Chang’an
Poetry and history meet in a handsome animated epic from China.
Image courtesy of Miracle/Dazzler Media.
This work by China's Light Chaser Animation Studios directed by Junwei Xie and Jing Zou leaves one in awe of all those who were prepared to take on a film as ambitious as this. Chang’an tells an historical tale set in the eighth century and chooses to do so in an animated film which runs for 168 minutes. Just to attempt such an endeavour is remarkable in itself and it is all the more striking because this is a handsomely designed work made for the wide screen that fully lives up to its wish to provide spectacle. The city of Chang’an which is one of several key settings in the film was the capital of China during the time of the Tang dynasty which brought stability to the country for almost three hundred years but this golden age was also notable as a time when Chinese poetry flourished and celebrating that aspect of it is the purpose of this film.
As if making such a long animated feature were not challenge enough, the filmmakers are also seeking here to offer a film of wide popular appeal while also keeping the poetry itself a central feature. To achieve this, the focus is placed on the great poet Li Bai and on his friendship over the years with Gao Shi. Relatively close in age to Li Bai, Gao Shi would in contrast go on to have a career as a politician and as a military general, but he too was a poet, this being an art venerated at the time and widely attempted. Several remembered poets are subsidiary figures here and one younger man in this category, Du Fu, appears as one of the more significant supporting figures. In a neat piece of construction, we first meet Gao Shi when as a regional governor he is seeking to hold out against rebel forces. He is now well advanced in years and finds himself confronted by a military inspector, Cheng Jianjun. However, his visitor’s main concern appears to be focused on Li Bai and on Gao Shi’s knowledge of him as a friend. Thus, it is that this discussion about Li Bai yields the many flashbacks which follow in chronological order representing the times when their lives have connected but it also allows the film to develop the military tensions of this later period eventually letting these events take the narrative further forward.
Lacking any specialist knowledge about this period in China, I cannot say what degree of freedom may have been taken in setting up a relatable story of two friends whose rapport is apparent despite the two of them possessing very different characters. Gao Shi growing up with a stutter and dyslexia is a conservative voice but he admires the enthusiasm and panache with which Li Bai lives his life and both are young men living in a society where any youngster from a poor background wanting to improve his chances in life needs to latch on to somebody of better class willing to help him get promotion and recognition. In this modern age, the film's depiction of the bond between the two friends has been read by some as clearly homoerotic and this stems from repeated instances in which Gao Shi and Li Bai enjoy wrestling together when stripped to the waist. It's an interpretation that seems reasonable enough and it is accurate that Gao Shi never married while Li Bai who did so more than once may well have married to further himself (there’s a long segment here concerned with a potential marriage of his and the question of whether or not any child born of it should take the more distinguished family name of the wife). But, however one interprets it, the contrasted lifestyles shown make for an engaging tale of friendship in which ambiguities can have a place (it is not always certain if we are meant to side with Gao Shi’s criticisms of Li Bai’s frequent drinking - his views on this may seem reasonable to us but it appears that the Chinese made the imbibing of wine a great tradition).
The first half of Chang’an works very well, flowing effectively as well as being visually impressive and, however much the material seeks to entertain in a popular way, there is a deal of poetry here expressed in short but memorable lines. One feels that this form of poetry is indeed at the heart of the film in the hope that it will appeal to viewers of a younger generation who may be led by the movie to look into this art for themselves (apparently every Chinese school child is familiar with Li Bai’s ‘Quiet Night Thought’ so building up this interest in this way may be more likely than it may sound especially within China itself).
But, if one admires the ambition behind such a long animated work (one presented without an intermission it would seem), the fact remains that the film does seem to take on too much. One can more or less follow the turmoil of the period which yields a number of battle scenes but the film’s second half fades to black more than once and at one point it even resorts to incorporating some written statements to cover historical developments. If the personal tale holds up (and there are some neat developments quite late on), the changing political scene makes for more bitty material and, exhaustion apart, it might even have gained at times from extra scenes providing more detail. It starts to feel that since the film is trying to cover so much it might have worked better as a television series. But then one realises the extent to which the scale of the visuals demands a cinema screen. Perhaps the ideal format would have been to echo Wicked and to have presented Chang’an as a film released in two distinct segments. As it is, taken in one dose it does start to lose lustre. But, despite that, there is much to appreciate here and, the more you think about it, the more extraordinary it feels that anybody should have dared to take on an enterprise of this length and substance. That’s real audacity.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Chinese voices of Yang Tianxiang, Zhenhe Ling, Wu Junquan, Xuan Xiaoming, Lu Lifeng, Lulu Sun, Liu Xiaoyu, Li Shimeng, Ba He, Jiaqi Xu, Ya Jie, Chen Zhe, Tang Shuiyu, Jiang Qiuzai, Li Haojia, Fan Zhechen.
Dir Junwei Xie and Jing Zou, Pro Gary Wang, Jerry Li, Peter Zheng, Fu Ruoqing and Song Yiyi, Screenplay Gary Wang, Pro Des Wang Chao and Leng Songling, Ed Song Xuchen, Music Guo Haowei.
Light Chaser Animation Studios/Alibaba Pictures Group/China Film Co. Ltd-Miracle/Dazzler Media.
168 mins. China. 2023. US Rel: 6 October 2023. UK Rel: 28 February 2025. Cert. 12A.
