The War of the Gods **
de Ji Zhao
Chinese Animated Film, 2:08
Everything starts like a traditional movie Wu Xia Pian, those Chinese cloak and dagger films that mix martial arts and ancestral legends. But what at first appears like a confrontation between human gods that threatens the balance of the world quickly takes on the appearance of a… spaghetti western!
A bounty hunter leans against a wall and plays a melody reminiscent of the following on a harmonicaOnce upon a time in the west, by Sergio Leone. However, Yang Jian does not stand in front of a saloon but on the deck of a ship made of metal and wood, sailing through the air in the footsteps of an outlaw whose head is set on a prize. After capturing him and showing off his martial arts and magical powers to a fallen god, he encounters a disturbing young woman who tasks him with finding a valuable item, a lotus-shaped lamp, which is stolen from him.
Colorful cave paintings and clean ablutions
This is the beginning of a confrontation with a fearless young thief who will take Yang Jian to sublime landscapes of the Middle Kingdom: retrofuturistic cities towering with pagodas and traditional Chinese houses, flying junks circling nearby, mountains with rugged ridges, that hide secret caves… Multiplication With references to the history of Chinese art, the film reconstructs in its own way the textures and characters of the colorful cave paintings of the Buddhist caves of Dunhuang or those refined in the snowy slopes.
The computer-generated animation is disturbingly realistic and stylized in a way that doesn’t make it feel like you’re watching a substitute live-action film. The staging, which is never hectic even in the fight scenes, offers beautiful visual discoveries such as these duels of musical instruments, harmonica and pipa (Chinese lute) projecting sharp sounds at the opponent…
Stunning and exotic, the shape doesn’t always make up for a somewhat muddled and watered-down background. The simple story at the beginning becomes a lengthy chase through China, coupled with the complicated family history of characters from Chinese mythology. The issues addressed, severe grief and conflicted loyalties, are addressed in too convoluted a manner. It remains an awe-inspiring spectacle delivered by a studio, Light Chaser, that has continually improved since its inception ten years ago.
