‘Deep Sea’ Tribeca Film Review: A Miyazaki Ripoff With A Surprising Amount Of Depth & Artistry

Out of all the films I saw at the Tribeca Film Festival, the screening of Tian Xiopeng’s Deep Sea was the only theater experience where I can say my emotional journey mirrored that of an amusement park roller coaster.

The first half of this film was genuinely unbearable to sit through. Not only was it painfully obvious how much the film was ripping off the style and sensibilities of legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki (specifically Spirited Away), but the actual execution of the first half in terms of presentation, animation and humor left me wincing at what I was watching.

All the characters were incredibly over-animated to the point that I couldn’t take anything that was happening seriously. The characters, aside from the main protagonist, were all unlikeable and the film gave me very little reason as to why I should care or sympathize with them. Most importantly though, all the attempts at humor were incredibly cringeworthy.

Not a single moment made me chuckle, much less laugh, and while I understand that this approach to humor is commonplace in Chinese animated films, it nonetheless left me incredibly irritated. The first half of the film was chaotic and despite some breathtaking and gorgeous animation, I was tempted to leave the screening as I had very little reason to continue watching.

Despite my reservations, I continued to trudge on, and I am incredibly happy that I did because not only does the second half pick up, but the last 20-30 minutes of Deep Sea are so unpredictable, clever and heartbreaking that it completely changed my perspective on the first half. Was I being too harsh on the first half of the film? Was the way the first half was presented and structured justified?

Without spoiling anything, the film has a twist ending that puts everything that happens in Deep Sea under a completely new context, and because of this new piece of information, I am more motivated now than ever to rewatch the film. Both my review and my rating of this film are tentative, and they might change in rewatch because of this twist ending, but as of right now, this is a film that I do recommend you check out as it is absolutely worth seeing, regardless if you end up liking it or not.

This is a film that will test your patience and will leave you irritated at first, but I assure you that if you make it until the very end, there is a possibility that it might leave you in tears and heartbroken, in the best way possible of course. Aside from that though, this is a film that needs to be seen on the big screen. I was lucky to see the movie in 3D, and it certainly enhanced my experience. The film boasts some incredible animation not just because of how photorealistic it looks, but also in terms of its artwork, design and use of color.

While this is by no means on the same level as something like a Miyazaki or Masaaki Yuasa film (both directors this film was clearly inspired by), the film still has a lot to offer in both animation and story and is absolutely worth seeing.