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Thread: Big Fish & Begonia (Liang Zhuan, Zhang Chun)

  1. #1

    Big Fish & Begonia (Liang Xuan, Zhang Chun)

    Last edited by Philip J. Fry; 04-08-2018 at 09:19 PM.

  2. #2


    Big Fish & Begonia.
    Liang Xuan & Zhang Chun, 2016.

    Synopsis: In a world within our world, out of human reach, in which the beings (not gods per se) control the tides and the seasons, a young girl named Chun transforms into a dolphin at her sixteenth birthday to explore the human world (it's a rite of passage). One stormy day she gets rescued from a net by a human boy at the cost of his life (he drowns in a vortex). Moved by his sacrifice, Chun decides to give him his life back but to accomplish this, she has to protect the guy's soul (a tiny fish) and nurture it to grow. The thing is, that act throws her world out of balance.

    How does it look? I can sincerely say that, save for a few instances of very obvious CGI, this is one of the best looking films I've recently seen, specially from the anime style. With every station that passes, the animators do tend to give the animation kind of a base color and always try to make it stand out (specially the color red) which makes every single frame of the film very, very vibrant, similarly to the way Mir did it on Legend of Korra; the character movements are very fluid (and at times do look like bending) and unlike most anime's and anime-styled films, the character designs, particularly faces, do have certain traits that make them look distinctively Chinese without calling too much attention to it. Also, there are many spirits here with very interesting designs, giving some Spirited Away vibes. Overall, the level of detail everywhere is astounding.

    What about it? Well, this felt in many ways like nothing I've seen before. The first thing I can say is that there are a lot of subtleties that will be better understood by people with more of a knowledge of Chinese mythology and I say this in the best possible way since I'm pretty certain this will make the film richer and richer in every rewatch. The movie is not perfect since a lot of plot points (there's way more than I let out in the summary) sometimes feel a little rushed and other times feel like they come out of nowhere...

    [
    ]

    ...making the plot feel little mechanical. However, I found those grievances minor since this movie is, for a better lack of a word, extremely beautiful and absorbing and not just visually. The two main characters (Chu and her childhood friend Qiu, who clearly is in love with her) do have their flaws and constantly make their own mistakes, the same with the rest of the magical village which are at times very gung-ho of getting rid of the fish (Kun) and eventually this leads to some painful sacrifices and some very emotional moments. Even though, nobody here is really a bad guy, the closer being a soul keeper that loves doing some Faustian deals and yet, never keeps the other parts in the dark: if there are consequences, he downright states them and leaves the decision to the people he negotiates, and even more, is very straight with his end of the deal. He seems more like a figure more motivated to do a good business than to screw up someone else.

    Final thoughts: Despite it's flaws, I can say that watching this film was a gratifying experience. It's main strengths being building a world that's equal parts myth and Alice in Wonderland and packing it with great visuals. I don't know when will it reach theaters in this part of the hemisphere (if it ever does), but I hope it does it soon, since this is the kind of film that must be watched on a theater. I also hope it gets a good dub, since I felt I did miss a few details for reading the subtitles. Ultimately I can say that this might be the first must watch animated film of the year (at least for animation lovers and arthouse film fans).
    Last edited by Philip J. Fry; 02-25-2018 at 10:44 PM.

  3. #3
    White Tiger Field Stay Puft's Avatar
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    I've had my eye on this one. Really excited to see it.
    Giving up in 2020. Who cares.

    maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Sky Hopinka) ***½
    Without Remorse (Stefano Sollima) *½
    The Marksman (Robert Lorenz) **
    Beckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) *½
    Night Hunter (David Raymond) *

  4. #4
    Quote Quoting Stay Puft (view post)
    I've had my eye on this one. Really excited to see it.
    I think you'll like it, specially for those visuals.

    I hope more people go to Studio Mir to animate their projects (besides this film, they've animated The Legend of Korra, The Boondocks and the new Voltron show) and I hope those two Chinese directors do more stuff (and don't t take 12 years to make their next one) since they're very talented.

  5. #5

    ‘Big Fish & Begonia’ Will Open In U.S. And Canada In April




    Could a mod move this thread to "2018", please?
    Last edited by Philip J. Fry; 02-25-2018 at 10:45 PM.

  6. #6
    White Tiger Field Stay Puft's Avatar
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    I'm here to bump the thread because I was looking at movie showtimes for next week and saw this listed and nearly jumped out of my chair doing a double-take.
    So, yeah, opens in Toronto next week. Can't wait, and excited that I'm going to be able to see it on the big screen.
    Giving up in 2020. Who cares.

    maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Sky Hopinka) ***½
    Without Remorse (Stefano Sollima) *½
    The Marksman (Robert Lorenz) **
    Beckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) *½
    Night Hunter (David Raymond) *

  7. #7
    Quote Quoting Stay Puft (view post)
    I'm here to bump the thread because I was looking at movie showtimes for next week and saw this listed and nearly jumped out of my chair doing a double-take.
    So, yeah, opens in Toronto next week. Can't wait, and excited that I'm going to be able to see it on the big screen.
    Can't wait to see your thoughts about it.

  8. #8
    White Tiger Field Stay Puft's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Philip J. Fry (view post)
    The first thing I can say is that there are a lot of subtleties that will be better understood by people with more of a knowledge of Chinese mythology and I say this in the best possible way since I'm pretty certain this will make the film richer and richer in every rewatch.
    Yeah, the film assumes a certain familiarity with Chinese myth, and I certainly found myself lacking in that regard. I was scratching my head a couple times. The ending does actually explain the symbolic relationship between Chun and Qiu, however, which cleared up a lot of my confusion with some third act developments. It's the kind of thing the movie assumes its audience already knows, so yeah, it would be interesting to watch it again even just knowing that one detail. But there's a lot to unpack here.

    The movie is not perfect since a lot of plot points (there's way more than I let out in the summary) sometimes feel a little rushed and other times feel like they come out of nowhere...
    Yeah, I agree about the snake scene. I clicked on the spoiler thinking it was going to be about the Rat Queen, though (calling her that because I can't remember what they actually called her). She only has two or three scenes, and her motivation is entirely unclear in the first scene, and her big plan comes out of nowhere (does the film even explain why they need a token from the real world at that point, when they clearly do not every other time?) and is even more baffling because, unlike the snake scene, it apparently has zero ramifications for the story or plot. Like, that whole subplot disappears as quickly as it appeared (was just a contrivance to keep Chun and Kun from their goal, since the movie wasn't over yet).

    However, I found those grievances minor since this movie is, for a better lack of a word, extremely beautiful and absorbing and not just visually.
    And, yeah, basically agree. My biggest complaint otherwise is the structure and pacing, which I found a little loose and uneven (and which you also pointed out). There is a lot of time devoted to the world building, and establishing atmosphere and tone, in the first half, which I really appreciated. The film really takes its time. But that's to the detriment of its second half, which is crammed with a myriad of plot developments, and the film really struggles to do a lot of these elements justice, sometimes feeling like its skipping around scenes and cutting them short, before they are "naturally" over (i.e. that gut feeling, based on a scene's internal rhythm).

    Overall, though, it's a beautiful and enthralling adventure. It's a rich, and singular, film, both in its story and style. I loved the music, too, maybe the best score I've heard so far this year. It brings all these elements together, sound and music and color and myth, and so on, in a way that felt really lively, and fresh. It's a fantastic movie theatre experience, for sure. I really enjoyed it.

    Also:

    Even though, nobody here is really a bad guy, the closer being a soul keeper that loves doing some Faustian deals and yet, never keeps the other parts in the dark: if there are consequences, he downright states them and leaves the decision to the people he negotiates, and even more, is very straight with his end of the deal. He seems more like a figure more motivated to do a good business than to screw up someone else.
    Did you stay during the credits? There is a mid-credit scene that shows Qiu's ultimate fate, and simultaneously provides insight into the Soul Keeper's origins. It's really sad, and tragic, and adds some extra shading to those characters, and the overall story. This was one of my favorite aspects of the whole film, the way these two characters were tied together, so that one's arc was basically the other's backstory. Really cool stuff.
    Giving up in 2020. Who cares.

    maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Sky Hopinka) ***½
    Without Remorse (Stefano Sollima) *½
    The Marksman (Robert Lorenz) **
    Beckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) *½
    Night Hunter (David Raymond) *

  9. #9
    I had forgotten about that post-credits scene, but you're right there. Oveŕall, very good film (which I need to rewatch)

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