Qing Ya Ji (2020)

Une tuerie visuelle!

Une magnifique découverte ! Amateur d'univers de fantasy, de RPG et de manga, n'hésitez pas à donner sa chance à ce film au visuel incroyable.

"Dream Of Eternity" raconte l'histoire de Qing Ming en route vers la cité impérial où il est attendu pour la cérémonie du ciel, ainsi que 3 autres maitres. Qing Ming et les 3 autres maitres, Bo Ya, Long Ye et He Shou Ye ont la mission d'enfermer pour de bon un serpent démon. Durant la cérémonie, une crise survient mettant à jour une vérité profondément cachée.
"The Yin Yang Master : Dream of Eternity" est sorti en décembre 2020, peu de temps avant son concurrent (plus que) direct : "The YinYang Master" ( février 2021).

"Dream of Eternity" est une adaptation du roman "Onmyouji", un roman japonais écrit par Baku Yumemakura en 1986. Un roman à succès qui connaitra une adaptation en manga, en 13 volumes, du même nom et illustré par Okano Reiko paru de 1993 à 1995. Il y aura aussi un jeux vidéo, "Onmyoji" développé par NetEase et qui verra le jour en 2018 en France.
Ce film a été réalisé et écrit par le réalisateur Guo Jing Ming (le plus jeune scénariste à rejoindre l'association des écrivains en Chine) et est donc la 3ème adaptation de l'oeuvre de Yumemakura, les 2 premiers sont quant à eux des films sortis au Japon en 2001 et 2003.
"The Yin Yang master : Dream of Eternity" a bien failli ne pas voir le jour suite à des plaintes et un appel au boycott à l'encontre du réalisateur pour plagiat. Le coeur du conflit se trouvant être la technique de téléportation de Qing Ming similaire à celle de "Doctor Strange" (Marvel). Le film sortira finalement après ses déboires sur grand écran (ainsi que sur Netflix) et se placera 5ème dès sa sortie.

Si plagiat il y a, je ne saurais vous le dire à quel point car je ne connais pas très bien l'univers de "Doctor Strange", il serait tout de même dommage selon moi de passer à côté de cette oeuvre visuellement superbe.

Je ne pensais pas un jour découvrir un film chinois aussi beau visuellement (et pas que). Les effets spéciaux ont été confiés à un studio coréen spécialisé dans l'animation et les effets spéciaux, 4Th Creative Party, qui ont travaillé notamment sur "Okja", "Snowpiercer" et "Peninsula".

Le résultat est bluffant. Les images sont magnifiques. Les couleurs nous feraient presque croire à un tableau ! la composition sombre faite de noire et tous ses dérivés sont étrangement chatoyantes. Par exemple, Bo Ya tout de noir, se fondant dans un décor flirtant avec le lyrisme sombre de la nuit d'une façon grandiose ou la ville vue de haut illuminée de tous ces détails lumineux et ces dégradés de noir et de jaune sont absolument magnifiques. Les couleurs bien que souvent sombres sont chaudes et colorées (oui un paradoxe, n'est ce pas?). Ne sont pas en reste les costumes et le maquillage qui subliment les personnages. Je pense à l'apparition de la princesse Zang Ping toute de rouge et judicieusement maquillée à outrance. Le costume de Bo Ya ou celui de la princesse Zang Ping durant les dernières scènes qui jusque dans les détails et les mouvements des tissus sont à couper le souffle. Tout le film est un régal pour les yeux, tout est maitrisé et pensé comme une oeuvre d'art.

Les combats. Nous savons déjà que les chinois possèdent une maitrise certaine dans la chorégraphie des combats. Ici point de mauvaise surprise. Tout est fluide et savamment orchestrée. L'action ne s'essouffle pas. Il n'y en a ni trop peu, ni trop tout court. Contrairement à ce que j'ai pu lire, le film n'est pas axé dans une action agressive et "show off". L'action est trépidante et rondement menée mais pas omniprésente, et le combat final d'autant plus dramatique que sublimé. Cette apparition de Bo Ya, à tomber par terre (dixit la fan girl que je suis), nous en jetant pleins les mirettes avec son torse (hihi) nu et ses ailes noires m'aura prise de court. C'est donc avec gourmandise que nous pouvons suivre ce fight de haut vol avec He Shou Ye. C'est aussi la première apparition de Bo Ya et son duel avec avec Qing Ming qui m'aura de suite convaincue.
Dois-je le dire? Mais j'ai adoré les invocations des maîtres gardiens. Pour une joueuse de la saga des FF que je suis (du moins jusqu'à FF12), cela a été euphorique de voir ces invocations et les apparitions magiques de ces maîtres gardiens. Le pire dans tout cela? On en redemande car il n'y en a pas assez! Et puis zuteuh quoi, ils ne sont là que si peu et j'ai réussi à m'y attacher horriblement. Je n'en dirai pas plus.

Mais au-delà de ce combat éternel entre le bien et le mal, c'est aussi un drame dans les coulisses qui se joue, une tragédie que nous sentons vaguement venir et qui sera l'apothéose du récit.
Chaque personnage a un passé qui détermine ses gestes et son attitude. N'ayant pas (encore) lu le roman ou le manga, je ne peux donc que me reposer sur ce que montre le film. Et ce fut suffisant pour vouloir en apprendre plus.
Nous découvrons au fur et à mesure que la motivation des crimes perpétrés n'est autre (ce n'est plus surprenant) que le lien intemporel entre deux personnages (je ne les nommerai pas afin d'éviter le spoil).
Et c'est un exercice difficile que de dépeindre autant de richesse émotionnelle en 2 heures.
2 (petites) heures pour nous faire comprendre le lien qui unit Qing Ming et Bo Ya. Les aimer. Et les accompagner.
Si peu pour nous conter une romance tragique.
Nous avons pu entrapercevoir le passé tragique de Bo Ya et de Qing Ming. Et ce fut presque une réussite.
Je dis presque, car j'aurais adoré en savoir plus. Surtout Bo Ya....peut-être dans la suite à venir.

Et le casting? Qing Ming, interprété par Mark Chao, est un personnage raffiné, tout en "douceur" avec un humour discret et une assurance tranquille. Son acolyte, Bo Ya, interprété par Deng Lun (mille fois whoaaaaa), a au contraire une attitude rigoureuse et droite (un party pooper comme dirait mon chéri). Dès le départ en opposition, que cela soit au niveau de leur caractère ou de leur essence même (Qing Ming est mi-humain mi démon et Bo Ya un chasseur de démon), leur relation prend rapidement de la profondeur jusqu'à l'ultime geste d'amitié (ou d'amour, tout dépend de ce que l'on veut voir) entre Qing Ming et Bo Ya. Les dialogues, un mélange de taquinerie et d'humour, sont savoureux. La tournure que prendra leur relation se fait tout naturellement et nous oblige à nous y attacher involontairement.
Long Ye est un personnage intéressant mais très peu (et trop vite disparue) exploitée. Espérons que dans la suite à venir, qui porte son nom, on en apprenne plus.
Le jeu d'acteur est à la hauteur de ce qu'on peut attendre d'une superproduction de cette envergure. Si vous ne le savez pas encore, je suis une admiratrice de Den Lun depuis "Ashes of Love" (son jeu d'acteur, sa voix terriblement sexy et puis accessoirement son joli visage) et j'étais plus que ravie de le retrouver ici. Un rôle qui lui va comme un gant tout comme pour Mark Chao (que je connais moins).

l'OST de ce film a été confié à un compositeur japonais, Kenji Kawai, connu notamment pour sa collaboration avec Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). Mais il a travaillé aussi sur "Maison Ikkoku" (Rhâ ma jeunesse!), Ranma 1/2, la saga des Patlabor entre autres. Cela serait vraiment trop long de citer ses travaux, il y'en a beaucoup ; c'est donc un des compositeurs les plus connus avec Joe Hisaishi et cela se ressent sur la qualité du film. L'OST colle parfaitement à l'ambiance du film ainsi que la chanson du film interprétée par Den Lun, "Infatuation Tomb" (magnifique chanson).

Le budget alloué au film a été conséquent et cela transpire abondamment durant tout le visionnage. D'ailleurs il est à noter que la quasi-totalité du film a été tourné dans le studio "Hengdian World Studios", le plus grand studio de cinéma au monde. Y a été tourné "Empress Ki" le drama coréen, "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" ou encore la superproduction "Mulan" de Disney. "Hengdian World Studios" est par ailleurs un parc d'attractions, un peu comme "Universal Studio" à Los Angeles.

Ce film est presque un sans faute, une histoire touchante où personne n'est vraiment mauvais ou bon. Une superbe photographie avec une palette de couleur incroyablement vivante. Je reste encore émerveillée de la beauté des costumes et de la façon chatoyante dont les plis dansent, on croirait que tout possède une âme. La chorégraphie y est magistralement orchestrée et la musique apporte la touche épique qui rend l'oeuvre d'autant plus émouvante. Les dialogues sont parfois drôles et parfois d'une sagesse étonnante.

Un must to see selon moi

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Un film agréable

J'ai regardé ce film après avoir vu plusieurs critiques qui le conseillait (sans vraiment lire ce qui pourrait me spoiler, je ne savais donc pas vraiment de quoi parlait l'histoire ^^).

Alors que dire ? C'est un film sympathique avec de bon effets spéciaux (ça change...) et une intrigue qui nous pousse à vouloir savoir la finalité. Bien que dès le début du film je n'ai pas apprécié le personnage de "He Shou Ye", je n'ai compris qu'à la fin pourquoi... Comme quoi, même s'il ne faut pas toujours se fier à la première impression, celle-ci a tout de même un certain intérêt.

Pour une fois, bien qu'il s'agisse d'une histoire avec des combats du "bien" contre le "mal", on nous montre que rien n'est noir ou blanc... Parce qu'après tout, qu'est-ce que le mal ? On les personnifie ici en tant que "démons" mais on nous démontrs également que ceux-ci ont des sentiments... Alors, sont-ils si mauvais ? Qu'est-ce qui les différencie de nous autres humains ?

J'ai apprécié le fait qu'au final il n'y a pas de "réel" méchant dans cette histoire. Oui, il y a une créature à abattre mais on ne peut pas la considérée comme "méchante" puisqu'elle est la personnification des désirs humains...

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The Perfect Yin Yang

The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity is a much anticipated movie that went through hell and back, and literally pulled us fans into the same predicament. This production has been plagued by backlash against its director-screenwriter, Guo Jing Ming who lost a plagiarism lawsuit back in 2004 for a novel that he had published and since then, there have been those in the industry calling for a continued boycott of his works. On top of that incident, another accusation of plagiarism was made against him, this time for this movie where certain scenes resembled Marvel’s 2016 release of Doctor Strange. This fresh wave of backlash had resulted in the film being pulled from cinemas less than 2 weeks after its initial release in China on Christmas 2020. There were real fears that Netflix, which acquired the world-wide distribution rights, may pull the plug on this as well. Fortunately, it did not and the movie was released on the streaming platform as originally scheduled on 5 February 2021.

Dream of Eternity is adapted from the novel series Onmyōji by Yumemakura Baku, with a fair amount of interpretation through the screenplay (as I understand from various news sources) written and directed by Guo Jing Ming. This is the 3rd incarnation of live-action based on the novel series, the first two were Japanese adaptations in 2001 and 2003, and comes into direct comparison (and probably competition as well, due to the timing) with another movie based on the Onmyōji mobile game (which is also inspired by the original novel series), The Yin Yang Master. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t read the novel series, played the mobile game, and even seen the two Japanese adaptations. So I went into this on a huge wave of anticipation and excitement based on rave reviews by nearly everyone who had seen the movie.

The plot focuses on the adventures of the lead character, cosmologist (Onmyōdō, the traditional Japanese art of esoteric cosmology) Qing Ming as he investigates strange cases linked to an overarching mystery involving the heavenly realm and a mystical artifact. This takes place in a fantasy world where supernatural beings (demons, and others that I’m unsure of how to classify) co-exist. Along the way, he develops a friendship (and bromance with hints of BL) with the Imperial Guard (similar to the Embroidered/ Brocade Jing Yi Wei guards) Bo Ya. Together they form a formidable partnership in tackling the unsavoury otherworldly (super)villains that get in the way of solving mysteries. They also encounter other intriguing supporting characters such as Princess Zhang Ping, Master Long Ye and He Shou Ye.

If the story depicted here is anything like the original source material, I’m severely tempted to start reading the novel series. Exquisitely intricate world building of the highest degree with equally fleshed out major and supporting characters. Little wonder a running time over 2 hours is needed to bring this entirely fantastical setting to life. It certainly did not feel that long at all, as the storytelling progresses at a reasonably engaging and quick pace with perfectly-timed intensity and thrills where it mattered. Perhaps an additional 15 to 20 minutes would have provided more richness and depth to certain scenes and the development of character build-ups and relationship dynamics.

The cast is one of the major reasons for getting excited over this movie. Mark Chao headlines the eclectic ensemble that also comprises the likes of Deng Lun and Olivia Wang. The award-winning Mark Chao is globally renowned for his role of Ye Hua in Eternal Love (TMOPB) as well as numerous other starring roles since he made his debut in the critically-acclaimed Monga a decade ago. Deng Lun is another big name in the xianxia series through his major role in Ashes of Love. Olivia Wang is probably not as universally renowned as the two gentlemen, but she has been no less prolific with a portfolio of works that spans 15 years in the industry.

The characters of Qing Ming and Bo Ya were delectably portrayed by Mark and Deng respectively. Mark invokes a particularly subtle kind of charm and sophistication as the titular Yin-Yang Master that makes him appear genuinely warm and sincere but with a dash of self-assured confidence. Deng’s Bo Ya is seemingly more minimalist with a stoic disposition permanently etched on his entire being. These two make for a great couple, whether as brothers-in-arms or even beyond the usual conventions. Wang was almost unrecognizable as the Princess Zhang Ping, even without the heavy Tang-esque makeup. I felt that although she was probably way out of her comfort zone in this role because it was such a controlled and subdued character to portray, her performance was on point. Her character is arguably one of the most enigmatically intriguing.

The most talked about aspect of this production that garners the highest praise from most viewers, with which I agree wholeheartedly, is its visual representation. This is a big budget production that seamlessly blends top-tier CGI technology, beautiful cinematography, and astounding choreographed sequences with breathtaking set designs and immaculate costumes that embody the world of Onmyōji, supposedly set in the Japanese Heian period. There is absolutely no way to describe how visually stunning this film is - you just have to see it for yourself. Principal photography fully took place at Hengdian World Studios and apparently this film and a sequel were filmed back-to-back in what is a planned series. The impressive visual effects were provided by the well-known Korean animation and motion picture VFX production company, 4th Creative Party which had produced feature films in Asia, Hollywood and Europe, most notably Okja, Snowpiercer, and The Host.

The music in the film is no less exquisite, composed by celebrated Japanese composer Kenji Kawai, famed for his works in Ghost in the Shell, Death Note and Ip Man series, among many others. The BGM for this production is one of the best in the fantasy genre, where traditional sounds blend harmoniously with contemporary tones. The OST lists 2 tracks used in the film, both of which are slow-tempo ballads:

Heart Fallen 心殇人 - Huang Ling 黄龄
Infatuation Tomb (Ending Song) 痴情冢 – Deng Lun 邓伦

Overall, The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity is an exceptionally well-crafted film that is stunning to watch, refreshingly straightforward and uncomplicated (despite the premise), and effortlessly enjoyable as well as fun. It’s a no-brainer, what are you waiting for? (before Netflix actually removes the content because of plagiarism issues...).

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Watch for special effect

Wow wow wow just watched the movie in theatre and must say worth all the time and money I had no expectations just wanted to watch Mark chao and Deng Lan didn’t knew Wang Dou is in this
I am surprise they have written him as supporting role but he is the main character he looks so handsome and his acting is good too
All actors are good Good looking and fitting to the role
Cinematography is just awesome you can just watch it for that
Only one complaint there is no element of mystery some questions are raised but immediately answer is displayed
Go and watch in theatre

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Cloudy with a chance of meatballs.

This highly anticipated movie has all the elements of a huge fantasy, suspense thriller hit: an unlikely bromance between a demon sympathizer and a demon hater; a powerful demon hiding in plain sight; a murder mystery and above all; a desperate conspiracy arising from an intense, obsessive love that risks all for a dream of eternity. It is beyond doubt a visual extravaganza that leaves viewers in no doubt of Guo Jingming's cinematic virtuosity. Unfortunately the production tries too hard to impress with technical pyrotechnics at the expense of good storytelling. As a result, the glowing magic circles and time portals that are allegedly knocked off from Marvel's Doctor Strange are over-used and characters are gratuitously transported to odd places; all unnecessary digressions for a ~2 hour movie.

Despite the lavish images and sensationally choreographed action scenes that culminates in an apocalyptic clash with a demon serpent, the plot is flimsy and the characters are unevenly developed. This is a pity because this is hardly the first adaption of the popular novel Onmyoji; I have to believe the story has more substance and the characters are better fleshed out than what was served up in this version. The evolution of the relationship between Qingming and Boya from distrust, even antagonistic to lasting spiritual bond could have been more convincingly developed with better dialogue. The cursory development of the other main characters, stiff performances and stilted dialogue devoid of clever repartee or banter results in a lack of any tangible rapport and chemistry between the broader cast. This makes it difficult to empathise with most of the characters and what should be a moving, obsessive love story. But it is at least more convincing than the bromance between Boya and Qingming. I believe both Mark Chao and Deng Lun put in a decent effort but the script and storytelling falls too far short, there is only so much the actors can do.

Instead of peeling away the layers of the mystery after an intriguing introduction, most of the plot is just simply and abruptly revealed all at once so that we can get back to more heavy duty action and cinematic fireworks. In the thick of the fray, the story tends to shift to flashbacks, which would be frustrating if I am actually gripped by excitement. But even the climax of the action lacks intensity; there is no impending sense of doom or imminent danger. Boya and Qingming are just standing around chatting casually as if a gigantic demon serpent is not about to end everything. They are so lacking in a sense of urgency they could be discussing the weather forecast - "...cloudy with a chance of meatballs " while sipping beer. I never watched Doctor Strange so I have no view of whether some of it was plagiarised here but I have watched enough Marvel to know that the spirit and ethos of what makes the Marvel fantasy universe so enthralling is markedly not present in this movie. Anything that may or may not have been stolen is definitely in form over substance. All the ingredients for a good story are present but without even knowing the novel, I can already tell that the drama does not capture the essence of the original plot and characters. This sets a low bar for the Chen Kun version that premiers in a few days to beat.

Overall this is a decent watch for the visuals alone. I found many parts of it dull and draggy where it should have and could have really pulled me in. It is best watched in a group, whether virtually or in person. I rate this a 7.0 overall - I actually think its a 6.0 but I threw in 0.5 for the crowd pleaser shots of Deng Lun's cut upper torso (please PM me if you have his personal trainer's number) and another 0.5 points because my kiddie nieces really liked it and they always know better than I.

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When expectation meets reality

To the unfortunate person who may end up reading this - This is really not a good review. It’s more like a short note of what my thoughts are for the movie. I have seen much better, detailed, reviews to help you decide whether to watch or not. Try WandereR’s and PeachBlossomGodesses’s to get a feel from two different sides of the rating spectrum.

****
This is what one feels when you order something really good online and when they arrive they look nothing like the picture on the website. I was so hyped for this movie when the trailer and the stills were release, but it ended up not delivering.

Maybe this shouldn’t have been a movie? I’m not sure if it’s a lack of time or the script itself, but the plot was a nothing burger. Even for a basic plot (really the motivations was nothing novel) the way the story unfolded was lackluster. One of the people I watched it with and I agreed that even if one didn’t follow the plot from the beginning, the characters pretty much narrated it like a recap at the end.

Anyone who knows me would understand that I’m ready to pick up my paddle and row any ship that has a hint of a bromance, but this ship sunk before it even left the shore. If there was time spent on seeing their relationship growth, some sort of chemistry could have been found. This movie didn’t give enough time to see the growth or bond of the characters that by the time the two leads showed concern for each other I was perplexed as to why? “They hardly know each other!” That was what went through my head every time Qingming screamed out "Boya!" or vise versa.

Too much makeup. And I don't mean Olivia Wang's, who took me about half of the movie to recognize, but rather Deng Lun and Mark Chao who in some scenes looked pasty, powdery, white.

The visuals were stunning though. From the first scene to the last, from the set design and to the CGI, I have liked what I saw. Decent fight scenes. I mean it's not one to blow one's mind, but it was very well done. The accompanying music was very good as well.

Olivia Wang looked beautiful here. I also liked her performance in this. I was pretty moved by her part of the story and could connect and empathize with her character.

Overall, it was not a bad watch but did not live up to the hype.

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Best chinese movie so far

Okay so let me start by saying that this movie rocked hardcore. It was one of the best chinese movies I've seen in a long time and I've seen a lot of Chinese movies. First of all, the CGI. Any well seasoned historical c-drama watcher is probably aware of how bad the CGI in their dramas and movies usually are. Dont get me wrong we all love our flying characters and all but I'm pretty sure we've all gotten second hand embarrassment from sometimes watching those CGI involved scenes but the special effects here blew me away. Thats all I was talking about even after the movie was over and the people who watched it with me couldn't understand why but I'm sure you guys would. It was on point! The wings, oof the dark wings on Crimson Bird was the greatest thing ever. Hell Crimson Bird was the best character ever, all shirtless and long haired and badass! Second the acting, oof the casting was perfect! Everyone played their roles so perfectly well you could not picture another actor playing it, Deng Lun with his arrows dressed head to toe in dark leather is forever my weakness because damn but the man can play a cold emotionless character so very well which brings me to Mark Chao, I'm biased because I personally love the man as an actor but he also played his role so very well, he was the perfect polar opposite of Lun's character and the man with long flowy dark hair is just perfection, nothing more. Their little developed bromance toward the end was crazy adorable. I would've loved it so very much if the Mad Painter had a slightly bigger role just because I wanted to stare at Xua Kai just a little bit longer, the painted flowers on his face was the best idea they came up with. The movie itself was unceasingly well executed, easy to comprehend and follow because there wasnt an unnecessary amount of side characters taking away screen time and distracting the viewers. The action scenes were badass and the costumes were crazy appealing not to mention the make up. Overall this movie was a really great one in my opinion and I definitely recommend it. Closing note: I really love the actress who played the empress. She killed it.com

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I definitely recommend

I really liked this movie. It had some good and bad points.

The negative:
The intrigue is what ruined it a little for me. Not that it is not good, it really seems like the producers and screenwriters thought about it a lot. However, as the story progresses and we try to guess who is really the serpent, it gets really confusing. Towards the end, we do get some explanations, but some elements are still unclear.

The good:
Everything else was magnificent.

-The actors: The actors are so talented and beautiful! (And I mean all of them. From the main characters to the side characters). The acting just brings the story together. The chemistry between the couples was out of this world. The princess and Souyue may have had around 5 minutes of romantic screen time at the end, but they succeeded in making me fall in love with them and cry for their end. As for Boya and Qingming, the way of admitting their feelings in a such indirect way was truly beautiful and poignant.

The cinematography(image, fx, action,...): The whole movie is so pleasing on the eyes. The cinematography is just wow. The action scenes are really great too. It's really smooth and doesn't feel fake, like you already know it's CGI. The quality is just great. The decors also go so well with the interactions with the characters. As an example, the chambers of the Empress have that atmosphere of intimacy which makes the moments between the princess and Souyue more intimate and profound. The attention to details with the outfits of each characters is nice too.

The music: Amazing. It's been on repeat while writing this review.

Overall: I really recommend watching it. It's 2 hours, but you don't even realize it because the plot just has you captivated.

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Visually Stunning

I'd waited with my breath held for this film to arrive on Netflix and wasn't disappointed.
The story, cast, acting, costumes, sets, cinematography and pace were so good. An absolute pleasure to watch.
There's great sarcasm and not a few sparks between Qing Ming and Bo Ya. The chemistry between Mark Chao and Allen Deng's character portrayals made for fab viewing.
Loss, revenge, love, hate, frindship and trust, it's all here.
I'd like to have been led into the beginning of the story a little more clearly, as it felt a bit like beng dumped into a moment, but as the film progresses, all becomes clear. There were some other scenes that could also have been built on a little more, which would have enriched the story.
Ovetall though this is a stunning film to watch and I shall be sitting through it again shortly!

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