"Cherry Blossoms", translated as Time of Cherry Blossoms in English, means that when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, it was supervised and produced by Taiwanese animation director Choi Woo-sheng, and won the top prize at the 2013 Tokyo International Animation Exhibition.
The film critic tells the story of the little boy Ah Liang who meets the mysterious boy Ah Tai in the abandoned temple, and thus embarks on a fantasy adventure in the world of ghosts and gods.
The biggest attraction of this film is the traditional scenery and cultural images of Taiwan's local areas, as well as the hand-painted presentation forms full of temperature.
In Taiwan, there are many types and sects of folk religions, folk beliefs focus on the worship of gods, and the number and types of gods worshipped are complex, so there are many altars in the palace temples, and various worship rituals and witchcraft culture prevail. The gods such as the Three Princes, the Land Gong, and Mazu that appear in the film, as well as ceremonies such as throwing a raft, a front, and a shock collection, are the gods and worship rituals common in Taiwanese folk culture.
Stills from "Cherry Blossom Time": Zhentou - Folk Entertainment in the Palace Temple Festival
In the film, the little protagonist Ah Liang is bullied by the bad boy, and Ah Tai stands up to fight the bad boy and rescues him, and the two know each other. Perhaps limited by the length of the short film, the film does not explain the origin of Ah Tai's life. However, this battle gives a certain clue, and it can be guessed that the teenager should be a boy.
Stills from Sakura
Peddlers are a type of psychic medium, a medium between gods or ghosts and people. The ghost god will possess the boy to prophesy bad luck and show his might. In the film, Ah Tai summons the gods to "ride" on himself, increase his strength, and fight against the bad boys, so he is most likely a boy. In addition, although Ah Liang is also possessed, he is "dizzy", which should be because he is not a professional boy, untrained, and the relationship that the body cannot fully bear.
Since then, the two have become good playmates. And Ah Liang also became a partner with the gods. Until the temple was set on fire by a group of ghosts of unknown origin, Ah Tai rushed into the fire and never came out again. After the fire was extinguished, Ah Liang walked into the ruins of the temple, and after seeing a eerie scene, he was greeted by a forest road full of cherry blossoms, and the gods on the forest road marched towards a treasure ship. Ah Liang followed the team of the gods to the treasure ship. At this time, Ah Liang heard Ah Tai's call. It turned out that Ah Tai was also on the treasure ship, and he made a final goodbye to Ah Liang...
An ancient bell rings... It turned out that Ah Liang was collecting shocks, the ceremony had ended, and he woke up. And everything before that was just a dream. At this time, we know that Ah Tai is actually a ghost, and he dreams of Ah Liang, a dream about the story of his life.
Until the end, the film does not seem to clearly indicate why the ghosts burned down the temple. Perhaps this group of arsonists is a symbol.
Director Choi Wook-sung said in an interview at the Tokyo International Animation Exhibition that "temples will not carry too many people's desires, but stifle respect for traditional beliefs", so he hopes to reflect on this through the presentation of animation.
The many "black shadow" ghosts presented in the film hold incense and worship, throwing rafts one after another, and the incense that is burning has fallen, too much, the temple is burning, it cannot carry so much "incense", so many "throwing", so many "greedy thoughts". These ghosts symbolize the man himself, lustful and insatiable.
After the fire, the eerie scene that Ah Liang saw after entering the ruins of the temple also implied that it was people who really destroyed the temple. Ah Liang saw the gods scattering money to the "black shadow" ghosts, and they laughed and went to pick them up, and then there was the scene of a palace temple being built. People build palaces and temples for desire, hoping to seek fame and fortune from the gods, and the palace temples overload people's greed.
In this era of rampant materialism, can we still maintain a pure heart and a reverential heart for traditional beliefs like Ah Liang and Ah Tai?