Fearless

I don’t like martial arts movies. The concept of people fighting each other (especially when they don’t absolutely have to) is pretty foreign to me. The Asian culture is fascinating to me, but the societal fabric of martial arts seems strange and unfathomable to my near-pacifist eyes. Thusly, I don’t like martial arts movies. However, I submit to you this: Fearless is not a martial arts movie. It’s a movie with martial arts in it.

Fearless tells the true story of one Huo Yuanjia (played by Jet Li), founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. He grew up in a fairly traditional Chinese home, with a domineering (but also just and upright) father, and a gentle (but also submissive) mother. He was a brash, headstrong child, but he got his butt royally kicked by a slightly older boy. He then vowed that as he continued to fight, he would never again let anyone beat him. He became exceedingly egotistical as he matured, but his fighting prowess was second to none. A dangerous rivalry and a personal tragedy would eventually break him out of it.

This was a pretty tough sell for me, but I eventually bought it. The point where Yuanjia has reached his lowest depth is really where the story started to have meaning for me. This was also the point where we meet Moon (Li Sun), who becomes Yuanjia’s love interest. Moon is a woman who, besides being exceptionally beautiful, is even more capable and self-sufficient than Yuanjia himself, though in a totally different way. Moon is a blind woman, but a happy, content, and peaceful woman. Even though she’s blind (or perhaps because of it), she sees something in Yuanjia that no one else sees. She shows him that no matter how awful circumstances get, life is still worth living. She gives him the resolve to go on and make things right.

Here’s the real weirdness for me, and the reason I find martial arts movies to be too far outside my ken to appreciate. Ancient Chinese culture is built on fighting, but as a competition that matches skill against skill. So people who have no grudge or animosity between them whatsoever will fight. For me, fighting is something I don’t do, don’t want to do, and hope that I never have to do. While I can appreciate the high amount of skill required and the level of artistry involved (it really is called martial arts for a reason), but the idea at the very base of it is something I don’t like: fighting. So for me, a martial arts movie would need to emphasize the human elements of the story and have a really engaging plotline, because a lot of the fighting is completely lost of me. Fearless definitely did that. The beginning was pretty doubtful, and the fact that the entire movie was in Chinese was kind of off-putting, but it really developed into a compelling story with characters I could get behind.

The presence of Moon helped matters quite a bit, and was probably the lynchpin for me. The injection of a female influence made the movie not just about martial arts, and Li Sun is incredibly appealing. I was outvoted to watch this movie at a recent gathering of friends, but I’m glad I was. It took a while, but overall Jet Li turned in a performance that I could really believe in. And the moment at the end where Moon finally sees Yuanjia with her eyes really touched my heart. That’s right! My heart was touched by a martial arts movie! And that’s why I profess that Fearless is really a movie with martial arts in it.

Iconic lines:
“Cry when you are sad. When the tears are gone, life will move on."

22 rating: 7

Particle Man