Chang An

This Li Bai is too crazy. It's not the Li Bai I know in my heart!

He should be a knight (xia ke), just like the one described in "Xia Ke Xing", holding a sword, wondering in the Rivers and Lakes (Jiang Hu). He is eager to become a great hero, not just longing to become a bureaucrat. If you know what I am talking about, read his poem "Xia Ke Xing".

He should also be very romantic, having wild dreams. But, importantly, he is not crazy. He dealt with all sorts of people, however, he always has a dream.

The film also has inconsistent styles. A few shots are just comics, not sure why the producer/director thought this is a better way. The animation is good, and could be better.

Chang'an is a Chinese animated film that gloriously celebrates the Tang Dynasty, the golden age of Chinese arts and culture, paying tribute to Tang Dynasty poetry.

The story chronicles the lifelong friendship between Li Bai, China's most famed poet, and Gao Shi, a general and politician, during the Tang Dynasty from its cultural peak until its eventual collapse from the An Lushan Rebellion.

With a wonderfully written script, Chang'an reaches its ambitions, viscerally showing daily life in the Tang dynasty, its flourishing culture, and communal appreciation for poetry-reciting up to 48 Tang poems throughout the film.

Poetry was an art form shared socially. On a night out drinking, poets would compose a poem on the spot to capture a moment of joy, similar to taking an Instagram selfie now, and the latest composition will be passed on verbally appreciatively from town to town in chin-stroking joy.

It was momentous when the film recited Li Bai's "Quiet Night Thought", the definitive poem that every Chinese person recites in school. It was wonderful learning the context behind how it was composed. Every Chinese teacher will be playing Chang'an clips for years to come.

The animation is used meticulously to recreate the capital city of Chang'an and allows an aesthetic freedom to switch between various tones and subgenres, easily switching from historical slice of life drama, wuxia, war film and into the imaginary.

At 169 minutes, Chang'an earns its long runtime with its rich story. I was transported back in time and seduced by the Tang way of life. Seeing a society so enveloped in art and expression was infectious and inspiring. The Li Bai and Gao Shi's friendship is also well developed and quite moving. Towards the end, when the Tang era was over, I felt a sorrow for a great time long gone.

Chang'an is one of the best films of 2023. I highly recommend it to everyone.

There should definably be more historical movies like this where the overall culture and the mentality and the struggles of a people are portrayed without the gloom and gore where the plot gets lost in sometimes.

I honestly was mesmerized by how involving and meaningful and well rounded the story was. It introduced Chinese culture to me as it was never presented to me before, how poetry is well rooted in Chinese collective lives and the logic set people in that era put together to make decisions, and the hierarchy between the people.

Light chaser animation has been doing great work with keeping a balance between culture, story and character over the past few movies. I just hope they don't sabotage this reputation with adding nudity & adultery, ruining the great Chinese animation vibe they have built.

Here are some things that adults should be able to see from this film: 1. Artistic creation requires full freedom; 2. Top artists may be more or less insane or in a drunken state to inspire them; In feudal autocratic society, artists and anyone can be deprived of their freedom at any time by those with higher status and power than you; 4. Youth is short and beautiful.

I don't know to what extent this movie can reproduce the real Tang Dynasty, at least the demeanor of Tang Dynasty artists has been portrayed with sincerity by the film creators. Including the creator and singer of the ending song, Luo Dayou, whose singing style resembles that of Li Bai after getting drunk. Perhaps ancient and modern times are interconnected.

Though it is an animation, the technology is quite good, all the characters and background are created elaborately. Also, this animation is not like the animation made by Disney or DreamWorks, it has an unique Chinese feature.

This film is about the entire life of Libai, a famous poetry in China. However, the story is told by another poetry, Gaoshi, this makes the image of Libai more interesting.

After watching the film, I feel more admire to Libai. I've already known that he was a great poetry and know lots of things about him. However, it's a completely new experience to see the character alive on the screen, to see him living his life, writing his poems, making his friends. Of course, Libai is a legend, it is unbelievable for a person to experience loads of pain, failure, and even being discriminated by others and still lead a free and easy life.