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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Fearless - Review


Day - Friday
Time - 3:55 PM

The next day was my anniversary so I thought of going to a movie with my wife. After checking the local newspaper we zeroed in on Jet Li’s “Fearless”.

After buying popcorns (I don’t like popcorn) and coke lime we settled in our seats.
Including us there was only 7 people in the theater and theater itself looked like hall in a 2 BHK apartment.

The advertisements started. I always enjoy the moments before the movie starts whether it be a news reel or advertisements. It is always good to wait for the main show.

Finally movie started with a note that it was a true story of a Chinese fighter Huo Yuanjia. The first scene of the movie starts with the hero (Jet Li playing Huo Yuanjia) in the middle of a competition with four people. Jet Li looks old and looks like he never cared to hide the fact. The opening scene reminded me of the movie Kick Boxer.

The first dialogue was in Chinese. I thought it was an English movie but had to be satisfied with English sub titles. In this DVD era I am now used to watching movies with subtitles tuned on.

Huo Yuanjia knocks off three of the competitors to nothing and the camera zooms in on our his face as they announce about the final competition.

The screen darkens and we are transported to a around 1900s. Huo Yuanjia is a child and his father practices a Chinese martial art. He does not want his son to follow his path. He wants him to become a scholar. But Huo Yuanjia wants to be the champion of Tianjin against his fathers wishes. Huo Yuanjia practices martial art secretly.

Huo Yuanjia watches his father loosing many fights by holding on the last hit on the opponent. This makes him more committed on becoming a champion.

The conversations between the child, the father and the mother of the child all are good and meaningful. The settings as in all Chinese movies transport us into the mysterious Chinese life style.

Huo Yuanjia has a good childhood friend Wong Zinsen who is portrayed as a nerd.

Huo Yuanjia becomes a man and starts winning all the competitions. He concentrates only on fighting and lives life like a wayward. Remember he is yet to be declared the champion of the town as the old champion is still alive.

Seeing Huo Yuanjia many people join with him as his disciple and Huo Yuanjia starts spending money like water. Mean time his childhood friend runs a hotel and advices occasionally to Huo Yuanjia to forget fighting but Huo Yuanjia never listens.

There is also a madman character in the movie resembled a lot like the mad characters in tamil movies.

One day the old champion of the town beats up Huo Yuanjia’s disciple and Huo Yuanjia becomes angry and in a rage he challenges the old champion and a fierce fight happens in his friend’s hotel. The old champion is killed after the fight which triggers intense rivalry and Huo Yuanjia loses his mother and child to that rivalry.

In a fit of rage he kills the old champions grandson who killed his family. He then learns the old champion was right in beating his disciple as the wrong was on his disciples side. He leaves the town for good.

Another tamil movie twist comes here a drifting Huo Yuanjia is met by some village people among whom there is a blind girl. They take care of him and he becomes a part of them. The locations are mystical and beautiful during this part of the picture.

Promising the blind girl that he will return he heads to visit his parents grave. He comes back to the town and finds it full of westerners. The westerners call the Chinese as “weak men of east” as there is no one to challenge their might.

Huo Yuanjia meets his old friend and asks his support to participate in the competition in Shanghai.

The beautiful part is the conversations between Huo Yuanjia and Tanaka one of the Japanese fighters with whom Huo Yuanjia is supposed to fight.

Finally Huo Yuanjia is poisoned to death but did he win the competition with the Japanese is conveyed beautifuly.

One thing I liked about the movie is there are no villans all of them are just normal people who commit mistakes.

Overall it’s a good movie with some human touch.

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