Returning for one last run at fighting glory, he places himself in the path of Western fighters to teach the newborn culture the difference between victory and honor. When his drive for infamy ends in heartrending tragedy, he retreats to the wilderness to reflect on the true meaning of fighting, Wushu, and life itself.
#Chinese queue jet li series#
With the singular and obsessive goal of being the best fighter in the land, Yuanjia embarks on a series of battles that lead him down a path of self glorification. Jet Li turns in a masterfully rounded performance and reveals him to be an amazingly complex actor as much as he is a skilled martial artist.īased with stylized alterations on true events, 'Fearless' tells the story of Chinese master Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) who lived at the turn of the nineteenth century when much of Asia was being infiltrated by Western influences.
#Chinese queue jet li movie#
I have no idea what movie other people were watching, but I found 'Fearless' to be a taught, well-paced and intriguing flick that expertly crafted a morality tale of losing one's self to ego and pride. As a huge Jet Li fan myself, I actually skipped the film on its initial outing just because I didn't want to be disappointed, and if I hadn't been assigned to review 'Fearless,' I might have waited another few years until I ran out of interesting things to put on my Netflix queue.īut that would have been a mistake. As such, some critics proclaimed it to be a weak effort that wasn't worthy of being a capstone to a great martial artist's film career. I am not sure exactly what message he is trying to convey with this film, other than an endorsement of Chinese nationalism and perhaps Daoism as well.At one time thought to be Jet Li's last film, 'Fearless' had an undo amount of pressure heaped on its shoulders during its theatrical release. Overall, this seems like a break from the usual genre one would expect from Zhang Yimou. While his quick mind (or his advisor's) might have figured out Nameless's plot, he would never have hesitated in executing him.
He was known for a Confucian philosophy spin-off known as Legalism, which is very similar to Western Machiavellianism. Remember, this is the emperor who built an entire terracotta army to protect him from his enemies in death and spent a lot of money and effort looking for the secret to reach immortality. When his character states that he no longer fears death because of Broken Sword's words and invites Nameless to kill him, he is entirely breaking with the true historical figure of the emperor. The Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, was legendary for his fear of death and his Machiavellian rule.
Third, historically, Hero lacked in a few very obvious places. Hero eerily reminded me of another film, Yellow Earth (Huang Tudi), which Zhang Yimou did not direct but for which he did the cinematography. Although I would have not guessed this film was by Zhang Yimou from the plot or message, the cinematography was unmistakable. The use of the word "Tianxia" (literally "all under heaven," translated in the movie was "Our Land") seems Confucian and nationalistic at the same time. Lately in China, the communist government has promoted nationalism (instead of populist Communist values as they did pre-1976) with a great degree of success. Hero, on the other hand, seemed to be intensely nationalistic. His films are often critical of the Chinese Communist Party and sometimes have deep allegorical meaning. Second, I did not know before watching the film that it was Zhang Yimou's. On the other hand, if you can go with the Dao (think: Use the force, Luke), you will succeed.
A message in the film seemed to show the Daoist idea that the harder you try, the worse you do, as Moon did in her fights. The five elements were used - one per fight - fire, wind, water, wood, and metal. First of all, I noticed heavy use of Daoist symbols. This was all done in undergrad so I am by no means the last word on the subject. My background coming into it is as an East Asian Studies major - I studied the language, culture, literature, film, history, religion, and politics of China.
0 kommentar(er)
