Beautiful cinematography ; remarkable acting and such a pleasure to watch

I ventured upon LYF while waiting on new episodes for another drama - with the result of completely dropping the other drama to rewatch LYF obsessively when it wasn't updating. I had expected just another popular xianxia romance that are dropped a dime a dozen these days in C-drama land but instead was blown away with the quality of the production. The story was good but didn't seem too special to me - with common themes of ambition, family, love, and kindness. However, the ensemble performance of the actors along with the beautiful artistry in the setting and the captivating screenwriting really captured me. In general, the casting was superb - and every role was likable. The sheer beauty of each frame also just blew me away - I usually skip about half of each C-drama I watch as they are usually slow and draggy- LFY is still slow - but it was such a pleasure to slow down with it to savor the beauty of each scene - the beauty of the set combined with the costumes and the charisma of the actors. This was an ensemble casting with the romance line drawn mainly between the FL and the second and third ML who both had backgrounds in dancing. I think this paid off hugely in the artistry of each scene - the actors' silhouettes gracing the beautiful landscape surreally leaving us mortals sighing at the Chinese mystical fairyland.

Story - This is a story that is steeped in Confucian culture- the world illustrated is quite traditional but with wisps of modernity - a world where women are allowed to be generals (such as the FL's mother) ; bodyguards; can do anything (even fight or make weapons!) as well as men - and are yet mostly still shut out of the top of the political economic structure. Harems are the norm ( I find it ironic that it is always the case in a 'reverse harem' story) and filial piety and tribalism rules the day. It seems that this is based on the common acknowledged social structure and the men's inter personal relations. Yet, in a world like this, the FL wishes to be able to stand on her own and not get hurt emotionally. Her one rule in marriage: that the guy must be solely devoted to her and not have any other women, seems impossible again and again to fulfill - it competes against manly ambitions; against loyalty/nationalism ; even against family interests. For people familiar with Chinese culture, many scenes in the movie are reminiscent to me a bit of the Story of the Red Chamber - with TSJ (2nd ML) especially having both the look and feel of Jia Baoyu - tragic, sensitive, almost feminine. In the original book, the take and illustration of TSJ's kindness and refusal to give in to hate and revenge is rather controversial with many readers seeing him as weak, and siding instead with the heroic Xiang Liu. The drama's stance feels more on TSJ's side - and the portrayal is quite masterful. Many details added in the drama enrich the original story and I'd go to say that this is the one rare occasion where the drama is at least as good, if not even better, than the novel.

Acting- I am blown away by the ensemble cast. Yang Zi was predictably good here but it was great to see that the five relatively unknown actors paired with her sometimes actually outshine her. The fresh faces are exciting to see and one hopes to see their careers develop over the next few years. Scenes featuring YZ and Zhangwanyi emphasize their skills in acting - YZ and TJC have a mystical romantic feel and the DW/YZ interactions are pure eye candy. I didn't have to fast forward any scenes on the first go. On my second viewing, I found myself mostly focused on scenes with Deng Wei and especially the Yao Jing or Liu/Shiqi scenes. Given DW's relative newcome status, I thought at first that was because of the characterization of his character and how likable it is. By the end of the 39 episodes, however, I have to say his acting was actually solid. Details were handled very precisely and I've never seen any character suffer so beautifully. DW really embodied TSJ/YSQ - given how green he is, I hope he can continue to develop his skills and bring us more productions in the future.

Music - as in many C-dramas I think they use and repeat the music way too much but the tunes are nice and beautiful. The novel emphasized the use of the zither and how beautifully TSJ can play it - I wish the drama did better with that. Given how classy the rest of the drama feels, it would have really been nice to really use zither music than modern ones. But at least it all sounds pretty good and catchy.

Cinematography - I was blown away with how beautiful the scenes were and even the CGI didn't feel fake! Many times I get annoyed at the use of cute little animals in xianxia c-drama as cheap tricks for little girls but I admit actually falling for both the Chubby bird and the White Fox spirit. I'm happy the producers didn't feel adding the cuteness dragged the artistry of the production down and it was nice to see a xianxia production that actually felt serious and classy.

Last take - Yang Zi has been a queen of xianxia ever since AOL was released. I think this is the best production yet she's in. It is worth all the angst and time and express pass money spent on it to watch and savor. I do think it is time for Yang Zi to move onto another genre but for now I am grateful for this production and of her leading the whole cast in making this drama memorable.

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A guilty pleasure

I agree with the general consensus. The production does not feel new or fresh and is not a step forward for C-ent.
However it is still as good and pleasurable to watch as any of the Xianxias out there. As such, if you like Xianxias, it is worth watching for another good experience. If you have never watched Xianxias before, then it is worth watching as it incorporates all of the elements that make xianxias popular. On top of that, it features a talented team that is highly experienced and at the top of their game. Both leads are Xianxia veterans known not so much for their looks as their acting skills - and they don't disappoint. It really seems that they are at the point of their careers where their acting skills have long matured and their charisma shines on the screen. The scriptwriter/director/and art directors also all have plenty of successful productions of the genre under their belt. As such, each scene is familiar but pleasurable to watch. I can somehow imagine showing these scenes in film school as an agglomeration of almost a decade of Xianxias.

Story:
The story is not new and definitely a bit draggy. The ending also feels a bit forced -although somewhat inevitable if one is to truly understand the characters. It is, however, disappointing that after hinting at character growth for so long, we get slapped back to the beginning again and it seems there is no progress made. There is also a weird sense of revolution/duty in it all. Read some user comment that by the end, it wasn't a couple we were looking at but at a trio of Revolutionary comrades. In some ways though, after a decade of xianxias advocating for individualist/narcissist love, it seems appropriate to pull back a bit to focus on the Asian values of duty. And in that sense, this is very much a Chinese story. Chinese values of filial piety, duty, respect for authority, sadness over fate and karma, etc, permeate. There were glimmers of hope by the third act that progress was made through character growth towards reconciliation of these traditional values with the modern individualist sense of the world - but then the ending sort of smashed it all and shoved us back to the beginning, almost literally. No progress thru rebirth.

Acting:
This is definitely the strongest part of this drama and an important part of its popularity- Both actors seem perfect for xianxias and at a high point in their career. Yangzi being generally acknowledged as one of the most skilled actresses currently is at her usual top game in a familiar role. ChengYi, less popular and perhaps underrated, is a true gem combo of facial expressivity and body agility for all the action drama scenes xianxias require. I hope this work further cements his career and can bring it to new heights. In general, there is no sense that our leads are making new breakthroughs in their artistry- but there is enough sincerity in terms of delivering their best which, as it turns out, is as good as it gets. It is nice to see skill triumph over raw looks, and a wonder to me that despite 59 long episodes of often draggy scenes and lazy directing (it takes two episodes each time for them to die!)- I still can't get enough of seeing the two leads on screen and interacting.!
Whether it is witnessing their happiness or (most of the time) their pain - especially their pain such that one can't help feeling a bit guilty- these two made the whole process addictive.

Music:
Nice music - they put it on sooo many times it's a wonder I didn't get sick of it. So must be really good!

Rewatch Value:
Definitely. There is almost a certain amount of repetition to any story told - this is inevitable as all follow a certain arc. As such, after having watched enough of them, they all feel a bit familiar. However, I still enjoy watching shows for the charisma of the actors, the script's fun dialogue, the beauty of the sceneries. And in that sense, although IS doesn't reach new heights, it combines high quality/talent in all its team that it is just relaxing and nice to watch at the end of the day to lose myself in its fantasy. As good as any Xianxias produced.

Overall:
The last time I wrote a review was for Ashes of Love also with Yangzi and Zhang yuan Ang as scriptwriter. And although the values this production tries to convey is a bit different, it has enough controversy to it that somehow feels worth writing about. Compared to AoL, I'd say that ChengYi is the better (and more mature) actor which makes this production even more pleasurable. The storyline is controversial but perhaps that's a good thing - it isn't quite merely a summary of all the past xianxia stories though as it does try to move towards a better reconciliation of the individual and traditional values/society/duty. I wish it succeeded more at it.
Unlike the other summer fantasy hit LBFD where from what I read, there is a certain mix of Chinese/Western - this is a very Asian/Chinese aesthetic and Asian/Chinese story, I'd say. People would call it "tu" 土 from the set/costumes to the main actor. But the whole makes it somehow more authentically Chinese and interesting in that sense. I haven't yet watched LBFD so not sure if it is a better reconciliation of the clash of cultures in the current world but IS has certainly been a fascinating and pleasurable journey.

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