domestic fantasy movies inherited and adapted from fantasy novels. Fantasy novels intersect with various types of literature, and then they have produced sub-genres such as fairy tale, cultivation and tomb robbery.
Fantasy movies, like fantasy novels, are compatible with and blend various elements from martial arts, science fiction, Western fantasy, Japanese anime, traditional Chinese myths and legends, and ancient Chinese monster novels. In recent years, domestic fantasy movies have been most influenced by Western culture and Japanese culture.
The influence of Japanese elements
Since its birth, the audience of fantasy movies has been mostly the younger generation, and they are also the main audience of Japanese entertainment culture. Compared with Europe and the United States, Japan, which is far away from the ocean, is more similar to China in customs and aesthetic orientations, so both Japanese and Japanese animes are more acceptable in China than in European and American anime and film and television dramas.
Of course, this has also stimulated the development of related industries in China. The popularity of fantasy movies is the first step in the huge market demand for fantasy movies in China, and the second step in the Chinese filmmakers need to convey various spiritual values in Chinese traditional culture through fantasy movies. The third is naturally inseparable from the cultural imports of Japan, Europe and the United States.
For example, the movie "The Order of the Samurai" was adapted from "Onmyoji" in Japan. The film has highly integrated the localized national style of China in the presentation of characters, visual aesthetics, genre elements and ideological concepts. This movie can be said to be an important attempt to blend Japanese elements and Chinese elements.
Although Onmyoji Qingming and Jinwu Guardian Yuan Baiya, who have mixed races, have different temperaments and temperaments, they all reflect Confucian ideas in terms of values. In order to save the people of the world, the male protagonist Qingming finally fell into the demonic path and gave up the love with the heroine Bai Ni. He has the style and demeanor of the chivalrous knights serving the country and the people in Chinese chivalrous culture, taking it as their responsibility to safeguard the people of the dawn as their own responsibility, and boundless love. The theme of the video
discusses the theme of great love, trustworthiness and never betrayal to the people in the dawn. In terms of theme setting, is also different from Japanese adaptations. The connotation of "Shisattva God" in the film also contains the core of the spirit of the Chinese nation.
However, this film also has problems such as pale characters, disordered plot and secondary lines, illogical plot setting, and embarrassing acting skills of supporting actors. This is also an important reason for mixed reviews since the release of the film.
The movie "The Yin-Yang Eternal Collection" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Japanese writer Meng Zimaru. In this movie, the director not only did not grasp the narrative rhythm well, but the suspense was set too simply, but Kenji Kawai's music was presented in the movie for almost a minute, causing the audience to feel auditory fatigue.
movies are very gorgeous and exquisite in visual effects, such as the special effects of the image of Fire Snake are very spectacular. , but the movie still shows a small amount of Chinese elements. For example, when Qingming arrived in Tiandu, it was already night. In the middle of the night, there were still lights and lights on the city. Countless bright lanterns rose in the wind, and a strange feeling suddenly oozed out of the gorgeous scene. There is also the traditional folding bow of ancient Chinese on Boya's back, which was made by the crew through turbulent and mortise.
Infiltration of Western elements
Since the May Fourth New Culture Movement, China has advocated that Chinese people learn from the culture and technology of Western countries. Therefore, European and American culture has a profound impact on modern China. The strong development of Hollywood's globalization has made the Chinese film industry learn from it.
In this environment, fantasy movies are naturally no exception. In terms of fantasy films, China has long been influenced by Western fantasy elements and magic elements, and this influence has penetrated into all aspects of the film.
"The Promise" directed by Chen Kaige has been controversial since its release. Many people say that the oriental philosophy described in the movie is built in a nonsense love story. The director uses extremely gorgeous visual effects to build an oriental and mysterious world, but the core is a little pale. Although the movie
is called an oriental epic movie, it is also mixed with Western elements. For example, the sentence "The Presbyterians judged the crime of the general's murder of the Lord" in the movie is a Westernized line for the Chinese people.
, and "The Romance of the Gods" adapted from ancient Chinese mythological novels is even more exaggerated . In the movie, Western monsters such as the Spirit Clan and the Wing Clan, as well as airships that are only owned by contemporary civilizations. Moreover, Shen Gongbao in the movie actually became a "war beast", and Daji actually became an "alien". This behavior of excessive adaptation of traditional literature in order to force Western elements to cater to foreign audiences is incredible.
Therefore, the rigid implantation of too many Western elements reflects the disrespect and lack of understanding of traditional Chinese literary works by many screenwriters, which is not conducive to reflecting cultural confidence and will cause domestic fantasy movies to fall into an embarrassing situation where they cannot become a tiger or a dog.
But it is gratifying that some movies are deeply rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese traditional literature and are moderately learning from Western elements. For example, the movie "Monster Hunting", and its image of Hu Ba is inspired by the director's team's reference to the strange beast Emperor Jiang in "Shan Hai Jing". However, as a Chinese American and the creator of the Western monster Shrek, the director is deeply influenced by Eastern and Western literature and has a moderate reference to the image of Western monsters.
Whether it is a mixture of European and American elements or Japanese elements, domestic fantasy movies are better than to deeply root in traditional Chinese literature resources, and they will definitely be able to draw many Chinese elements from them. If filmmakers can take the spread and promotion of Chinese culture as their mission, they will definitely be able to tell Chinese stories well, and creates a domestic fantasy movie that truly has oriental characteristics and embodies the Chinese style.
