Mulan: Rise of a Warrior

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Although I like films that depict the legendary Mulan, I feel that in this particular film, the producers did a rather poor job in concealing Mulan's gender while she was in disguise. For example, unlike the Disney version, in this version Mulan does not use an alias when enlisting in the military. This immediately caught the attention of a close friend of hers, who recognized who she was, thereby causing Mulan to blackmail him into keeping her true gender secret. Since "Mulan" is a decidedly feminine name in Chinese, it beggars belief that more people didn't question Mulan's gender upon hearing her name. In the film, there were only two people in the military who knew Mulan's true gender before her self-disclosure at the end, but this seems very unrealistic in real life given the facts/circumstances of this film.

It is probably not all that strange that there is a Joan of Arc legend coming out of China, and when one considers it, there are probably a few stories floating around where somebody rose above their disabilities to become great. I say that because in these times women were supposed to stay at home in the villages while the men went to war, this was the case in 16th Century France as it was here in China. Okay, Joan was considered touched by God as it was a vision that made her take the fight to the English, where as Mulan did it out of a sense of honour. The period in China in which this story is set is quite vague. China has, for most of her history, pretty much dominated the region that it dominates now. China was never a collection of countries fighting against each other because once the Chin' reached dominance, despite the empire waxing and waning, it has always mostly been China. However, at the time of this movie, the Wei people were under attack from roaming bandits, but these bandits had decided that raiding wasn't as good because when winter comes they always had to return home, so they decided to invade and stay. The people of Wai thus had to go to war, and as was expected every family was to put up a male to join the army. With Mulan's family, a family with a long tradition of warriors, this was not possible as there was no males. So, instead of her elderly father going to war, Mulan disguises herself as a man and goes in his place. Though a lot of fortune, Mulan finds herself at the head of the army and she goes down in history as a great warrior. This movie isn't so much about how she hides among the men. It seems that it wasn't all that difficult. Chinese people don't grow facial hair like we do, and their hair was long, so as long as she remained clothed, she was safe. However she is caught out, but the person who catches her is on his way up anyway and decides to protect her, but as he goes up the ranks he brings Mulan with him. One of the things that made me think while watching this film is whether there is any incidence of grace or self-sacrifice outside of the Christian sphere. That is a very debatable point. Now, we see examples of this in this film, such as when the prince offers himself up to save his troops, or when Mulan takes her father's place, or even when she claims to be the thief of the prince's Jade card. However, this is a modern rendition of the story, so it is difficult to pull these ideas out of a modern mind set. In those days it was all about honour. If one's family is dishonoured, then you go an deal with it, violently or not. There is discipline, but this is something that is enforced to make a good army, not to show the graciousness of the human heart. Anyway, this film was okay. Not strictly an autobiography since Mulan seems lost in the mists of legend (unlike Joan of Arc) and her story comes down to us through a Chinese poem that has survived. However it is interesting to see a similar theme playing out through human history, and that of the person overcoming prejudices to succeed.

This is a real film, don't think this is a family fun movie, like the Disney Mulan, this is an adult, grown up War Action Romantic Drama, Chinese style, and its very very good. Heavy on the War Action, Heavy on the Romantic Drama, A stunning movie. It is a very beautiful film, very good photography, good costumes, and it really looks like its ancient time period, the battle scenes are great, the action scenes very good and all the acting is spot on, no slacking here. I am not keen on the romantic angle, but it is very well done in this, no sex scenes either, showing that for true romanticism you don't need to show naked bodies writhing together and that it is better without that sort of thing. I have watched a good few Chinese films and most are great, they really do know how to make a good realistic film without cutting corners or going cap in hand to the financial sharks. The nearest western equivalent of this film is probably Spartacus and it is as good as that. Put it on your Bucket List, watch this before you die.

Having Just watched this film, and whilst it is still fresh in my mind I found the movie to be a refreshing change to traditional epics offered by Asian Cinema. House of flying daggers it is not, but as an interpretation of Chinese folklore that was based on a poem, it is a piece of cinematic creativity in it's own right. The casting of Wei Zhao was a smart move. Vicki is a potentially under rated actress who displays a versatility that is often never matched by over paid Western A - listers. For the tone and content of a film that has no provable substance in fact, Vicki does an outstanding job of expressing the bland emotion and lack of compassion that would be synonymous with the era and situation with which the film is set. At it's heart is a love story that is put aside by the burdens of war. This is so effectively displayed by the acting skill of the lead that it could be mistaken for lacking any substance at all, but with such interpretive subject matter the leads pull you in and make you share in the joy and the hurt that their lives are taking. This is essentially an amazing piece of cinema, with a talented cast and a talented director. There are many ways to while away an afternoon. Getting lost in the majesty this provides is well worth the time

So much for an epic about the life and achievements of the legendary woman warrior. The film cannot be duller. The script is full of tired clichés and the writers have felt compelled to turn it into a sentimental love story more than anything else. The character of Mulan is supposed to be strong, tough and courageous. The Mulan in this film (and half the male soldiers) spends most of her time in tears, wringing her hands and whispering sweet nothings. She looks, sounds and acts every bit like a girl. It is hard to believe that the whole army of soldiers who spent 12 years with her did not catch on. The two leads look like they belong in a rom-com, rather than playing generals on the battlefield. All in all, a ridiculous and disappointing film.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, when watching the movie. The only thing about the story of Mulan that i knew, was what i learned from the Disney version. But i'm pretty sure, people who watch this movie wouldn't actually (and rightfully) expect there to be much similarity between the two. One thing that i think is important about this movie is, do not see it expecting to see things you've seen in "similar" movies. You might be disappointed. Because if you expect this to be anything like the classic martial arts movies, that it is most certainly not. Even Warlords, which at least to me felt quite authentic, was more exaggerated in its fighting scenes. And yes, this is also a love story, but just like the fighting and everything else, to me it seems that the people who made this movie gave a lot of thought to how much romance would be possible under the circumstances. Of course there were things that bothered me, too, but i think they were pretty much neglectible. For example i don't know how the character of Wude (played by Vitas) actually fits into the story, he feels slightly out of place. There was one scene that also seemed strange because it was really out of nothing, i don't see this as a spoiler because its not really of any importance to the story, but there was a sandstorm and they called it something like poison dragon. I did some research and it seems there is a legend about the region of Sanweishan that mentions sandstorms as the breath of a dragon, that seems to be a good explanation but someone who isn't familiar with Chinese mythology as i am (and probably most westerners) wouldn't know that and it might be confusing. Also it didn't seem like miss Zhao didn't put in much effort when Mulan pretended to be a man. But personally i don't really mind, actually appreciate it in a way. I think it would have seems a little ridiculous, and this movie is by no means meant to be comedic. The viewer knows she's pretending to be a man and that nobody notices it, there would be no point in having the actress try to talk with a deep voice or even choosing a different actress who is more masculine. That's simply not what the movie is about. If you like, you might see this movie as biographical, maybe even historical as far as that's possible for a legend. All in all i think this movie is absolutely worth watching if you're not too focused on any aspect of Chinese cinema, but even then it might well be worth your time!

excerpt, full review at my location - 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. 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.