Review of live-action movie 'Mulan'

Mulan is a live-action of a famous 1998-99 musical  Disney Toon movie with the same name. I have added the "original" Mulan to my watchlist after watching this one. There are few movies which give a double boost: entertainment and learning in one go.

Mulan movie is an adapdation of a Chinese fictional folk warrior heroine, Mulan from Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century AD). Mulan is popular worldwide and many series and movies have been made before on her life. Disney live-action Mulan is the latest remake. I would not like to go into details about what Disney has missed like its other women-centric action movies just to lure the Chinese authorities to accept this movie to their theaters. I would also not talk about the boycott movement around this movie. This movie deserves a round of applause too. I am going to talk about it.

To save her ailing father, a girl named Hua Mulan(Liu Yifei) steals her father's sword and armor to join the Imperial Army as per the emperor's order as the enemy starts to invade the Chinese borders. The only catch here is that only a man could fight the wars. Women were not allowed to participate in state affairs. To hide her identity, she disguises herself as a man and starts getting training at the army camp led by Commander Tung(Donnie Yen). There she meets Chen Honghui(Yoson An), a fellow trainee. Mulan admires Commander Tung as a fatherly-figure and Chen as a love interest. Commander Tung inspires her to reach her full potential of Qi(energy flow), which she has learned to hide since her childhood. The enemy army is called Rourans, headed by Bori Khan(Jason Scot Lee). He is accompanied by a witch warrior Xianniang(Gong Li). Xianniang is a powerful witch who has mastered her Qi and helps Bori Khan win every battle. 

I liked the character of Xianniang very much as she was the one who was fighting to create acceptance for the women who have strong Qi. She was clear in purpose and made sacrifices accordingly. She was a villain and killed ruthlessly. Gong Li has portrayed the role of a confident witch, callous murderer, and sensitive woman astoundingly. However, her character deserved more exploration and chance, in my view.

The symbols "Loyal, Brave, and True" are carved onto Mulan's father's sword, the standards to which she holds herself while getting trained at the Imperial Army's training camp. However, she is perpetually aware of deceit to her country, commander, and to herself.

Mulan is a woman with a sword who refuses to give up. When the time comes, she refuses to go with the "bad" just because the "goods" are not with her.

Of course, she fulfills her destiny and creates women's acceptance in society(at least in the emperor's perception) for participating in war affairs. The contrast between man and woman's struggles to achieve the same thing is clearly visible. Director Niki Caro has done a commendable job. This retelling never goes off the foot. Every scene was so meticulously planned and placed that I could not take my eyes off the screen even for a second.

However, I found the action was a bit missing. The portrayal of wars was less in comparison to the story movie conveyed. 

The movie demonstrated the girl-power, hold the view that hard work has no substitute. The movie is not about fighting against gender-based stereotypes(though, it shows a sharp contrast). It is about to put up a fight to cultivate our own gifts. The movie conveys to work towards acceptance from ourselves before earning the acceptance flag from others. Also, the devotion to the family is our foremost duty and responsibility. I ended up feeling happy and confident after watching this movie until I read about the boycott movement going around this movie.

This movie teaches one more thing in particular, freedom is the way to live.

Thank you.

The breathtaking official trailer of the movie:

You can watch Mulan after buying VIP subscription of Disney+ Hotstar or click on this link for more information.