Film Review: DEEP SEA: Xiaopeng Tian’s Intriguing Animated Picture is an Alluring Spectacle but Light on Plot [Tribeca 2023]

Deep Sea Review

Deep Sea (2023) Film Review from the 22nd Annual Tribeca Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Xiaopeng Tian and starring Tingweng Wang, Xin Su, Kuixing Teng, Yang Ting, Jing Ji, Haoran Guo and Xiaopeng Tian.

Deep Sea is a profound, insightful and visually appealing animated picture about a young Chinese girl named Shenxiu (voice of Tingweng Wang)’s search for her mother. Renowned animated filmmaker Xiaopeng Tian is the person responsible for the highly ambitious Monkey King: Hero is Back. Deep Sea is no less ambitious in scope and speaks volumes about the importance of a girl’s mother in her early years and the void that is left behind in Shenxiu’s mom’s absence. Xiaopeng Tian’s new picture, however, feels very solemn and intense at many given intervals in the film and, perhaps, would be more interesting for adults than children. It takes the viewer into an imaginative world that is filled with hope but sprinkled with much sadness.

Xiaopeng Tian’s movie should leave viewers feeling invested in the likable but needy character of Shenxiu. The underwater world which the picture presents is awe-inspiring and is, quite possibly, the Chinese animated answer to James Cameron’s popular water-logged movies like Titanic or Avatar: The Way of Water. As the new film opens, we see that Shenxiu is feeling somewhat incomplete in the absence of her mom. Shenxiu is with her father and his new wife and Shenxiu’s baby stepbrother. The little baby gets most of the attention and Shenxiu is more than a bit heartbroken as a result. She gets more attention from her phone than her family.

A storm occurs and Shenxiu ends up on a floating duck in the water becoming separated from her family and possibly getting closer to discovering her mother. Enter two characters who will impact Shenxiu’s life: A sea creature blob named the Hyjinx and an everyday underwater restaurant chef named Nanhe (voice of Su Xin). The blob is a shape-shifter and Nanhe is a seemingly peculiar man with a kind heart who will ultimately change Shenxiu’s life forever. Walruses, otters and other fancy sea creatures turn up in the world of Deep Sea and they are absolutely spellbinding to behold in many of the movie’s fantasy-like sequences.

Nanhe uses Hyjinxs for his soup recipe but there is a seemingly dangerous villain here called the Red Phantom who comes into the picture. This “Red Phantom” creates tension within the plot. The way the animation is done is quite special resembling an abstract but distinct painting at times though the picture ultimately becomes a metaphor for escaping depression, above all else, through the events that propel the threadbare plot forward.

The way the filmmaker Xiaopeng Tian brings the events of the movie together is interesting. There is a point to all this but it’s not necessarily always a feel-good message that the film is trying to convey. Life is difficult and Shenxiu suffers to pursue her dream of family in the hopes of one day being reunited with her real mother. In Nanhe, Shenxiu finds a kindred spirit. The bond formed between Nanhe and Shenxiu is touching and quite interesting to watch. These are two characters who seem to be complete opposites but Xiaopeng Tian draws parallels between their lives that are, quite simply, on-point and totally moving.

If Deep Sea‘s animation is absolutely attention grabbing, the story line could have used some more fleshing out and the requisite edge that the plot needs is not entirely present in all of the material the film presents. There is an uncomfortable balance between fantasy and reality and the lines may (possibly intentionally) get blurred. Some of the fantasy scenes seem geared towards children who, in turn,  may be put off by some of the more disturbing themes that the movie showcases.

That being said, Shenxiu is a character who certainly touches the heart and Deep Sea is a wholly original effort. Monkey King: Hero is Back was awfully close to perfection despite its mixed reviews, though, so the bar was set pretty high for this new movie by its filmmaker. Deep Sea isn’t as good as the previous picture but still has the dramatic impact that is necessary to move the viewer and, once again, proves that animation is an art form that is not simply for children’s movies. Thought-provoking stories like Deep Sea are few and far between so should be embraced especially considering this one is so gorgeous to behold.

Rating: 7/10

Leave your thoughts on this Deep Sea review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more Tribeca Film Festival news can visit our Tribeca Film Festival Page, our Film Festival Page, and our Film Festival Facebook Page. 

Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. 

Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, and Flipboard.