A dialogue in the movie based on the Monster Hunter game series has caused severe criticism. The film was even pulled from theaters in China because of it. The director has now commented on the matter.
Why is the film being criticized? A scene in Monster Hunter shows two soldiers riding in a vehicle.
- One (played by actor Jin Au-Yeung) says: “Look at my knees!”.
- The other then asks: “What kind of knees are these?”.
- Jin’s character replies, “Chi-nese!”
This is a reference to the racist children’s rhyme “Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these.” Children whose parents immigrated from Asian countries to the West were mocked with this. A modified translation in the Chinese subtitles further intensified the tone of the scene. We have explained the exact background in our article about it.
A “joke” with consequences
What happened afterwards? The “joke” in the film led to an outcry on Chinese social media. This went so far that the film was removed from theaters in the country. Even the video game Monster Hunter World suffered from review bombing due to this dialogue.
How does the director react? Paul W.S. Anderson expressed embarrassment and said:
I am absolutely devastated that a line from our film Monster Hunter has offended some viewers in China. I apologize for any distress or upset this line and its interpretation may have caused. Monster Hunter was made as fun entertainment, and I am ashamed that anything in it has caused unintended offense.
Paul W.S. Anderson
We have respectfully removed the line from the film. It was never our intention to send a message of discrimination or disrespect to anyone. On the contrary – at its core, our film is about unity.
What does the film distributor say about the situation? Constantin Film has also apologized for the situation:
Constantin Film sincerely apologizes to the Chinese audience for a dialogue line included in an early scene of Monster Hunter. There was absolutely no intention to discriminate, offend, or otherwise belittle anyone of Chinese descent. Constantin Film has listened to the concerns of the Chinese audience and has removed the line that led to this unintended misunderstanding.
Statement from Constantin Film
What does this mean for the movie? In the international version, which will be released in Germany on January 28, 2021, this dialogue is no longer included.
The company Tencent, which is responsible for the film’s distribution in China, is currently working with Chinese authorities to resolve the situation. The film managed to earn 5.3 million USD at the box office on its launch on Friday, December 4, before it was removed just one day later. The fact that it can no longer be shown is certainly a significant loss for the film distributor. Whether or not China will show Monster Hunter again is still unclear.
Financial analyst Daniel Ahmad believes that a complete ban on the film in China would mean a loss of at least 30 million USD.
For the film distributor, China is therefore a very important market. Especially considering how the situation regarding cinemas looks internationally. In many other countries, cinemas are closed due to the Corona pandemic, including countries like Germany, France, and parts of the USA.
The first trailer for the Monster Hunter movie has received somewhat mixed reactions, how the entire film will be received by fans remains to be seen.
