Far East Movie (Chinese)

It may be fair to say that 'Fearless' was one of the most eagerly anticipated Hong Kong films (well, Hong Kong/Chinese) of recent years. The moment that Jet Li announced this to be his very last foray into the genre that made his name, everyone dare dream of him giving us one glorious send-off. Li also noted that he intended his latest project to be an inspiration for China's many disillusioned youngsters, a way of recreating the life of a Chinese hero to serve as a modern day role model. With such lofty goals, much was expected of Ronny Yu's return to Hong Kong cinema and Jet Li's grand farewell.
Young Huo Yuanjia watches his illustrious father training with his pupils everyday, yet the young boy is forced to be a passive observer as he is forbidden from joining in. Huo secretly watches though and soon becomes an exceptional pugilist. When his father dies, Huo takes on the family mantle and is keen to make their name the most revered in the town, beating all rival fighters to enhance his point. Huo soon discovers the ugly side of fame though and a tragic altercation leaves the normally honourable fighter with a death on his hands. This is only the start of a terrible chain of events that costs the life of Huo's beloved daughter and sends the traumatised fighter into oblivion. After the kindness of strangers saves him from absolute despair, Huo returns home years later to discover that China needs this reluctant hero and he has to recall his former glories to succeed against new enemies.
From the sweeping shots that introduce the story to the plush period detail, 'Fearless' is clearly a production with a budget to match its aspirations. Sparring use of CGI shots shows the historic vistas essential for this engrossing story and in Ronny Yu the film has a director with the vision to achieve the goals. Yet 'Fearless' has an earthy honesty that sets it apart from the recent plethora of arthouse swordplay features; it tries to focus as much on the emotional construction of the characters as it is to paint pretty pictures. To those of us who have grown tired of the austere ice sculptures that have passed for swordplay films in recent years, this development is an enticing one. To the Western critics who can happily lap up soul-less cadavers thinking they represent the very best the genre has to offer, 'Fearless' will seem like an uncomfortable throwback to a less self-conscious age. Nevertheless most will be delighted to see a martial arts film with emotional depth and a Jet Li who has left Hip Hop-fu behind.
It is this Li who harks back to his early-90s heyday that carries the film comfortably on his shoulders and it is his return to playing a three-dimensional character that sets 'Fearless' apart. Li's furrowed brow and matured features add to the gravitas of the story's stronger moments and remind us of the thespian who has been in hibernation for the past decade. The Chinese star clearly relishes material that befits his abilities and Ronny Yu provides his hero with enough grandstand moments to prove the point.
Li also excels in the many superbly orchestrated fights that pepper the film, each giving a gentle nod to his previous portrayals of Wong Fei Hung and Fong Sai Yuk. The action is about as grounded as 21st century fight scenes are likely to get, finally looking like it utilised a choreographer rather than NASA. The use of different styles and different disciplines means that each showdown seems fresh and the finale is therefore suitably resonant. There's still a few cinematic tricks employed, but Jet Li is as physically imposing as he was ten years ago and his progressive victories throughout the film still appears believable.
The Western print reviewed here does suffer from a lack of exposition, a factor that has to be taken into account. U.S. distributors clearly don't think we might want a film to engage our soul and very wisely edit out many of those irksome periods of dialogue. 'Fearless' still shines, but the patronising treatment it receives is difficult to stomach. Nevertheless, this is a Jet Li film we can finally be proud of and a Ronny Yu work that will finally stand the test of time. It wisely plays down the pro-Chinese rhetoric, choosing a slightly more multi-cultural message as its closing statement and is all the better for it. All of these factors mean that this proves to be a classy send-off for one of our favourite stars.

While the premise of alternate identities is not an original one, it is an idea which has proven popular in Hollywood for decades. Jean Claude Van Damme's 'Double Impact' proving the best known amongst action fans. 'The One' tries to add a fresh dimension to the old adage, and was originally formulated as a starring vehicle for WWF's The Rock before he committed himself to 'The Scorpion King'; a 'Mummy' spin-off.
While not a conventional martial arts actioner in the usual Jet Li style, it is refreshing to see Jet in another different role. He still plays a cop, as in a dozen other films, but this is certainly more ?Hollywood?, and as such, will appeal to a different audience, even if it alienates some of his hardcore fan base. The plot is paper thin, with little characterisation taking place in the short running time. In its place are a number of special effects set pieces and action clich?leading up to the ultimate showdown: Good Jet versus Bad Jet. A mouth-watering prospect!
To be fair, the finale is excellent - a pure adrenaline rush, combining innovative choreography and state of the art special effects. What will please many is the length of the fight scene, which shows how the Americans can just as happily sit through a ten-minute fight as a two-minute one, if it is tackled in a way that suits them. Prior to this, all action sequences seem to be over before they begin, but are suitably impressive, and the camerawork and slow motion actually enhance Jet's moves for a change.
All in all, one for the mainstream family, and I can't help feeling that this version of the film is so much better than it would have been had The Rock been available. As a result, Jet should be applauded, but he still remains an unknown quantity in the Hollywood market, as many producers still don?t know how best to use him. I hope his truly breakthrough role comes sooner rather than later, as he isn't getting any younger, and who knows how long this Western 'Hong Kong' obsession will last.

Worth seeing just to hear Jet say: "I'm no-one's bitch!"

made in Hong Kong

Turkce aciklama:

Yasam icerisinde kaptirip kendinizi zamanin akisinda bogusurken, bazen farkli bir yonden gelen bambaska bir uyarti ile akis durdurup, soluklandiginiz olmustur hayata dair. Oyle bir zamandan alip sizleri, yurdunuza birakma niyetindeyim...
Televizyon basinda oturmus herkesin yapmakta oldugu gibi dinlemeden, anlamadan gecistiriyordum kanallari bir bir, ki durdum birden. Bir televizyon kanalindaki habere kabarttim kulaklarimi. 2008 yilinda Pekin (Çin) de düzenlenecek olan Olimpiyat Oyunlarinin hazirliklarindan bahsediyordu. Malum Çin dunyanin en kalabalik ülkesiydi ve Olimpiyatlarin yapilacagi baskent Pekin tum metropol sehirlerde yasandigi üzere trafik sorunuyla bogusuyordu. Fakat bir ulkeyi tanitmanin en onemli renklerinden (firsatlarindan) birisi olan Olimpiyatlar esnasinda sporcularin, konuklarin ve spor severlerin trafik sorunu yasamasi tanitimda yakaladigi firsati dezavantaja cevirevekti. Bu sorunu asmak icin Olimpiyat Komitesinin buldugu cozum Istanbul trafigi icinde zaman zaman ciliz olarak da olsa dillendirilen tek plaka, çift plaka uygulamasi idi. Yani haberde Olimpiyat suresi icerisinde bazi gunler tek numarali plakalarin bazi gunlerde ise cift numarali araclarin trafige cikacagini bu sayede Pekin'de Olimpiyat zamani yasanmasi muhtemel trafik sorununun onune gecilebilecegini ve bunun için bir takbikat yapildigindan bahsediliyordu.
Olimpiyatin renkleri için kendilerinin bazi zevklerinden feragat edicek olan Pekinliler orginizasyon sonucunda kendi renklerini dunya kamuoyuna tanitacak olduklarindan dolayi durumdan mutsuz olmasalar gerek. Hepimizinde bildigi uzere; 5 kitayi temsilen ilk kez 1920 Olimpiyatlarinda kullanilan Olimpiyat Bayragi. Mavi daire Avrupa'yi, sarisi Asya'yi, siyahi Afrika'yi, kirmizi Amerika'yi, yesil de Avustralya'yi temsil eder. Bu bes kitanin uzerinde bir tek gunes parlar. Gunes isinlarindan yararlanilarak bir buyutecle yakilan olimpiyat mesalesi de oyunlar devam ettigi surece sondurulemez.
Olimpiyatin renklerinden bahsetmisken 2000 Sydney Olimpiyatlari'ndan bahsetmemek olmaz. Herkesce anlasilabilirdir ki spor veya sanat alaninda duzenlenen uluslararasi organizasyonda, hangi ulke ev sahipligi yapiyorsa o ulke seyircisinin kulturel veya sportif ilgisi hangi bransa ise o brans dallari daha cok ilgi ceker ve seyirci toplar. Yani soyle dusunecek olursak eger herhangi bir tarihte Istanbulda duzenlenecek olan Olimpiyatlarda yuzme sporundan daha cok halter, gures ve boks musabakalarina ilgi daha fazla olacaktir. Iste 2000 Sydney Olimpiyatlari'nda yuzme sporu musabakalar icerisinde en cok ilgi ve seyirci toplayan musabakalar olmustur. Bu musabakalardan en onemlisi ve hiç unutulmayacak olani ise Erkekler 100 metre serbet yuzme yarismasidir. Olimpiyat halkasinda Siyah Afrikayi temsil eden Ekvatoryal Gineli Eric Moussambani Olimpiyatlardan bir kac ay once ogrendigi yuzme ile yarisa baslayacaktir... Kazanacak birseyi olmadigini düsünenlere Olimpiyat ruhunu hatirlatan Eric Moussambani yarisin son bir dakikasini seyircilerin ayakta alkislamasi ile tamamlar. Çin 2008 Olimpiyatlarinda ulkesini tanitmak icin hazirliklarini tamamlayip, fedakarlik ededursun. 2005 Berlin Film Festivalinde Gumus Ayi alip ikinci olan ve Juri Buyuk Odulunude kazanarak ülkesinin sanat platformunda yuz aki olmayi basarmis Çin'in en itibarli goruntu yonetmenlerinden Changwei Gu'nin ilk kez oturdugu yonetmenlik koltugundan buyuk basariyla kalkmasini sagladigi, kelimenin tam anlamiyla bir basyapit olan Kong Que (Peacock), insanin içinde tasidigi renkleri birgun tavuskusu misali rengarenk acabilecegi umudunu yuregimizi burkarak gozler onune serer.

Hong Kong's official entry for the 'Best Foreign Film' category of the Academy Awards is a visually ripe post-modern musical which borrows the 'film-within-a film' concept from the glorious 'Singin' In The Rain' (minus the ebullient spirit of the Gene Kelly film) and takes it off into the direction of angst-ridden drama.
Young film star LinJian-dong (Kaneshiro) arrives in Shanghai to start work on the new production by jaded director Nie (Cheung), but his appearance in the cast reveals an ulterior motive. Lin is more focused on his co-star and ex-love Sun Na (Xun) than the actual task in hand and he finds himself haunted by memories of the love they originally shared. Sun has long forgotten the past, though, and pretends that her years scraping a living together with Lin never happened. Art imitates life as the storyline of the film mirrors this drama perfectly and the two stars confront their past through the characters they play. Director Nie also has feelings for his muse though and is troubled by her seeming indifference to him. Gradually Sun's icy demeanour begins to melt and her hidden emotions begin to resurface, a change in character that recalls the woman she once was.
With a luscious Shanghai setting made to look especially sumptuous by Peter Pao's exquisite cinematography (not to mention Christopher Doyle's work in the Beijing sections), 'Perhaps Love' is a feast for the eyes though offers less nourishment for the soul. That's not to say there isn't much to savour here, but it is an object of wonder rather than a production that engages the audience emotionally. Each character is tortured in that martyred way that seems unique to the worlds of arthouse cinema; much looking into the middle-distance by the players and long, solemn faces attached to the bodies of beautiful film-stars. Peter Chan, though, has tried to dabble in a genre that has only just been rejuvenated in Hollywood let alone really embraced in Asia and for such an adventurous spirit, he deserves acclaim. Chan may not have given us an emotional maelstrom, but 'Perhaps Love' is far from a waste of time.
Brimming over with spectacle and style, this is the kind of Eastern production that always seems to entice the Western critics perhaps due to its reverence to the great Hollywood musicals of the past. 'Perhaps Love' does not share the usual exuberance that celebrated musicals of the past have enjoyed and takes its themes more from classical opera than the traditional musical. Nevertheless it revels in the visual opulence that films like 'Moulin Rouge' and other Hollywood musicals have been keen to exploit while also reserving its energies for the lavish musical numbers. Peter Chan's film is therefore an accurate conversion of a popular genre, but also an attempt to subvert certain conventions and by so doing celebrate its Asia identity.
The litmus test for movies of this ilk is obviously the set-pieces and these do not disappoint. A knowledge of Mandarin is an obvious advantage, but the sheer passion behind the songs means that they transcend the language barrier. It also helps that the two male leads have very distinct vocal talents that add their own individual weight to this heady blend. Peter Chan also calls on an array of worldwide talent to give these dramatic routines the stamp of quality they need and the combination of East and West is a joy for the eyes and ears. These also prove to be the more involving moments of the production as the standard scenes of drama lack resonance while there are too many of the aforementioned self-conscious touches that are obligatory in many 'arthouse' films.
The characterisation may be flawed and the emotional content calculated, but the narrative structure is admirably executed. A post-modern enigma within a puzzle, it toys with our perceptions of reality and what is actually fictional. This succeeds in keeping the viewer alert and offering a gentle challenge that most other genre films rarely provide. While the other short-comings ultimately unbalance the film, the narrative is masterfully manipulated by a director who is not intimidated by the relatively extravagant budget. Chan also plays to the strengths of his cast, letting Takeshi Kaneshiro trade on the pained matinee-idol he often plays and offering Zhou Xun as an exquisite foil for him to play off. Jacky Cheung is good as the troubled director and, despite appearing slightly too young to give the part its full gravitas, gives some indication of what is going on beneath his steely exterior.
'Perhaps Love' triumphs with its production values, flexibility and ability to fully realise the potential of its exotic setting. Though it disappoints with the actual heart of the film, there is nonetheless something quite welcoming about a work that is so different from the usual fare.

yuou must see this movie.