Autumn Cicada (2020)

Spy candy

Let me cut to the chase - Autumn Cicada is a complete train wreck. But aspiring screenwriters should be inspired by this - if this script managed to be produced with a cast of decent actors and even aired, there is hope for anything!

I watched this because I like spy thrillers and it is set in my city, Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation. Ren Jialun as the male lead Ye Chong is admittedly an added bonus. It does start with a bang as Ye Chong, a major in the Japanese military is almost exposed as a Chinese spy code-name Autumn Cicada the day he is posted to Hong Kong. I suspended disbelief at the wildly improbable backstory as to how a Chinese patriot managed to advance to the highest ranks of the Japanese military but as the plot unfolds I quickly realize that that is on a relative basis, not that ridiculous. Isolated and cut off from all known contacts, he gropes around trying to figure out who is friend and foe and who betrayed his codename. We see him pondering a lot with suspenseful music in the background- every grumpy angle of Ren Jialun's thinking face is vigorously and closely explored so if you are a fan, this is spy candy galore!

Evidently the original female lead dropped out due to a convenient pregnancy that saved her from playing He Ying (Li Man), the most useless character in the show. This boring whiny wallflower was so incompetent she couldn't even successfully get herself killed. Her greatest accomplishment is saving one person at the cost of eleven others. I told myself that if this inept and reckless character survives, it would qualify the drama for a fantasy tag. Needless to say there is zero chemistry between her and Ren Jialun. The drama's only saving grace is the sparkling chemistry between Liu Huan's Chi Cheng and his infuriating and flamboyant wife Jin Xiang (He Dujuan). I really love this couple, they are the only reason I continued to watch the show. Indeed Liu Huan stole the show - his ability to convey crippling fear of discovery behind a facade of a suave businessman sharply contrasted with Ren Jialun's (too) cool as a cucumber Ye Chong. As much as I like him, this is not one of Ren Jialun's better works.

The main antagonist in this show Miyamoto, Ye Chong's arch enemy, is the smartest and only quasi intelligent character in the show. He figured out right away that Ye Chong is Autumn Cicada and was also onto Chi Cheng and the other spies very early in the game but everyone else was too dumb to believe hm. And yeah, even though this should have been obvious to both of them, our two heroes spend most of the drama circling each other warily but the lightbulb just doesn't go on. I was really unimpressed and frustrated with their spycraft and general lack of common sense and intuition. And despite the repeated attempted brainwashing from the suspenseful background music, there is nothing thrilling or suspenseful about watching such bungling spies. Even the ending was predictible and not remotely moving. If anyone is concerned that this may be a propaganda drama, don't be. It is actually a scathing almost insulting depiction of the Chinese spies during this period.

I actually suspect this must be a spoof. It is such a bad drama it is actually quite funny. And yes, there are many, many good looking eye candy actors in this show in dashing costumes. This is one that can be played in the background on mute during those interminable conference calls we endure while working from home.

Read More