REVIEW: THE RISE OF PHOENIXES

 

It was THE RISE OF PHOENIXES 天盛长歌(TROP) which got me into C-drama.  Before TROP, I had never watched any C-drama nor had I any interest to.  Truth be told, it was my non-Chinese speaking husband who got hooked onto TROP first.  When he is not paying you attention, the competition has to be investigated.  That left me glaring at what the heck was he watching, to staring longer at the intriguing scenes - till eventually I was all in.   

Initially, what caught my eye were the exquisite costumes and the beautifully crafted sets that formed mesmerising picture frames on my TV screen. 

Then, I realised that a pretty intense plot was going down. The scenes were compelling. I was inexorably shipped into the unfolding story.  Hubby thoughtfully shuffled sideways to grant me space on the TV couch.  I couldn’t help but sit down to watch.

TROP is a period drama about power struggles in the imperial palace and rivalry amongst the princes of the Emperor.

The main character is Ning Yi, the 6^th son of the Emperor - a multi-faceted, unpredictable contradiction of cunning villainy and hopeless victim, whose tragic past and vulnerability hooks you in.  You find yourself rooting for him to succeed in his plans and feeling sad when he feels sad.

I was stoked to discover that the name, ‘Ning Yi’ has significance.  Ning Yi in Chinese is宁弈 where 'Ning' 宁 is the character’s surname and 'Yi' 弈is his personal name.   In fact, the word 'Yi' 弈 means ‘Go’ (i.e. Chinese chess), an ancient board game played with black and white pieces on a 19×19 grid of lines containing 361 points.  TROP is replete with references to the game of Go in dialogue and many scenes feature characters sitting across each over a game of ‘Go’.  Clearly, the reference to ‘Go’ is a metaphor for the games – the schemes, conspiracies and manipulations – which the characters plot, play and pit against each other.

Ning Yi is played by celebrated actor, Chen Kun 陈坤.  After watching TROP, I will say that Chen Kun’s fame and acclaim is well-deserved.  The way Chen Kun portrays Ning Yi is really something to watch.  He can make us see Ning Yi processing a range of different and conflicting emotions in one moment.  Chen Kun’s performance is so masterful that we are pulled to join Ning Yi as he goes through his dilemmas and tribulations. 

Incidentally, Chen Kun is helming the 2021 movie, 'The Ying Yang Master' 侍神令 (not to be confused with the 2020 movie, 'The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity' 阴阳师: 晴雅集).  Both movies are now streaming on Netflix with English subtitles.

The second main character is Feng Zhiwei, who is an equal to Ning Yi’s intellect and happens to be female. Feng Zhiwei is played by the luminous Ni Ni 倪妮.  Standing a statuesque 1.7m tall, Ni Ni wears her period costumes so magnificently.  Such a visual treat.  More pertinently, Ni Ni has acting abilities to match Chen Kun’s and her portrayal of Feng Zhiwei is captivating.

The relationship between Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei is the golden chord which runs through TROP and the biggest gift of TROP is the amazing on-screen chemistry between Chen Kun’s Ning Yi and Ni Ni’s Feng Zhiwei.  From what Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei say or do not say to each other - to what they do, risk and sacrifice for each other - it is spellbinding drama enthralling to watch.  Every time those two characters share a scene, magic happens. 

Overall, TROP has a rich plot that is full of action, with many exciting twists and dramatic turns. Viewers will be glued from episode to episode.  The main characters all undergo major changes as they make choices which determine their fate or when other characters make decisions which impact them, ensuring that viewers get a high dose of drama, irony and emotional payoffs.

When I was watching TROP, I knew next to nothing about the actors or those behind the production of TROP.  Later, I found out that not only are the main leads of TROP A-list actors in mainland China, TROP also feature many veteran and well-known actors in the secondary roles.  No wonder the level of acting is so outstanding.

After TROP, I went on to watch many other C-drama serials.  Recently, I went back to re-watch TROP. Now that I have more yardsticks to compare with, would I still be impressed with TROP?  Yes, even after having watched many other worthy C-drama serials, I still think that TROP is a first-rate production.

For great acting, eye-popping costumes and sets, an intricate plot, unforgettable characters with a sizzling love story in the midst – TROP delivers. 

TROP is currently streaming on Netflix with English subtitles. Check out the trailer for TROP here: https://youtu.be/DyAsfo6rEz0

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Born and bred in Singapore, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss left school achieving the distinction of being practicably unable to read, write or speak Mandarin despite 10 years of studying the language. Her mono-lingual world ended when she stumbled into the land of Chinese drama during lockdown. To date, she has binge watched quite a number of C-drama serials already, all thanks to English subtitles, without which she would not have come this far.

If you are a C-drama fan from the English-speaking, do hit "Like" at her Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/EngSubsPls to connect and chat with her.

 

REVIEW: THREE LIVES, THREE WORLDS, TEN MILES OF PEACH BLOSSOMS (A.K.A. ETERNAL LOVE)

TMPB is a romantic fantasy costume drama based on Chinese mythology, a genre more aptly described by the term ‘xianxia’ (仙侠).

It tells the love story between Ye Hua and Bai Qian, a man and woman relationship which spanned across three lifetimes.  Of course, Ye Hua and Bai Qian are not humans, but non-human beings who have incredibly long life spans so to be practically immortal.  Such celestial beings also have abilities beyond that of humans and the laws of physics which humans are subject to, do not apply to them.  But despite their super human abilities, those celestial beings love, hate, mourn, yearn - and otherwise feel all the same emotions as (we) mortals do.     

At the time I started watching TMPB, Singapore was amid a stern lockdown and I was bored like hell.  Fortunately, my husband came to my rescue.  Albeit non-Chinese speaking, he had through friends’ recommendation, gotten hooked onto TMPB earlier on and in a spate of late nights he devoured the serial to the end in a frightening binge.  Unlike me, hubby used to watch ‘xianxia’ and ‘wuxia’ (武俠) TV serials when he was growing up and he loved those stories. ‘wuxia’ (武俠) refers to a the genre of stories which feature ancient martial heroes who have extraordinary fighting skills.

Now hearing my pitiful cry for help and seeing how I was not coping well with having to be homebound, he recommended I watch TMPB. He even gallantly offered to sit with me to watch it all over again, adding that the serial was that good he didn’t mind.  Habouring grave doubts about how good any C-drama could be, but then battling cabin fever, I took up his kind offer to sit with me to watch TMPB.

Though TMPB was my second foray into the world of C-drama, it was my maiden voyage in the world of ‘xianxia’. I came to TMPB utterly devoid of any knowledge about the rules and premises of a "xianxia" universe.  So, I was hopelessly lost in the woods for the first 20 or so episodes, or perhaps I should say lost in space - as in the space between the Heavenly Realm and Mortal Realm, to and from which the characters would do much travelling, the purposes for which I was not getting. 

Several times, I would jump up and declared to hubby that I was giving up as I didn’t understand where the plot was going, what the characters wanted or were trying to do.  But every time I thought of bailing out, hubby would encourage me to keep going.  So I would sit down again (in preference to crawling up the wall – and also because hubby is warm and cuddly).

And then, in Episode 29 of 58 - the Story Exploded.  In a flash, all the plotlines and premises from the earlier episodes assembled together in my mind's eye.  So that is what the Story is About!  The epiphany was an amazing moment for me.  I finally saw the epic canvas on which the love story was being drawn.  I finally understood what the main characters wanted for themselves and I was so wanting them to succeed.  From that point forward, I was absolutely riveted.  That set me to furiously chase down all the remaining episodes of the serial to its beautiful finale. 

I loved the story so much.  Of course, after I had finished the serial, I went back to re-watch the earlier episodes, now with new eyes and newfound understanding.   

C-drama tells fantasy and romantic stories very differently from how such stories are told by English cinema.  It would be a mistake to apply the lenses used to watch English language fantasy drama to watch C-drama fantasy.  Because I threw away my usual lenses and put on different set of lenses, I was able to enjoy an incredibly beautiful, out-of-this-world love story.  It took me quite a while to find my bearings, but the payoff has been handsome.

All said, I must thank hubby for handholding me into the realm of ‘xianxia’. Thus initiated, hubby and I have, since TMPB, sat together and watched many other ‘xianxia’ and ‘wuxia’ C-dramas to date.  The dreary long hours of lockdown have become a time of fascination and excitement, as hubby and I roam and explore different worlds from the huddle of our stationery home.  Who knew that the romantic vibes from a ‘xianxia’ love story set in an immortal realm would be able to transcend into the realm of my living room.

TMPB 三生三世十里桃花 is also known as ‘ETERNAL LOVE’ and is currently available on Netflix with English subtitles. Well-known actors, Yang Mi 杨幂 and Mark Chao 趙又廷 are the main leads. 

Mark Chao is also the main lead in the 2020 movie, ‘The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity’ 阴阳师: 晴雅集, also currently available on Netflix with English subtitles.

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About the Author:

Born and bred in Singapore, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss left school achieving the distinction of being practicably unable to read, write or speak Mandarin despite 10 years of studying the language. Her mono-lingual world ended when she stumbled into the land of Chinese drama during lockdown. To date, she has binge watched quite a number of C-drama serials already, all thanks to English subtitles, without which she would not have come this far.

If you are a C-drama fan from the English-speaking, do hit "Like" at this Page https://www.facebook.com/EngSubsPls to connect and chat with me.