Summary
An impeccably animated film that blends mythology, adult storytelling and modern conventions. It expands a cinematic universe while standing strong as its own tale.
Chinese animation has been making some big waves over the last few years. Films like Big Fish and Begonia and White Snake have demonstrated that the local industry is not only technically proficient, but through with merely imitating the formulas of their US counterparts.
Although JIANG ZIYA is a follow-up to last year’s Ne Zha, and the second chapter in the Fengshen Cinematic Universe, the uninitiated can quite happily watch this as a standalone feature. Based loosely on the 16th-century novel Investiture of the Gods by Xu Zhonglin, it follows the titular Chinese figure (voiced by Zheng Xi) on his quest to banish the Nine-tailed Fox Demon who threatens the world’s existence.
In this version of the story, where Jiang Ziya is depicted as a middl-aged man rather than the traditional septuagenarian, he discover’s that the Fox’s life is linked with that of a small girl. As such, it becomes not just a clash of good versus evil but also one for the hero’s own soul. As the full English-language title (Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification) would imply, it’s about his path to godhood.
Let’s not mince words: this movie is stunning to look at. Despite a traditionally animated prelude, the main story features state-of-the-art CG animation. It’s probably no fluke that the opening sequence is set in an arctic snowscape, as if to say ‘We see your Frozen, and raise you this.” Every frame of the film is a piece of art, from sun-like objects rising over deserts to Jiang Ziya delivering an uppercut to the big bad. There’s one moment late in the film that looks like the kind of thing Michelangelo would have created if the Sistine Chapel had a 4K projector on the ceiling.
What’s most refreshing about this film is just how mature the storytelling is. There are the expected cutesy animals that seem obligatory in all animated stories, but do not mistake this as a children’s film. From the bones of the dead rattling in the sand dune to occasional blood spurts in fights, this pulls even fewer punches than the lead. It’s been so long since mainstream animation has been made primarily for adults, we’d almost forgotten what it looks like.
While JIANG ZIYA was another film that was initially delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this did nothing to diminish the impact of its arrival in China and around the world this month. If you stick around for the end credits, there’s hints about what will come next: the forthcoming Deep Sea. A terrific way to reintroduce yourself to cinema for the year and a great place to jump onboard for the next great Chinese franchise.
2020 | China | DIRECTORS: Cheng Teng, Li Wei | WRITERS: Xie Xiying | CAST: Zheng Xi, Yang Ning, Tutehameng, Yan Meme, Ji Guanlin, Jiang Guangtao | DISTRIBUTOR: China Lion Film (AUS), Beijing Enlight Pictures (CHN) | RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1 October 2020 (AUS)
