Film Name: 深海 / Deep Sea
I admit this review has a bit of clickbait title.
Still, I can’t help but see Nanhe as the Monkey King from “Monkey King: Hero is Back”—from his lanky build to his wild yet unexpectedly warm-hearted nature. He too gets dragged into a stranger’s life, but lacking Sun Wukong’s divine powers, he can’t unleash his inner universe to defeat the monster like the Monkey King did.
So he dies. Yet he surpasses the Monkey King in greatness, for he knew he lacked the power but still did what 999 out of 1,000 people wouldn’t dare. Nanhe is the true Monkey King!
As I shared in my social circle immediately after watching the film, this work doesn’t impact our present—it shapes our future. It’s a piece that won’t be forgotten for a very long time. Honestly, I’ve already forgotten the plot of Monkey King: Hero Is Back, but I can guarantee that the story told in Deep Sea will stay with me for a lifetime.
So what exactly will we remember about Deep Sea for a long time?
First is its tragic undertone. Since 2000, when Chinese animation entered commercial market operations, I’ve never seen a domestic animated film so profoundly tragic. Themes like remarried families and childhood depression resonate far more deeply within me than the film’s surface narrative. Through intricate colors and imagination, the film portrays a starkly simple reality. Though this reality isn’t fully fleshed out—only reinforced by repeated cries of “Mom,” making it feel somewhat precarious—it still carries weighty truth.
The stepmother never did anything truly excessive to Can Xiu, yet she inflicted severe psychological trauma. The father’s utter disregard for the doctor’s warnings—this self-deceptive ignorance and indifference—is all too common in real life. These elements all contribute to the tragedy. No one is truly evil or deliberately malicious, yet the protagonist still sinks into a vortex of despair, beyond the reach of ordinary strength to save her. This is precisely the most tragic part. I don’t believe Senxu would emerge from the deep sea’s depths only to shed her depression and become optimistic. Her tragedy may be far from over.
Compared to Senxu’s grounded realism and tragic weight, Nanhe’s death feels surreal and less tragic. Like Jack in Titanic, who stayed with Rose until the very end, Nanhe had already shone the brightest light possible within his ordinary life. Nanhe was certainly not as handsome as Jack, yet that final smile from this unassuming man was profoundly dashing. He embodies an idealized character—his love for money, his tendency to take small advantages, and his modest aspirations all blend together. While these traits were meant to ground him in reality, they ultimately render him even more surreal than the Monkey King himself.
Second is the function of animation within the film. In most cases, animation serves merely as a technical tool—people might use it to tell an ordinary story, yet the presentation through animation makes that story appear spectacular. More often, animation serves as a means to imagine worlds, enabling the creation of new realms and imagery where anything can be animated. Yet in “Deep Sea,” animation transcends being merely a technical tool or a simple method for imagining worlds. It becomes the most fitting vehicle for conveying emotion and meaning within a specific context.
That context is what happens to Senju and Nanka after they fall into the water. In truth, it was merely encouragement and comfort, yet the film uses animation to craft such a magical journey. When Shenxu needed the strength to survive, this animated journey gave her that strength. When she needed a miracle of life, this animation gave her that miracle. Animation, after all, is about making the immobile move! Its exaggerated rhetoric perfectly highlights the spiritual strength Nanhe bestowed upon her. Moreover, animation’s visual feast of symbolic language masterfully erases the suffocating agony that should have permeated this ordeal.
That surreal animation sequence in the Deep Sea Hotel is a romantic lyric poem, draping the film’s tragedy in a brilliant cloak. It shocks and baptizes the audience through the immense contrast between process and outcome, appearance and essence.
Third is the film’s unique sense of color. Whether through watercolor ink or particle-based ink, it delivers unparalleled visual experiences. Drawing inspiration from Van Gogh’s paintings and Miyazaki’s imagination, it crafts imagery where color serves as both symbol and information. The film features sweeping rivers, dazzling schools of fish that blur the vision like “chaotic flowers,” and even the breathtaking rice fields of Nanhe’s hometown. Nanhe’s silhouette dancing against an elongating, colorful backdrop stands as one of the film’s most unforgettable scenes.
We cannot fathom the world as seen through the eyes of someone with depression, so the director chooses to envision it as beautiful and rich. The deep sea, which should be black, is instead rendered in the film’s most vibrant and abundant palette. This diverges fundamentally from the conventional, gloomy color schemes typically associated with depression and suicide, reflecting a different underlying motivation. Much like the film’s haunting cry of “Wake up!”, every hue represents the director’s most heartfelt wish: that every person battling depression might see life’s bright colors and swiftly awaken from the deep sea of melancholy.
Of course, while the film’s use of color as symbolism and information is innovative, its execution isn’t flawless. Comparing it to Hayao Miyazaki’s films reveals that such symbolism and information must appear with a certain rhythm—not every frame or shot can be saturated with color, symbolism, and meaning. A piece of music played entirely at the loudest volume wouldn’t sound very pleasant. Similarly, an animation where every frame is dazzling loses its depth. Strong notes only resonate fully after soft ones build the foundation; the deep sea’s vibrant hues only become truly stirring against a backdrop of ordinary colors.
Though “Deep Sea” isn’t a film suited for the Spring Festival season, it remains true that the deep sea that claimed the Monkey King’s life has granted Nanhe eternal existence.
The deep sea is both a depressing abyss and the origin of hope. And since Canis Majoris is one of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, it’s hard to imagine a little girl being given such a strange and tongue-twisting name. Perhaps only the vast starry sky could bear that deep-sea-like longing, allowing her to be reborn from the ocean depths and transform into a star!
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