Shen hai

A visually stunning and glamorous film. It follows a simple yet touching story through the eyes of the broken girl Shenxiu and a troubled man Nanhe. It revolves around the sea and the quest for a long lost destination. The first half of the film takes viewes into the universe. The last couple of scenes are tear-jerkers, when the ending song rose I just sit there and let myself immersed in the story. It's a story about pain and healing, sacrifice and salvation. Yet the dialogues in the film could be more refined and the first half plot is relatively weak. It could resonate with people fighting depression, anyway it's worth watching.

As chinese movie this art piece does not qualify as anime and does not follow amerian animation traditions as well, it stands on its own. The animations and visuals are stunning and really something new, but with a downside for me: for some bizarre reason they added massive "action camera shaking" over a majority of scenes (which gives these scenes the feeling of "shaky handheld camera"), combined with many super fast cuts. This combination has the potential to spoil the experience for some people - I really disliked this aspect.

There is no real storyline, but a lot of room for interpretation. Take this art piece as it comes...

• its not really suitable for children, but not dangerous;
• its confusing, but you can find a storyline for yourself;
• its chaotic, shaky and superfast; but the stills look like paintings.

• it may ignite sad feelings, but there is relief as well.

So "Shen hai" is neither perfect or easy watching, but worth a look if you search something to discuss about.

Unlike many mainstream movie productions, the appreciation of Deep Sea requires a holistic lens. Borrowing from contemporary psychiatric literature, the film tells a story of hope, despair, and the rebirth of a little girl who is undergoing major setbacks in life.

In a brilliantly constructed dreamworld that has inexplicable ties with reality, the protagonist interrogates the multi-facets of her life; a seed of hope is planted in an important encounter.

The plot can't necessarily stand up to the test of time. Yet, the constant build-up of suspension and emotion combined with stunning visuals and acoustics produced a beautiful effect at the time of revelation, where even the most unaffectionate person would find it hard to stay unmoved.

I would undoubtedly re-watch this film many and many times. But the colourful mix of emotions I experienced at the end of the film may never get replicated. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime film, and a once-in-a-lifetime exprience.

Actually, I want to give 6 points, and the extra 1 point is for the efforts of Chinese anime.

The picture is very gorgeous, colorful, and made with a great sense of quality. It can be considered a successful creation of a dreamy atmosphere. But sometimes it can overwhelm the theme characters, and made it confused.

The story was combination of Chinese and Western elements. I can see "Spirited Away", Dementor in "Harry Potter" and the elements of Stephen Chow's movie. It should be a story of self-redemption. She broke free from the shackles of depression in her own dreams. But in my opinion, she still needs external forces, attention, and companionship. In this story, she tells herself in her dream that someone loves her, someone values her, and someone accompanies her. The story interweaved fictional plots with reality. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish whether one is in a dream or in reality. Perhaps the director wants such an effect.

Maybe the movie itself has many flaws, but I am still very surprised to have such a domestic animation movie. The picture is very delicate, the emotion is very rich, and the particle ink special effects are also very sincere, which is a very good movie-watching experience. Domestic films always like to use traditional myths as themes, and it is difficult to break through with new themes, especially the portrayal of inner emotions, which is unique, full of novelty, and far-reaching. I really admire the courage of director Tian Xiaopeng. I also look forward to more and better domestic animation films appearing.