Directors Liang Xuan (left) and Zhang Chun.
Despite drawing praise at some international festivals, Big Fish & Begonia is receiving a polarized audience at home.
To supporters, the long-awaited feature is an unprecedented creation for the values it espouses and its breathtaking landscapes. But its critics complain that a romance triangle and flat dialogues ruin the storyline.
Deeply rooted in Chinese mythology, the film is set in a wonderland that manages the human world. The fictional world is designed like tulou, a fortresslike residence in East China's Fujian province. The film opens when a lot of whales are seen slowly swimming in the sea. The narrator says the human soul is actually a fish whose journey across the ocean shows the different stages of life.
The story then focuses on a young girl from the wonderland and her love for a boy from the human world.
China isn't short of such productions－commercially successful but criticized for content－so why the fuss over Big Fish & Begonia?
"China has seen few domestic animation titles that accurately showcase oriental culture and history," says Zuo Heng, an associate researcher with the China Film Art Research Center.
