2008 Woodie Awards
Mandarin mania
China's most respected martial artist, Jet Li, is retiring.
Owen Larkin '07
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Huo Yuanji (Jet Li), is the detestable main character of Fearless. He is an arrogant, goofy, irresponsible, and hardly likeable drunk, too consumed by his pride and self-serving ambitions to take care of business or his family. He is so caught up in the cycle of winning fights, getting drunk, winning fights, getting drunk, that he is nearly morally bankrupt and hardly a character one can get behind. Then his mother and daughter get cut up by the godson of a defeated foe, and presto. Hua Yuanji becomes the man. The legend. The hero of China.
Oversimplification? I think so, but now that I have your attention, let's talk about this for awhile. The film is not nearly so cut and dry, and is in fact a quality film of epic proportions.
The film is about a true historical figure, Huo Yuanji. At a time when Chinese pride and self-assurance was being eroded by capitalism and other western influences, much of this intended by slick, big-hatted imperialists, Yuanji gave the Chinese a true hero to get behind.
To be brief, he did this by kicking the crap out of westerners. One famous fight, which is both the beginning and end of the film thanks to a smooth storytelling device, pitted Yuanji against four fighters in succession, using different weapons each time. It is one of the most amazing fights I have ever seen in a movie.
Then again, all the fights are spectacular. The use of wires is not nearly as over pronounced as it was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and only goes to accentuate moves rather than have Jet Li fly around the screen. The choreography leaves little to be desired and the camera work is top notch.
The visuals in the movie are simply stunning. Fearless is not as artsy as Hero, which cared much less about story than jaw-dropping visuals, but it is of an equal quality. The scenery, costumes, and use of color are also remarkable, affording one a true sense of early 20th century China.
The one problem American audiences may have with this film, however, is that it is very Chinese. The heavy, though often subtle, use of symbols can be confusing or simply boring if one is only looking for an action film. Many of the ideas expressed by the movie may seem cheesy or foreign, as this movie was clearly not made to entertain the American public. The old style Mandarin can also sound simply goofy to the untrained ear, and a lot of people simply can't get past subtitles. This was true for the six 14-year-old sk8ers (as I am confident they call themselves) sitting behind me making farting noises. I think it was a little over their heads.
Oversimplification? I think so, but now that I have your attention, let's talk about this for awhile. The film is not nearly so cut and dry, and is in fact a quality film of epic proportions.
The film is about a true historical figure, Huo Yuanji. At a time when Chinese pride and self-assurance was being eroded by capitalism and other western influences, much of this intended by slick, big-hatted imperialists, Yuanji gave the Chinese a true hero to get behind.
To be brief, he did this by kicking the crap out of westerners. One famous fight, which is both the beginning and end of the film thanks to a smooth storytelling device, pitted Yuanji against four fighters in succession, using different weapons each time. It is one of the most amazing fights I have ever seen in a movie.
Then again, all the fights are spectacular. The use of wires is not nearly as over pronounced as it was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and only goes to accentuate moves rather than have Jet Li fly around the screen. The choreography leaves little to be desired and the camera work is top notch.
The visuals in the movie are simply stunning. Fearless is not as artsy as Hero, which cared much less about story than jaw-dropping visuals, but it is of an equal quality. The scenery, costumes, and use of color are also remarkable, affording one a true sense of early 20th century China.
The one problem American audiences may have with this film, however, is that it is very Chinese. The heavy, though often subtle, use of symbols can be confusing or simply boring if one is only looking for an action film. Many of the ideas expressed by the movie may seem cheesy or foreign, as this movie was clearly not made to entertain the American public. The old style Mandarin can also sound simply goofy to the untrained ear, and a lot of people simply can't get past subtitles. This was true for the six 14-year-old sk8ers (as I am confident they call themselves) sitting behind me making farting noises. I think it was a little over their heads.