A Writer's Odyssey - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

A Writer's Odyssey



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Chinese cinema is no stranger to fantasy. They’ve been delving into ancient folk heroes and fantastical lore for the better part of 60+ years, but they’ve taken a slightly different twist with 2021’s A Writer’s Odyssey. The film is actually 2 stories in 1, with one of the tales revolving around a man with “potentially” (more about that later) mystical abilities who has made a deal with a rich business tycoon to kill a young writer who seems to be writing a story that actually alters reality. The other story is the actual “story” that the novelist is writing, and this one deals about a young warrior who is sent to kill the demon who has taken over his realm.

Both stories intertwine and intermingle with each other, but with rather strange results. At first the audience is just thrown straight into the middle of both narratives without any real backstory, having us absorb ourselves in the story and simply learn backwards along the way. The main focus is on a writer by the name of Lu Kongwen (Dong Zijian), an awkward millennial 30 year old who is compensating for his father’s untimely death by engaging in blogging fantasy stories online. HOWEVER, a rich Steve Job’s esque computer mogul believes that Kongwen’s stories are actually affecting reality. So he hires a grieving father named Guan Ning (Lei Jiaying) to kill the young man in exchange for finding Guan Ning’s long lost daughter.

However, things are a bit more different than they appear, with the rich billionaire having a bit of an ulterior motive than lets on, and before long Guan Ning begins to bond with the young writer. Especially since he’s been having dreams of Kongwen’s stories to the point where he can barely tell fiction from reality. But when he finds out that Kongwen’s main heroine is a young girl with the same name as his daughter, this little dabbling in fantasy writing becomes an all out obsession with the grieving man hoping that the young writer’s stories actually CAN affect reality.

What makes A Writer’s Odyssey so fun is how deftly it jumps from one world to the next, constantly keeping the audience guessing if there is actual magic and fantasy at play in the “real” world, or whether it’s all in their imagination. Yang Lu craftily keeps us wondering, and constantly keeps revealing new elements of the story that allow both scenarios to be true depending on your point of view. Is the fantasy world nothing but a healing catharsis for two obviously damaged individuals, or is it a gateway to something oh so much more? The storytelling really reminds me of Lee Pace’s 2006 film The Wall, in both allegorical elements, as well as real world cathartic healing. Sure it’s China vs. Bollywood/Hollywood, but there are some VERY distinct similarities between the two. The final confrontation with the evil demon Redmane (who amusingly looks a lot like Akuma from Street Fighter) is loaded with political undertones as well as some serious allegories in regards to heroes and villains in the real world.

One thing that really stands out to me is how simplistic and child like the fantasy world is. Everything is so simple, with clear cut villains, clear cut writing, and dialog that would be more akin to a children’s novel than something truly deep and seemingly meaningful. But the reality of the situation is, this is exactly what makes it special. It’s a children’s story imitating real life, allowing the two main characters to dump their emotional baggage and heal just a bit. And in some ways, seep into the real world with some magic of it’s own.

Either way, A Writer’s Odyssey is a fun jaunt that takes a much needed deviation from the typical folklore style fantasies that pretty much dominate Chinese film making. The story is cute, and I never once looked away from the screen until I realized we were heading into the credits.




Rating:

Not Rated By the MPAA




Video:

Now, while this is a great Blu-ray transfer, there IS one point of contention that fans of the film have to come grips with. And that is the fact that Shout Factory decided to not do a 3D transfer for the movie. The film was shot and actually had the CGI rendered in 3D with the director going so far as to say that he INTENDED the movie to be watched in 3D (over in China 3D is still going story), but there’s one caveat. In America, 3D is basically dead on arrival for home video. 3D TVs haven’t been sold for several years, and only those holdouts from 5-6 years ago actually have a player or TV capable of showing the film in 3D. Thus it makes sense Shout Factory didn’t feel like it needed to be shown in 3D. I know I would have loved to have seen the film like it was intended in the theaters by Yang Lu, but I begrudgingly have to come to grips with the fact that 3D just isn’t going to be a thing in the States anymore. It is what it is.

The film was shot using Arri Alexa cameras at 3.4K, then transferred to a 2K digital intermediate for the home video release, with 2.39:1 framing for the “real world” shots, and 1.85:1 for the fantasy novel sequences. Both look absolutely incredible, with the CGI laden fantasy world showing that fakeness that we all know and love of Chinese CGI (their CGI is generally even more copious than Hollywood, and they haven’t perfected it to the same level that we have). Colors are bright and wild in said fantasy world, while being a bit more golden and dingy in the real world. Fine details are resplendent no matter which area of the film we’re in, though I did notice some smoothness with the CGI (to be expected). Black levels are generally really good, but I noticed banding right off the bat in the opening screen wipes, and said banding does come and go throughout the 2+ hour runtime. VERY good transfer with some noticeable flaws, but still a visual treat.








Audio:

Shout Factory has done their usual option of giving a 2.0 DTS-HD MA night listening down mix of the 5.1 mixes, leaving us with the “main” 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks in both Mandarin and English. The English is OK, but Mandarin is where it’s at in my opinion. Both tracks are sonically very similar, with only the dialog tracks being any different. Either way, this is a power house of a mix, with all sorts of activity when we’re in the fantasy world, and even though the “real” world has a lot of talky scenes, also dips it’s toes into the world of action as well. Surrounds are highly active with blades and stones smashing and clanging everywhere, as well as the whipping and swirling of a characters Wuxia fighting across the sound stage. Bass is deep, powerful, and when the battles are underway, REALLY knows how to kick things into high gear. Great mix all around whether you choose English or the original Chinese language track.










Extras:

• Trailers

Final Score: ​

A Writer’s Odessey is a fantastical little fantasy film that dances between reality and fiction with equal dexterity. The film is more allegory and fantasy misdirection than not, and it weaves the “real” world into the fantasy world so seamlessly that you simply don’t want to tell the two apart. Even the film itself winks and nods at the viewers many times, teasing them with hopes that magic and fantasy exist in the real world, and other times just allowing the viewers to soak in the allegorical nature of the narrative. It never rises to true cult greatness, but this is a fun fantasy flick that really reminds me of a Chinese version of the 2006 film The Wall in it’s colors, allegories, and simply being a story to soothe someone suffering. The Blu-ray itself looks and sounds great, but sadly this is one of the trimmest and leanest Shout Factory discs when it comes to extras. Still well worth checking out if you enjoy a different take on Chinese fantasy than the typical period piece stuff like The Monkey king, or Wong Fei Hong.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jiayan Lei, Mi Yang, Zijian Dong, Hewei Yu, Shengdi Wang, Liya Tong
Directed by: Yang Lu
Written by: Shu Chen, Yang Yu, Haiyan Qin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC / 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, Mandarin DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 130 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: March 8th, 2022

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out.