'Rebirth' (重生君颜) is a Chinese LGBTIQ+ themed romantic drama that follows in the footsteps of so many other films that have portrayed homosexuality in China, such as 'River Knows Fish Heart', 'East Palace, West Palace', 'Spring Fever', 'For Love, We Can', 'Looking for Rohmer', 'Wu Yan – Speechless', 'Shangai Panic', 'Kinematic Theory', 'The Raccoon', 'The Ambiguous Focus', among many others.
Mixing romance, fantasy and yaoi, 'Legend of Long Yang', as it is also known, presents Ji Yu as the central axis of the plot, a young prince who is preparing to take the reins of a kingdom enveloped in war conflicts with neighboring nations and internal struggles for power.
Directed by Fei Yu and scripted by Yi Hua Yao, the film takes us to the meeting, ten years before the narrated historical present, between Ji Yu and Long Yang, a commoner who, knowing that the heir to the throne does not wish to murder a group of peasants accused of treason, steals his bow and tries to flee.
When Long Yang is caught by the guards, Ji Yu forgives him upon discovering the boy's motivations for stopping the prince from committing a crime. Moved and impressed by the young boy's actions, Ji Yu gives him a token so he can exchange it for money, but Long Yang decides to keep it as a souvenir of the day of his meeting with the future sovereign.
In the present, Long Yang has been serving as a guard in the royal palace for five years without Ji Yu knowing of his presence. One day, when the prince returns from a battle, he is attacked by assassins and Long Yang is mortally wounded while trying to protect him. Just before he loses consciousness, he watches as an enemy archer fires an arrow at Ji Yu, possibly killing him as well.
However, upon waking up, Long Yang discovers that he has traveled back in time and now, a year behind the tragic events, he has the opportunity to change the future. Then, he reveals his identity to Ji Yu, who recognizes him thanks to the token he gave to the boy.
The growing emotional and physical connection between the prince and his newly appointed personal guard will allow them to develop deep feelings, causing love to blossom between the two.
The actors Dou Qi Chen, who we know for his role in the Taiwanese film 'The Rooftop' (2013), and Eric Wang (Wang Hao Yu), known for his participation in the series 'Dream Detective' (2021) and the films 'Robot iGirl' (2016) and 'Battlefield Love' (2012), play the leading roles: Ji Yu and Long Yan, respectively. Along with them we see Wang Peng as General Shen Yi, Jin Zhao as the King, Mu Yan as the Queen Mother, Xin Wei as Ming Yu, Bao Yi Ran as Ji Yu (young) and Shen Han Yang as Long Yang (young).
The then debutant director, known for later directing the films 'The Three Body Problem' and 'Where to Go', as well as for writing the script for this last feature film, effectively uses many of the codes of action and Wuxia cinema with spectacular fight scenes with very visual choreographies, where there is no shortage of chases and suspense.
Although it covers various contents (political intrigues, power struggles, jealousy, ambitions, time travel), the film simply addresses a love story.
Most scenes take place in closed, dimly lit environments, such as the throne room, the royal quarters, or the torture room and dungeons of the imperial palace.
The always necessary female figure as a sign of evil does not take long to appear, this time assumed by the character of Princess Chang Qin, played by actress Hou Meng (Hu Po in 'Mutant Tiger', 2022, and Priest Chun in ' The Monkey King 3'.
We find the typical intelligent and ambitious woman, who uses her beauty and her status as the prince's fiancée to manipulate others, including the kings and other members of the imperial court, and obtain the benefits she desires, including becoming queen after marry the future king, so she will see in Long Yang a potential enemy who could ruin her plans.
The sinister character also appears who fulfills the orders of this beautiful woman and participates in her web of crimes and manipulations to please his mistress. This is the case of Min Er, Chang Qin's maid, a role assumed by actress Zhang Ding Ding, known for her role as Mei Li Er in 'Mr. Express & Miss Concubine', from 2017, among others.
The princess's maid is not only responsible for spreading rumors about the romance of the prince and his bodyguard, but will also accuse the latter of being a traitor and devise a plan to separate him from Ji Yu.
Fei Yu manages to make visible in his film the long history of Chinese dynastic homosexuality, and reformulates the romantic love between the nobleman and his subject of the same sex to place it on a plane of greater equality and dedication, since both characters are willing to give their lives or his throne by being in each other's arms.