Movie Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠)

Discussion in 'TV/Movies Discussion' started by Sky Farrow, Jun 16, 2017.

  1. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    I had a China friend recommending me songs and one of them was from this movie o.o So I realised it was a movie from China... and I found that it had amazing animation. The last time I watched animations from drama they were... not very impressive.

    But this movie, this movie was amazing.. It had a Studio Ghibli standard, in fact it really felt like a Miyazaki movie. The animation was great, the scenes were absolutely stunning, the music was perfect. The story was really good too, and while this film reminded me a LOT about Spirited Away, because it shares so much in common by the type of art style, the mythical folklore creatures etc, it's definitely not the same.

    It's worth the watch for those who haven't seen it, I feel like I missed out something huge in my life after I finished... And yes there's English subs for it.

    I wonder if anyone here has seen it :eek:
     
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  2. Theo Thanasia

    Theo Thanasia Medicine Master

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    ads are getting smarter.



    JK haven't heard of it b4
     
  3. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    I am not an ad!! :cool: -push-
     
  4. Theo Thanasia

    Theo Thanasia Medicine Master

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    JK Mean just kidding :) :), haven't heard that movie before but interested in it. i'll look for free time to watch it :)
     
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  5. Wise old fisher

    Wise old fisher [I am not a potato] [Chorus heresy]

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    The last chinese movie i have seen had.... A whole army with ballistas and bows shooting at a temple while the monks and kids who where studying didn't even move and most of them died while a dude flying in the air with a saber deflected few of the arrows and then i was like.... the heck did i just watch?
     
  6. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    Well even I lol-ed at your description...
     
  7. Ruyi

    Ruyi translator at CG

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    Just went to watch the trailer and ooooh you're right, it really does look nice! I'll check it out when I have time too.

    On the other hand, have you watched Little Door Gods? I thought that one wasn't bad, either.
     
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  8. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    Ruyi ^_^)/
    Since you recommended it, I'll try it out soon!
     
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  9. Wise old fisher

    Wise old fisher [I am not a potato] [Chorus heresy]

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    Old Chinese movies with wuxia concept or something like "superhuman" powers are really weird since they didn't have the technology to make it look like today.
    But the actors are really good so they are a mix of weirdness and good acting
    Edit: The scenario never makes sense whatsoever
     
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  10. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    Yeah I've seen a few. It was cool back then but now it looks funny e_e)
     
  11. ABMAINA

    ABMAINA ★☆☆☆☆

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    I liked the movie, the story was bittersweet in a way. The animation was stunningly beautiful (from stuff like how the water moved in the water dragon to little things like how Chun would push her hair behind her ear during the movie sometimes) and yeah it did feel a lot like a Miyazaki movie. The soundtrack was great too, I liked how it had some traditional chinese instruments playing and then a guitar strum would be thrown in (and the credits song is superb) I feel kinda bad for Qiu though (eternaaaaaal brotherzoned) when all's said and done but don't harbour hatred towards Chun (well maybe a little bit lol) But I feel like the ending was kinda wishy washy, in a way its like Chun's actions didn't lead to that great of a consequence as it originally looked like it was gonna be, although I understand that if it was too tragic/dark no one would've liked it.
     
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  12. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    Oh someone who watched it :eek:!!

    I thought Chun was full of shit :cool: She loved Kun yeah, but she totally didn't acknowledge everything Qiu did for her! Poor Qiu, I felt so sad for him :cry: He gave her everything... Even his future! Forever condemned to be a ... whatever that red-faced thing is supposed to be. Meanwhile Chun gets to be with Kun.

    I wouldn't have thought it was from China if they were speaking Chinese the entire time. It really felt like a Miyazaki film.
     
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  13. ABMAINA

    ABMAINA ★☆☆☆☆

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    It felt kinda grating on my ears when old woman Chun was narrating the story at the start then I eased into it and got used to it (TKA anime has helped me get used to Animation with Chinese voices and stuff lol) the part that got on my nerves alot was where Qiu was doing some sort of psudo confession to Chun and she didn't even respond except with a resting bitch face... that was one of the more intensely annoying scenes of the film. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel where Qiu is the main character though, might be interesting to see how the world works from that shinigami thingy perspective.
     
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  14. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    Ah, it reminded me of my grandmother so I was fine with that.

    I just thought young Qiu was very... selfish. She was so selfish she let her people in danger, and everything Chun did was so sweet. He sacrificed so much for her, but she just...

    [ I love you, I saw you smile, cry, angry... ( u_u)<3 ~ (o_o ) what? Kun is more important to me.]

    That scene with Chun crying while his back was facing Qiu, and Qiu just lying there... yeah that was just painful.

    This film took 12 years to make lol. I would love a sequel too though.
     
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  15. ABMAINA

    ABMAINA ★☆☆☆☆

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    Wasn't Chun the girl and Qiu the boy?

    But yeah part of the reason why I thought the way the climax was resolved was wishy washy was because Chun more or less got away with doing what she did with not much consequence (starting a new life with a guy you have the hots for isnt much of a consequence when i think about it to be honest anyways) The stifled crying scene was definetley one of the emotional moments in the movie, I didn't know how to react to it I was like "woah". Also did you think that Rat woman character was kind of random and unnecssary? We had like zero backstory on her despite her influencing quite a bit of the film's story.

    The film took 12 years?! Woah that's surprising to learn.
     
  16. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    Oops, derp me. I mistaken the names. Bad me @_@)
    Well she lost her powers and stuff but in the end she still got together with the guy... So I get what you mean. That rat lady... I feel like there's something about her that I'm not getting. Like is she meant to be a figure in chinese legend? I'm missing something there, but it seems so.

    There's a story about her that we probably won't know unless we live in China. I'm not that close on deities and stuff so I wouldn't know.

    Yeah... from what I gathered. Well 12 years... for an amazingly animated film, worth I guess :D
     
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  17. ABMAINA

    ABMAINA ★☆☆☆☆

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    That's a shame, I really love reading and learning about Chinese mythology.

    Yeah I don't mind it much either since the quality of the film is great.
     
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  18. Ravenclaw

    Ravenclaw New Member

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    I really like that film.
    It make me think about my attitude to life and people around me)
    It is so bright and garmonic I get aesthetic pleasure.
    I hope they do something similar to this
     
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  19. Sky Farrow

    Sky Farrow 天外之魔

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    I hope China makes more, it really is beautiful to look at and I loved the story and mysticism of it :D
     
  20. Aiki

    Aiki Well-Known Member

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    Ack! I know I'm late but I didn't know there was a thread for this movie and I've been wanting to unleash my thoughts for a while. I even almost dragged my friend to watch this movie with me so I had someone to talk to :blobowoevil:

    It's been a while since I watched the movie but the song "Big Fish" is amazing and is what introduced me to the movie in the first place :blobxd: I listen to the original version, 萧忆情Alex's version, and a qin version... call me obsessed, I don't care~~ :blobsmilehappyeyes:

    I agree, the animation is extremely beautiful and definitely reminded me of Ghibli works. I think it was nice of the producers to base the story off of Chinese mythology since this is many people's first introduction to Chinese animation.

    I loved the story up until the ending. I thought one of the most important themes/lessons from this movie was to understand that our actions have consequences and to take responsibility for what happens.
    • Chun didn't keep the elder's warnings in mind and got close to humans, leading to Kun's death. When she learns of this, she repays his sacrifice at the cost of her own life
    • She is so focused on repaying her gratitude that she brings harm to her village by defying the laws of nature. She then atones for this by fully sacrificing herself (the tree scene) to save her village and let Kun escape
    Although she made many mistakes, she clearly reflected and changed along the way. Her actions were childish, but admirable at the same time... However!
    I disliked how the writer gifted Chun's happy ending, free of consequence, so easily :notlikeblob: I understand that this is a "coming of age" story and mistakes made in childhood don't dictate our future... but why must Qiu have been sacrificed? :blobtriumph: It's fine she didn't reciprocate his feelings (even though I would have chosen him :blobsmirk:) but the romance between Chun and Kun wasn't compelling enough for me. It felt like Qiu's role in the story was simply to let Chun and Kun end up together the way they did. What was the past hour of character development for? I was angry why the girl who did everything wrong gets to live her life, while the boy who did everything right loses everything. In a way, the ending reduced this story to another "girl needs a guy to save her" story. The poem they inserted right before the movie finished also confused me so hard :facepalm:
    Regardless though I think the reason I'm so heated and passionate about this film is because I like it just that much. I would totally watch it again and any movie/drama with good music instantly makes it 10x better~ :blobpopcorn::blobpopcorn:
     
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