Mulan (2009 film)

Mulan
Official poster
Traditional	花木蘭
Simplified	花木兰
Mandarin	Huā Mùlán
Directed by	Jingle Ma
Produced by	Jingle Ma Wang Tian-yun Jeffrey Chan Ni Ying Li Li
Screenplay by	Zhang Ting
Starring	Zhao Wei Yu Rongguang Chen Kun Hu Jun Jaycee Chan Nicky Lee Vitas
Music by	Li Sisong Lee Wei Song Yi Jiayang Cheung Ah-tung Tan Dun Xiao Ke
Cinematography	Tony Cheung
Editing by	Kwong Chi-leung
Studio	Starlight International Media, Beijing Galloping Horse Film & TV Production, 湖南電廣傳媒股份有限公司, Shanghai Film Group, PKU Starlight Group, Beijing Polybona Film Publishing Co., Ltd.
Release date(s)	November 26, 2009 (2009-11-26) (Malaysia) November 27, 2009 (2009-11-27) (China)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin

Mulan, known in Chinese as Hua Mulan, is a 2009 Chinese film starring Zhao Wei as the titular protagonist. The director, Jingle Ma, has explained that this film is vastly different from the 1998 Walt Disney animated film and adheres more to his imagination.^[1] Zhao Wei was cast by Ma as Hua Mulan over actresses Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Liu Yifei, who were reportedly also considered for the role.^[1]

The Russian singer Vitas also has a role in this film and helped publicize the film by providing a song titled Beneath the Glory for the film score.^[2]

Plot

Mulan follows the Chinese folktale of Hua Mulan, about a young woman who dresses as a man to fight in the war in place of her father. At the start of the film, Mulan lives with her aging father Hua Hu, a former soldier for the Northern Wei Dynasty. One day, envoys from the emperor arrive, announcing that an army is being mustered to fight off an invasion by the nomadic Rouran. As her father prepares to again go to war, Mulan, in the middle of the night, takes his armor and his sword and takes his place.

In camp, she meets and befriends several other soldiers, including Xiaohu, a fellow villager who recognizes Mulan but promises to keep her gender a secret. She also meets Wentai, an officer who takes a liking to the young soldier. Mulan's identity is at jeopardy, however, when Mulan admits to stealing a jade pendant owned by another soldier to avoid participating in a strip search. Scheduled for execution, she is only saved when Wentai loosens her binds during a surprise attack by Rouran. Rather than escaping, Mulan proves her bravery when she turns the tide of battle by killing the enemy general. Mulan's exploits are rewarded and she and Wentai are promoted through the ranks of the army, eventually reaching the status of general. Despite their victories, Wentai realizes that Mulan is still too emotionally attached to both himself and to her men, and fakes his death after suffering an ambush by the Rouran. Hiding in the medical tent, Wentai watches as Mulan first falls into deep despair before eventually overcoming her grief to become one of the emperor's finest generals.

After twelve years of fighting, the Rouran is near a breaking point. The foster son of the Rouran Dayan, Mendu nevertheless still thirsts for power and kills his less ambitious father to take the Rouran crown. Gathering an army of 200,000, he invades the Wei heartland once more. In response, Mulan develops a plan that will trap and eventually destroy the invasion, despite the Rouran superiority in men and supplies. She is given command of 20,000 soldiers and wins an early victory before retreat to a canyon. Awaiting support from the commander in chief of the Wei forces, she eventually finds herself betrayed by her superior when no supplies and no support is forthcoming. With an army slowly dying from thirst and wounds, Mulan prepares for a martyr's death when Wentai reveals himself to the Rouran as a prince of Wei, and offers himself in exchange for the safety of Mulan and her soldiers.

As Mulan's soldiers retreat, she disguises herself as a Rouran soldier and sneaks into their camp. Mulan confronts Rouran princess who dreams of peace between the Wei and the Rouran tribes. She convinces the Rouran princess to aid her, and the two and Gude assassinate Mendu and rescue Wentai. Mulan returns to the Wei capital where she at last reveals herself as a woman and not a man. The Wei emperor nevertheless rewards her and announces that his son, Wentai, will marry the Rouran princess to bring peace to the lands. Mulan asks only to return to her native village. Later, Wentai pays a visit to Mulan's village and asks her to elope with him. Mulan, however, convinces Wentai the necessity of sacrificing for their country. Understanding this, Wentai sadly leaves the village.

Cast

• Zhao Wei as Hua Mulan
  • Xu Jiao as young Hua Mulan
• Chen Kun as Wentai
• Hu Jun as Mendu
• Jaycee Chan as Fei Xiaohu
• Nicky Lee as Hu Kui
• Liu Yu Xin as the Rouran princess
• Yu Rongguang as Hua Hu
• Vitas as Gude
• Sun Zhou as the Wei emperor

Reception

After its release in Asia, Mulan gained average box office ratings and reviews. However, critics gave Zhao Wei's performance favorable reviews. Chinese media especially said that this was the best performance of Zhao's career. On the film's opening day Beijing Screen, the Chinese government honors Mulan:^[3] In 2011, Mulan honored the 9th Henan province governmental award - movie category of Achieving Five Top Project Prize^[4]

• "Zhao's strong performance made the role is full of vitality." – Asia Weekly^[5]
• "Thankfully, Ma doesn't make a wrong casting choice for his lead actress. Mulan is anchored by a strong performance by Vicki Zhao Wei, the wide-eyed expressive star vividly portraying her character's sorrow, anguish, fear and terror." – movieXclusive.com (Singapore)^[6]
• "Zhao Wei done perfectly from the ancient poem to motion picture." – People's Daily (China)^[7]
• "The plot unsurprisingly revolves almost entirely around Hua Mulan and her development, and so Ma is fortunate to have a genuine star in Vicki Zhao, who effectively carries the film on her more than capable shoulders, turning in a performance that strikes just the right balance between tough and vulnerable. Although the premise of her being mistaken for a man isn't particularly convincing, especially since she never makes much effort to hide her obvious femininity, she does manage to make her character convincing, not playing her as a straight warrior." – BeyondHollywood.com (U.S.)^[8]
• "When I watched some her scenes in Mulan images of Richard Gere in Chicago flashed before my eyes. That aside, there is no question of acting skills– in particular of her ability to persuade us of her character's ambivalence about fighting, killing, and leading her army to a likely death, which is really what the movie is all about, or should have been except that the love story angle keeps nudging past for those in the audience who feel a war movie doesn't hold enough drama without it." – DVDbeaver.com^[9]
• "For me though the movie is worth seeking out and importing for one main reason, and her name is Vicki Zhao Wei. She's a fantastic actress as adept at comedy as she is action, and between that talent and her big, beautiful eyes she's capable of conveying loss and sadness with real emotion and power. And she's gorgeous too which is never a bad thing. Which is why it pains me to say that she’s also the movie's biggest weakness…" – Rob Hunter,Film School Rejects^[10]
• "Vicki Zhao alone makes the film worth seeing given her performance, both the energy factor and releasing emotions." – JapanCinema.com^[11]
• "Vicki Zhao, however, is the first choice. The Chinese star from Red Cliff and Painted Skin is as feminine as fierce, gentle yet powerful. She embodies "Mulan" and even has the right age, unlike other stars who wanted the part. Zhao alone makes the film worth seeing, with a performance that oozes both energy and emotions. " – Molodezhnaja.ch (Switzerland; translated)^[12]

Awards and nominations

Awards
Award	Category	Name	Outcome
10th Changchun Film Festival	Best Actress	Zhao Wei	Won
21st Golden Melody Awards	Best Producer for a Single Melody	Li Shih Song, Yee Kar Yeung	Nominated
29th Hong Kong Film Awards	Best Actress	Zhao Wei	Nominated
	Best Original Film Song	Li Shih Song, Yee Kar Yeung and Stefanie Sun
30th Hundred Flowers Awards	Best Picture		Won-Runner Up
	Best Actress	Zhao Wei	Won
	Best Supporting Actor	Jaycee Chan	Nominated
19th Shanghai Film Critics Awards	Best Actress	Zhao Wei	Won
Vietnam DAN Movie Awards	Favorite Chinese Movie		Won
	Favorite Chinese Actress	Zhao Wei

See also

• Hua Mulan

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Zhao Wei is 'Mulan'". CRI English. 2009-02-11. http://english.cri.cn/6666/2009/02/11/1261s452470.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
2. ^ "Vitas' Mulan". CRI English. 2009-12-08. http://english.cri.cn/6666/2009/12/08/1261s534097.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-07. 
3. ^ 第十四届"北京放映"开幕 《花木兰》受表彰， Ent.163.com 08 September 2010
4. ^ 河南省第九届精神文明建设“五个一工程”入选优秀作品公示河南日报 2011年09月27日
5. ^ 《花木兰》：移花接木是雄是雌. 亚洲周刊. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
6. ^ Review:Mulan. MovieXclusive.com. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
7. ^ 《花木兰》：古典意境与现实审美能否统一. 《人民日报》海外版. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
8. ^ Review:Mulan. Beyondhollywood.com. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
9. ^ Review:Mulan Blu-ray. DVDbeaver.com. 7 March 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
10. ^ Foreign Objects: Mulan (China). Filmschoolrejects. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
11. ^ Mulan [Live Action] – Review. JapanCinema.com. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
12. ^ Mulan Review. Molodezhnaja.com. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2010.

External links

• Official website(China)
• Official website(South Korea)
• Naver.com
• Sina
• Mulan at the Internet Movie Database
• Mulan (2009) Movie – Yahoo! Malaysia