GUARD OF THE TREE SPIRIT

At the entrance to the village of Zhanglang, a swordsman was prancing forward while wielding a blade, leading a procession that carried a coffin towards the depth of the big mountains. In front, the soul evoker’s calling was heart wrenching…. Yanhai, the son of the deceased, witnessed his father’s cremation and was told that his soul was ascending to heaven.

As the son of the head in ethnical group of Bulang, Yanhai, nonetheless, has grown up in an urban city, and he knew very little of his hometown and kinsmen. After the funeral, he hurried back to his city and went on with his busy life. He was in debts then and almost on the brim of bankruptcy. He came across Mr. Xu, a businessman who was willing to help with this young man in his tea leaves trading. Eventually, they each found their own way of self-fulfillment through this tea leaves business. Centering upon a dragon tree in Bulang village the story unfolds Yanhai’s homecoming in terms of life values.

People of Bulang believe in animism. For them, mountain gods live in mountains, water gods in waters, and tree gods in trees. Souls dwell in all trees taller than humans. Once the trees are cut down, the souls would be homeless. In the movie, Hanyan’s fate collided with that of the magical tree in the Bulang village, and their belief that has been upheld for thousands of years. Recapping the ups and downs of Yanhai’s tea tree business, the story takes account of his returning back to the belief of his kinsmen in contrast to the modern materialist mentality, and the former ultimately reshaping this young man’s life values.

South of clouds, grand mountains and crystal clear waters, ancient trees and tea tree gardens—everything has its soul. An attempt to retrieve spirituality in the banal modern life, the movie, apart from representing an ethnical culture, is also pursuing soul for modern theater.
The conceptual innocence of the aboriginal people living the Bulang village helps them to resist the erosion from the outside commercial world and manifests its strength in the clashing with the latter.

Animism is an elegy to the homeland guardians.