 17, Taipei 24H, and Young Dudes, has written and directed the new crime series. Chen emerged in the early 2000s as a promising young Taiwanese filmmaker. She has since directed multiple films and her move to television is an exciting move that is likely to bring strong cinematic sensibilities to the new show.
Before the Netflix logo emerges, we see a series of images that flow like memories. The sequence shows moments that have yet to be contextualized, but it ends with our protagonist, cigarette in hand, looking contemplatively out in the distance. The following sequence seems to be the events that led to Ah Quan prison sentence. He is in a vehicle with a few other men. There is a traffic stop and the police approach the car, wondering where he is headed. The tension in this moment is sky-high. Quan states that he is going to see his wife who just gave birth. The police are clearly suspicious and a chaotic chase ensues ending with a phone call between Quan and his wife. Quan stated, “don’t wait up for me.” In this way, the show reveals its two-part mystery. Any viewer would want to know how and why his son is kidnapped. The kidnapping is the impetus for his anticipated prison break. The beginning of the trailer reveals the mysterious circumstances of his initial imprisonment. Who is this other child in the trunk of the car? How is it connected to his own child? The moment leaves us with a final phone call and the understanding that Ah Quan may never meet his own child.
The middle portion of the trailer places us in prison with Ah Quan. His head is shaved and time has clearly passed. He seems to have photos of his son, but there are not any moments in which they meet. Outside of prison, his wife continues with her life raising their son. The child has an uncle who is involved in their lives, but his presence seems suspicious. We then are shown public security footage of their son walking up a set of stairs during what appears to be a normal bustling day. The audio describes that the boy turns around and moves in another direction. It is revealed that we are in what may be a precinct and footage of the boy’s strange actions are being reviewed. The mother looks distressed and clearly already knows her son is missing. The cause of the kidnapping remains unknown.
A voiceover whispering “Where is the boy?” plays over a hallucinogenic sequence with Ah Quan’s wife glancing in her rearview mirror overlayed with their son turning around on the stairs. Their gazes meet. The images fade and melt together revealing an unknown man with a drunken smile and bloodied face. The sequence then cuts to a shot from behind Ah Quan as he looks into a multitude of reflections that appear like confrontations with himself. The moment ends with a fast push-in on a sleeping Ah Quan who looks incredibly distressed. The following scene shows Ah Quan’s wife visiting him in jail. She reveals the kidnapping of her son and that he must be saved. The kidnappers want Ah Quan to trade himself in for his son. This moment serves as the catalyst for his prison break.
The back quarter of the trailer serves to name each prominent member of the cast through dynamic montage. At this point, the narrative momentum of the trailer is over. The most compelling aspects of the show are numerous, but most notably it may serve as a successful example of investment in Chinese creatives by a massively successful American media company. This is an exciting moment for Chinese television content that may not be able to exist in its native country. Nowhere Man looks to be a promising and ambitious series that is not to be missed. The show premieres on October 31st and can be streamed via Netflix.