No, this isn't a review of the Disney series. That potential confusion could have been avoided if someone had thought to translate the Chinese title more literally. But they didn't, so I'd better make it clear what this review isn't of.
Once Upon a Time (三生三世十里桃花/Sān Shēng Sān Shì Shí Lǐ Táo Huā; literally "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms") is a 2017 Chinese film based on the novel of the same name by Qi Tang. (The novel's title, incidentally, is (mis)translated as "To the Sky Kingdom". No, I don't know why.) The novel was also the basis for the 2017 series Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, which I've already reviewed.
I knew before watching this film that it would leave out a lot of things. Can't cover nearly as much in two hours as in 58 episodes, after all. The plot is basically the same as the series', so this review is mostly things I liked, didn't like, or simply noticed.
This is the first time I watched a Chinese film and recognised someone:
Jin Luo (Tuoba Jun in The Princess Wei Young) as Zhe Yan
Yikuan Yan (Yuan Ji in Ice Fantasy) as Qing Cang
Most films start with the logo of the studio that made them. Nothing unusual about that. But this film starts with more than five different logos, and after the third one I started to get annoyed. Every time I thought "It's finally starting", turned out it was just another logo.
At last the film starts. It doesn't waste time setting up the plot or characters. It dives (literally!) straight into Bai-Qian-as-Su-Su falling off that terrace. It took a minute for me to understand what was happening, even though I've seen the series. Anyone who doesn't already know the plot will be lost within seconds. On the bright side, the peach blossom forest is pretty.
Zhe Yan is much more colourful than in the series. I can't decide if I like this or not. On the one hand, it makes him look more like a bird (though a peacock rather than a phoenix). On the other, I couldn't figure out if this was Zhe Yan at first.
Zhe Yan
We get to see more of Qingqiu's (very, very colourful) inhabitants in this version. For some reason Mi Gu sometimes looks like a... small green Furby? I thought he was a tree spirit, not a goblin.
Yes, this is supposed to be Mi Gu. No, it makes no sense. (I guess he does look sort of plant-like, but... why?)
Mi Gu gives some heavy-handed exposition of the betrothal between Bai Qian and Ye Hua. This is not making me warm up to film!Mi Gu. Pity, because series!Mi Gu is adorable 😞
I like Bai Qian travelling across the sea in a submersible flower/jellyfish thing. It's a weird idea, but a pretty cool scene.
LOL at Bai Qian tripping up those gossips who insulted her! And aww, her meeting with A Li is so cute! Although the film doesn't explain who he is yet, or anything about her time in the Nine Heavens.
One of the main problems with this film is that it moves too quickly. Xuan Nu is introduced trying to kidnap A Li. Her backstory and connection with Bai Qian isn't mentioned. I didn't even realise who she was at first. She's defeated so easily (by A Li waving Bai Qian's fan, no less!) that I wonder why they bothered including this scene at all. On the bright side, Ye Hua also appears here. Bai Qian mistakes him for Xuan Nu and attacks him 😆 Talk about a bad not-actually-first impression!
A Li is still the cutest little kid ever! He's so adorable, especially when he calls Bai Qian his mother and says she looks just like the picture. She doesn't know what he talking about, or why Ye Hua calls her Su Su 😆 Come to think of it, the viewer wouldn't know that either without already knowing the plot. Nor would they understand why Bai Qian notices Su Jin's eyes.
Su Jin is as vile as in the series. I wish someone would push her off the Execution Platform.
I laughed when Ye Hua and A Li come to stay with Bai Qian, without warning her 😄 Her reaction is hilarious. So is the scene where Bai Qian pulls her quilt over her head when A Li tries to wake her.
The film doesn't show Ye Hua and Bai-Qian-as-Su-Su falling in love and getting married, so his behaviour comes across as rude and pushy. Especially when he insists on sleeping beside her. Very disappointing, and gives the completely wrong impression of his character 😑
The Ghost Tribe are renamed (retranslated?) the Demon Clan. Their clothes and make-up are, shall we say, dramatic. In the series they were mostly normal people, sometimes with horns and blue skin. Here Xuan Nu looks like a head-on collision between a Marvel villain and a Maleficent cosplay, with more glitter than some Takarazuka costumes. The result is... garish.
Is it available online?: Yes, on YouTube with English and Vietnamese subtitles. Unfortunately the video is full of ads, so watching it is... frustrating.
Rating: 5/10.
Bai Qian
Ye Hua
A Li is still the cutest little kid ever! He's so adorable, especially when he calls Bai Qian his mother and says she looks just like the picture. She doesn't know what he talking about, or why Ye Hua calls her Su Su 😆 Come to think of it, the viewer wouldn't know that either without already knowing the plot. Nor would they understand why Bai Qian notices Su Jin's eyes.
A Li
Su Jin is as vile as in the series. I wish someone would push her off the Execution Platform.
Su Jin, in a costume almost as ugly as her personality.
I laughed when Ye Hua and A Li come to stay with Bai Qian, without warning her 😄 Her reaction is hilarious. So is the scene where Bai Qian pulls her quilt over her head when A Li tries to wake her.
The film doesn't show Ye Hua and Bai-Qian-as-Su-Su falling in love and getting married, so his behaviour comes across as rude and pushy. Especially when he insists on sleeping beside her. Very disappointing, and gives the completely wrong impression of his character 😑
The Ghost Tribe are renamed (retranslated?) the Demon Clan. Their clothes and make-up are, shall we say, dramatic. In the series they were mostly normal people, sometimes with horns and blue skin. Here Xuan Nu looks like a head-on collision between a Marvel villain and a Maleficent cosplay, with more glitter than some Takarazuka costumes. The result is... garish.
Xuan Nu. Complete with spiky eyebrows, a ridiculous headdress, and a necklace (or is it a shirt collar?) made out of the same material as both headdress and eyebrows. What were they thinking?
This isn't the only outlandish costume in the film. Many other characters also fall victim to costumes that are too colourful, too tacky, or just plain weird.
Half an hour(!) into the film we get a flashback to Ye Hua meeting Bai Qian/Su Su. Half an hour! 😒 On the bright side, I like the music in this scene.
Xuan Nu and Su Jin steal Mo Yuan's body. I didn't like Su Jin in the series (talk about an understatement!), but I don't remember her being part of that plan. I thought it was all Xuan Nu's craziness.
The fight between Bai Qian, Zhe Yan and the Ghost Tribe would be awesome if it was actually shown instead of just a few shots of it. As it is I was left wondering what on earth just happened. That's a major problem with this film. It explains so little. At least Bai Qian's fight with Xuan Nu gets a little more screentime. Side note: Xuan Nu's costume in this scene manages to be even weirder than the one pictured above.
I kept expecting Su Jin to try to push Bai Qian off when they were standing on that platform 😨 Can't understand how Bai Qian could ever believe anything Su Jin said when it's so obvious Su Jin's lying. But her behaviour towards Ye Hua immediately after shows she does believe some of it.
The less said about Bai Qian's headdress in the wedding rehearsal scene, the better.
Seriously, what is that pink monstrosity? Why did anyone think it looked good?
That tree monster gives me chills! As if its general appearance wasn't nightmarish enough, it tries to eat Bai Qian! I was really disappointed when Ye Hua apparently kills it the minute he arrives. I was just thinking "What an anticlimax" when it turns out it wasn't dead after all 😱
We finally get a flashback to Su Jin's attempt to kill Bai Qian. I want to slap some sense into Ye Hua. How could he possibly believe Su Jin's "She pushed me!" story? How? That's stupid in the series, and even stupider here. Thank goodness we don't see the eye-switching thing, though what we do see is gruesome enough. What happened to Su Jin after Ye Hua rescued Bai Qian? Did she kill herself? Blind herself? I can't figure that out at all. Very poor editing there.
Less than half an hour of the film to go, and Qing Cang hasn't showed up in person yet. I wonder why they bothered including that subplot. If they'd cut it and focused on Bai Qian and Ye Hua's relationship, the film might have been less rushed and they'd have had more time to spend on the Bai-Qian-as-Su-Su subplot. As it is the story charges from one scene to another at the speed of a stampede, to paraphrase Cranford.
Turns out Su Jin's now blind, but she's still alive. She stabs A Li and uses his blood to set Qing Cang free. Then she finally dies. Good riddance! What a pity she didn't die earlier 😠 Why did anyone ever let her near that bell? Didn't anyone realise what she was going to do?
We finally get a flashback to Su Jin's attempt to kill Bai Qian. I want to slap some sense into Ye Hua. How could he possibly believe Su Jin's "She pushed me!" story? How? That's stupid in the series, and even stupider here. Thank goodness we don't see the eye-switching thing, though what we do see is gruesome enough. What happened to Su Jin after Ye Hua rescued Bai Qian? Did she kill herself? Blind herself? I can't figure that out at all. Very poor editing there.
Less than half an hour of the film to go, and Qing Cang hasn't showed up in person yet. I wonder why they bothered including that subplot. If they'd cut it and focused on Bai Qian and Ye Hua's relationship, the film might have been less rushed and they'd have had more time to spend on the Bai-Qian-as-Su-Su subplot. As it is the story charges from one scene to another at the speed of a stampede, to paraphrase Cranford.
Turns out Su Jin's now blind, but she's still alive. She stabs A Li and uses his blood to set Qing Cang free. Then she finally dies. Good riddance! What a pity she didn't die earlier 😠 Why did anyone ever let her near that bell? Didn't anyone realise what she was going to do?
Qing Cang. (What is that white thing on his staff?)
At long last we get a flashback that shows why Ye Hua couldn't rescue Bai Qian/Su Su when she jumped off the Execution Platform. Took them long enough! This film's pacing is so confusing. Someone should have realised they should rearrange the flashbacks or the viewers would be lost.
The fight between Ye Hua and Qing Cang is awesome! I cheered when Ye Ha turns into a dragon! And then he "dies" 😭 I knew it was coming, but it still made me cry 😭
The ending is so confusing. I can't figure it out at all. Is time going backwards? Is that Mo Yuan or Ye Hua? How did Ye Hua get out of that frozen sea? What does it mean?! 😕
As a film on its own this is a hopeless mess. As a sort of supplement to the series, it's alright. The special effects are better, though the costumes... aren't. I quite enjoyed some of it. And I'm glad Feng Jiu and Dijun were nowhere to be seen. Their subplot bored me to tears. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't watched the series. Nothing will make sense unless you already know the plot.
Is it available online?: Yes, on YouTube with English and Vietnamese subtitles. Unfortunately the video is full of ads, so watching it is... frustrating.
Rating: 5/10.
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