NeZha: a Story of Fate, Friendship, and Defying the Odds (Spoiler Alert)

By GRACE LI ‘20

NeZha, the most recent blockbuster movie produced independently by the Chinese cinema industry, explores the intersections between predestination and self-determination. The movie is named for its protagonist, NeZha, the son of a Chinese warrior and destined to be a deity. Through the machinations of a villain, however, the pearls representing his fate were swapped. One pearl represents divinity, the other represents evil, so NeZha received the evil pearl by accident.

As such, he was granted three years to live before a cloud of lightning would kill him. The other pearl was stolen for the child of the Dragon Empire. AoBing, the mirror image of NeZha, was the child born of the godly pearl and destined to bring honor back to the Dragon Empire, but his family history condemn him to chains on the ocean floor. The fate of NeZha and AoBing would eventually come to a head in the final scenes of the movie in an epic shower of lightning, ice, and fire.

In the final scenes, NeZha grapples with his fate of being a demon while AoBing struggles with the weight of his kingdom’s destiny on his shoulders. This rendition of the storyline illustrates NeZha and AoBing both actively defying their fates. An unlikely friendship is formed through their similar circumstances, since both have been ostracized from their communities.

Since early childhood, NeZha finds himself ostracized by the townspeople, who are fearful of his evil powers. In fact, the children band together in an effort to chase NeZha away from town. Elements of stereotype and paranoia run throughout these interactions, utterly distorting the townspeople’s image of NeZha. As a result, the town mandates that NeZha be confined to his home. In the rare moments where he runs away from home, all the townspeople run and hide upon catching sight of him. On the other hand, AoBing is confined to his training to become a savior for the Dragon Empire by slaying the demon child NeZha. Subjected to incessant training, AoBing doesn’t have any friends due to parental pressure. An unlikely friendship forms when NeZha and AoBing unconsciously work together to save a human child.

While their friendship seems short-lived with the approaching third birthday of NeZha and AoBing’s mission to kill NeZha, the friendship actually withstands the test of fate. Initially, NeZha and AoBing come to a head when their destinies cross. While AoBing ultimately decides to bury the town in a sheet of ice to save the dragons, NeZha decides to fight for the townspeople, despite all the harm they inflicted on him. Later on, however, when a bolt of lightning arrives to kill the doomed NeZha, AoBing steps in to protect NeZha, saving the souls of both friends even though their bodies are destroyed. The movie ends with the townspeople bowing toward both NeZha and AoBing and showing their respect toward the two kids who decided that their fate was to defy the destiny that was prescribed to them.

While this rendition of the movie diverges from the original plot line, the movie appeals to the younger generation with themes of defying fate and fighting for a future. The animated movie—produced in China and dubbed in Chinese—took 5 years to complete and over 20 special effects studios to complete. Released in the US on September 6th, the film illustrates some cross cultural dialogue between different audiences. Though many themes of traditional Chinese culture get lost on a foreign audience, NeZha demonstrates the beginning of interpersonal dialogue through films. While based largely on Chinese folklore and legend, the theme of fighting destiny and fate extends far beyond NeZha’s 11th century small town.

Mark PangOctober 12, 2019