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Film: Mulan
Release date: 21st June 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 107 mins
Director: Wei Dong
Starring: Wei Zhao, Jaycee Chan, Rongguang Yu, Xu Jiao, Vicki Zhao
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Romance
Studio: Cine Asia/Showbox
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: China
Not to be confused with Disney’s 1998 animated blockbuster Mulan, director Jingle Ma’s 2009 epic offers a more sophisticated and nuanced retelling of the story based on a sixth century Chinese poem. Mulan: Legendary Warrior charts the early life and rise to power of Hua Mulan, a fearless heroine who disguises herself as a man and goes to war in place of her ailing father.
We first meet Mulan (Zhao Wei, perhaps best best known in the West for her role in Shaolin Soccer) as a young girl who causes her father a great deal of consternation by fighting with boys and generally refusing to behave as he believes a daughter should. It is clear from an early age that Mulan will not conform to what is expected of her, and when she reaches adulthood, and her ailing father is summoned to join the war against invading Rouran tribes, she takes his sword and armour and sneaks off to join the Wei army in his place.
At this point, you have to ignore the fact that Zhao Wei is one of China’s most strikingly beautiful actresses, and simply accept Mulan’s not particularly convincing attempt to disguise herself as a man. There are strict rules about no women being allowed in the army, and Mulan cannot let her guard down for a second. When she is recognised by childhood friend and fellow soldier Tiger (Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie), she has to convince him to keep her secret, but very soon she faces a far more serious threat to her true identity being revealed.
After admitting to the theft of another soldier’s pendant in order to avoid a strip search, Mulan is scheduled for execution, but when Rouran fighters launch a surprise attack, she is released by a young officer, Wentai (Chen Kun), and proves herself in battle by killing the Rouran general. Mulan and Wentai both rise quickly through the ranks of the army, and develop a special bond that is central to the latter half of the film.
As generals, Mulan and Wentai enjoy great success, but when a new, more ruthlessly ambitious Rouran leader emerges, they are tested in ways that neither could have foreseen…
On the surface, Mulan: Legendary Warrior is an epic war film, full of impressively choreographed battle scenes and military strategising, but, at its heart, it is also a well written drama in which the central characters, rather than the action sequences, are the film’s driving force. In lesser hands, the burgeoning romantic bond between Mulan and Wentai could have been overplayed, but it is to Jingle Ma and writer Zhang Ting’s credit that this is not the case in Mulan: Legendary Warrior.
There are moments when Mulan and Wentai appear to be reaching breaking point, and you half expect them to give in to their feelings and fall into each other’s arms as a soaring string section breaks out on the soundtrack, but what little physical contact there is between the two is sparingly shown and relatively understated. Even here, the idea of putting their country and their army before their own desires could have come across as bombastic, but Jingle Ma adeptly balances Mulan and Wentei’s commitment to duty with their mutual frustrations and human yearnings.
Zhao Wei is superb as Mulan, shifting convincingly from full-blooded fervour to anguished vulnerability, steely determination to forlorn resignation, making it easy to forget that she is only slightly more convincing as a man than Russell Crowe would be as Anne Frank. As Wentai, Chen Kun is inevitably overshadowed by Wei, though he more than succeeds in conveying his character’s conflicted interests, and the simmering chemistry between himself and Wei is vital to the film’s overall tone.
The relationship between Mulan and Wei may give Mulan: Legendary Warrior its backbone, but it’s a relationship that could not exist without the war between the Wei dynasty and nomadic Rouran tribes, and Ma Jingle goes to great lengths to ensure the battle scenes and the background against which the war takes place are as believable as possible. Where some directors would offer a cursory explanation for the conflict and then dive head first into a CGI-aided orgy of violence, Ma Jingle reaps the rewards of excellent cinematography that makes the most of some stunning locations and a consistently engaging narrative.
Mulan: Legendary Warrior isn’t exactly innovative, and it doesn’t really add anything new to a story that has been told many times, but it’s an expertly crafted film that fuses war and romance genres in a highly absorbing way. JG
Film: Invisible Target
Release date: 2nd August 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 128 mins
Director: Benny Chan
Starring: Nicholas Tse, Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, Jacky Wu, Lisa Lu
Genre: Crime/Action
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Hong Kong/China
Director Benny Chang’s fast paced crime thriller follows three Hong Kong cops relentlessly pursuing a ruthless gang of highly skilled crooks and murderers.
Police officers Chan Chun, Wai King Ho and Fong Yik Wei are three Hong Kong police officers who find themselves working together, embroiled in a cat and mouse chase in an attempt to capture a gang of four mercenaries who are wanted for a string of crimes.
The three cops also eventually find that they each have personal vendettas against the gang, which adds to the film’s close connection and interaction with the audience. Chan Chun’s fiancée was inadvertently killed in the armed robbery which opens the film; Fong Yik Wei and his patrol unit are ambushed and attacked by the group; while Wai King Ho finds his brother was secretly working undercover with the gang and has since disappeared.
As the trio search deeper into the facts surrounding the case, and uncover the group’s seemingly unending pursuit of vengeance against a secret informer, they not only unearth the true wrath of the gangsters, but also discover that one of the key players within the syndicate could well turn out to be one of their own colleagues…
Invisible Target literally opens with a bang. The explosion caused by the armed robbery which kills Chan Chun’s girlfriend at the beginning of the film also signals the beginning of two hours of fast paced, high-end choreography and slick fight scenes. Apparently Benny Chang demands of his actors that they do not use stunt doubles, and so throughout the film all the skilled brawls and horrendous heights from which the characters plunge themselves are undertaken by the actors themselves. There never seems to be a dull moment during the film, and after around half an hour, we find ourselves expecting a death defying stunt or a supremely organised ambush to appear from nowhere.
As well as this, the film tends to linger on a sub text which explores the nature of social Darwinism and the blurred lines between good and evil. This is not to suggest that the film is in any way high brow or worthy of being the subject of anyone’s thesis, but there is enough philosophising and thought provoking dialogue to keep interested anyone used to the Western interpretation of the crime/thriller genre. Should one be prepared to kill in order to survive? Do police officers have any more right to kill than criminals? The questions asked by the film are by no means original, but the fact that it does ask questions (along with the absence of any emphasis or reliance on scantily clad women or the latest car we are all suppose to rush out and buy) means it does have a lot more to offer than the standard offerings in this genre.
There is certainly more to be taken from the film than your usual patronising and misogynist Jason Statham or Vin Diesel flick, but, at times, the heavy censorship placed on Chinese films (especially those concerning the honour of police officers) can get a little tiring. The characters rarely make morally ill judged moves, and Wai King Ho can appear too straight and narrow to convincingly stand up to a gang as horrifically ruthless as the film’s villains. The other two cops, while still always ethically in the right, at least have a bit of edge to make their perseverance throughout the film believable.
However, the most thrilling and absorbing aspect of the film has to be the fight and chase scenes. It seems like they almost tire the audience out more than the characters, as they often just keep going and going with all the prowess of a Duracell bunny with a robotic heart. These scenes also make up the majority of the film’s aesthetic, as well as very cleverly being used as a means of characterisation and plot development. Indeed, the manner in which the three cops fight and pursue their victims is often as revealing as it is thrilling. There is also a nice directorial touch which appears every now and then, whereby specific and interesting movements are repeated from various angles.
More entertaining and absorbing than you might expect, it’s not often that action films which are over two hours long can hold the audience’s attention for the duration, but in this case the film rarely retreats from the explosive opening scene. Perhaps it dwells for too long on the inherent good nature of the police officers, and there are no strong female characters worth noting. However, if it’s violence, explosions and a possibly interpretive subtext you’re after, this is a film you are more than likely going to enjoy.
Guns, martial arts, explosions, stunts and a pinch of philosophy: Invisible Target is a film almost as thought provoking as it is entertaining. IT
Film: Mulan
Release date: 21st June 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 107 mins
Director: Wei Dong
Starring: Wei Zhao, Jaycee Chan, Rongguang Yu, Xu Jiao, Vicki Zhao
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Romance
Studio: Cine Asia/Showbox
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: China
Mulan is based on the famous fable of Hua Mulan, a general who led the Wei dynasty army to victory over raiding northern forces sometime around the 4th century. Director Jingle Ma has tackled this kind of historical story before, most recently in The Assassins Blade, which was also inspired by a legend from Chinese history.
The story will be instantly familiar, both for those who have watched The Assassins Blade, as well as the countless other films and cartoons, and read novels inspired by the Hua Mulan story.
Mulan’s sick father is conscripted to fight the increasingly aggressive Rouran northern army. Mulan takes the place of her father knowing he is too ill to fight, keeping her true identity hidden while at the same time proving her worth on the battlefield.
As the years go by, and the body count continues to rise, Hua Mulan works her way through the ranks to become a powerful General, but she is forced to examine what is truly important to her, while at the same time trying to defend her homeland and make it home to her sick father…
The actual story of Mulan hails from an ancient poem, so there is a fair bit of leeway afforded to the scriptwriters - in this case, the film benefits from centring on the relationships between the main characters and, in particular, the relationship between Hua Mulan and her superior officer Wentai.
With The Assassins Blade, Jingle Ma approached the tale with a light touch, but this caused problems, as the film failed to build any genuine tension towards its supposedly dramatic climax. Lessons have most definitely been learned, and Mulan is a far earthier and grittier proposition.
Casting lessons have also been learned since The Assassins Blade, which was necessary, as both films share a similar plot device, with the female lead playing a character hiding her true identity from those around her. Unlike The Assassins Blade, Jingle Ma creates a believable scenario in Mulan by choosing an actress who carries the part well. There is no doubting Wei Zhao is a beautiful woman, but she is also a good actress, benefitting from good makeup, and a film which is extremely well lit throughout. The Hua Mulan character visibly ages through the twelve year timeline of the story arc, and, as war rages on, becomes evidently more battle weary. This realism makes it easy to buy into the difficult premise, something which The Assassins Blade failed to achieve.
As Hua Mulan’s relationship with Wentai progresses, the film exposes the myths of battle and the flaws inherent within human nature; every set piece and death is played out over a background of political intrigue, betrayal and the love for family, friends and the country, which the soldiers serve and the Rourans covet. The way in which the Wei Army and the Rourans treat their fathers acts as a brilliant wider metaphor for how they also see the land they are fighting for; one side shows no respect while the other must serve to bring honour.
Visually, Mulan is quite ridiculously beautiful, but the China we see on screen is a harsh place. The fear evident in the soldier’s actions is reflected by the harsh realities of the surrounding landscapes, in which browns and greys are mixed to provide ominous and unsettling vistas. This is in stark contrast to the village scene at the beginning of the film, and highlights the pointlessness of the ongoing war, as the opposing armies fight over a land which is completely unforgiving. The desert scenes near the end of the film are particularly cruel, and every parched lip and flaked piece of skin can be felt.
There is a brilliantly ‘old-school’ feel to the battle scenes were everything is shot realistically using plenty of stunts and some incredible horse riding. The scenes are fast paced and brief but well positioned throughout the film. CGI is kept to a bare minimum, and this all adds to the look and feel - Mulan has far more in common with the work of David Lean or Kurosawa than Yimou Zhang. The score from Li Si Song is perfectly balanced with the onscreen action and is never obtrusive.
Mulan is an exhaustive, detailed take on a classic tale. It is beautifully crafted and carries a high emotional impact. SM
