Reviews

From some of the worst remake from Disney in the recent years with "Aladdin" and "The Lion King", I wasn't really expecting much with "Mulan" as well. However, all I could say after watching the movie, that I am quite pleasantly surprised with the finished product.

Sure there are some contrive moments with how the plot developed, especially towards the end when Mulan single handedly defected the enemy to save hundreds of soldiers and how she again single handedly rescued the Emperor from the evil Bori Khan. I just feel that the ending parts were a bit rush, without much of a proper lead up to how she got there.

Nevertheless, there is definitely heart and soul in this movie with the main characters development (unlike the last few Disney remake movies, which is really a whole pile of mess, relying plainly too much on just the CGI & special effects). Mulan played by Liu YiFei is definitely the right choice for the role. She plays the main protagonist with enough restraints and yet at the same time, as a viewer, one could tell that there is a lot of internal dialogues and turmoil going on in her life (especially with the choices and decisions that she has had made along the way, to lead her to where her final success is being brought about). Even the evil witch role played by Gong Li has her own peaks and valleys in the character, narrating her own story in her own way. She is just not a clear cut evil person, but just someone trying to live her own mark as a women living among the men in a Man's World. As much as she was the evil witch in the movie, I can totally see her be acceptable and probably be label more of a gifted new age psychic in today's modern context. It is clearly shown in the movie that Mulan is the new wave of leading female role, taking over the destiny of her own life, as compared to her predecessors in which this case, the evil witch or even her own mother have had failed in the past.

As someone coming from an Asian Chinese background, I can definitely relate to how the whole filial piety means to one's family growing up and in this case also the entire country as such. Obviously the world has changed in leaps and bounds, in terms of some of the older fashioned ways of thinking that the female is of a weaker sex. As such, I can truly see that this new 2020 rendition is especially catered to a new generation of female growing up in today's modern world. On the side note too, this movie is directed by a female director and that certainly helps to bring the narrative across too. Somehow, after having seen quite a few movies, being directed by female directors, there is just some extra "je ne sais quoi" elements in their movies that most male directors just fail to bring.

Saw the first one and I actually like this later version better than the original version. When I saw this sequel to the first movie, it really ties everything together & we see more character development in the main cast. Both 'Richie' ( starring Bill Hader) & 'Eddie' (starring James Ransome) characters really stood up for me, as they were both really funny.

I especially like the ending part, where the Losers Club destroyed Penny Wise, by not giving in to his scary appearance & antic, eventually diminishing him to nothingness. This is such a poignant statement in the movie, where we can sometimes giving in to bullies & people who were mean to us, but once we realize that we don't always have to give in to them & fall for their traps, their control over us would no longer have any effect on us.

Not sure how much this movie is based on real life. If that is so, the depiction of how the females are treated in this movie is certainly a very sad way to live. In a nutshell, the female lead was chosen to be married off to another tribe, when she has reached her age of adolescence, ready for pro-creation. This arrangement was to prevent her as a peace offering, to prevent any war between both tribes (which in this case, they already had tension of some sort to begin with). However, this female lead fell in love with her own tribe leader's grandson & both lovers decided to elope the tribe for good. Despite their efforts, their own tribe decided to hunt them down like animals & the couple decided to end their lives.

After watching this movie, I feel that it is kinda of a joke for a bunch of half naked strong men running away in their loin sheaths, being the masters in their tribe, to use their women as their shields. One would imagine they would try much harder to defend their own tribal freedom & protect their own women. Even more absurdly, the men decided to come together & share "Big Lofty Talk" & do their "Macho Dance", upon burying the couple in their graves. Blar Blar Blar....

Other than that, the movie feels like a National Geographic documentary, which wasn't done too shabbily in it's defense. However, not something I would rave about, also probably explained why this movie didn't win the academy award for best foreign film.

Three grieving men over the lost of their loved ones, stuck in a time loop trying to change the histories of how their loved ones passed on. In the midst of their groundhog day experiences, their lives are more intertwined than they knew.

Interesting story plot, but somehow I have a feeling I have already seen a familiar story line being played out in some other movie.

Although the premise of the plot seems relatively simple, I really enjoy watching this movie. There is heart & soul; sadness & humour; & most importantly hope, being played out throughout the entirety of the movie.

In summary, a man tried to kill himself by jumping off a city bridge, ended up surviving & got stranded on a deserted island right in the heart of a metropolitan city. After several failed attempts to get back to civilisation, he decided to stay on the island & started building a new life for himself. One day, he discovered a packet of throwaway black bean noodles on the shoreline, with a packet of unused soup stock in the packet. Thus started his desire & determination to grow his own crops, to make himself a bowl of noodle with the unused soup stock. When he finally harvested his own crops, to the preparation of the noodles & then finally taking his first bite of the delicious hot bowl of generous noodles, tears were streaming down his eyes. The look on his face with a sense of pride & fulfilment was priceless. Just think for a moment, when was the last time we desire something so badly for ourselves & when we finally worked all our way to get it, that was the moment the main character was experiencing then and there.

Unknown to him, a reclusive woman (with facial disfigurement on her forehead) living in her own room for years, started watching & observing his life daily through her long distance telescope. Through the lens of the telescope, she began to find hope & purpose in life & started opening herself up back to her family once again. Somehow or another, they finally made contact & establish a genuine & yet peculiar friendship, both stranded alone in their own unique world.

To me, the movie is trying to relate a simple message about how we can be so caught up in our own lives, that we have forgotten to communicate & relate to each others like how a caring society would be. Often we would take things or those around us for granted, as we go on with our daily lives. This point is particularly poignant, when the main character got stranded on the tiny island, every piece of rubbish he scavenged from the river started becoming a precious piece of commodity. When he finally witness a tiny baby corn right in front of his eyes, (i.e. after months of hard work trying to grow his own food), the pure joy shown on his face was indescribable.

Also a big shout out for both the main actors for really roughing & toughing it out in the movie, to present the story in its most raw & authentic self. Overall, a highly recommended movie!