No Mushu, no songs and no humor. Why Mulan is like a Chinese fake
Educational Program Cinema / / December 31, 2020
On September 10, a remake of the famous Disney cartoon of 1998 will be released on Russian screens. The studio has already released many remakes of its works, and most of them are just frame-by-frame re-shoots of the classics, to which they add a couple of new ideas to increase the timing. But in the case of Mulan, the authors promised to significantly work on the plot.
The fact is that this story is based on the ancient Chinese legend of the warrior girl Hua Mulan. And in the homeland of the heroine the cartoon took coolDisney magic fails ‘Mulan’ in China; Cultures: The Americanized version of the famous folk tale is all too American for Chinese movie audiences because of too "western" presentation.
The new version was supposed to correct the mistakes of the original, bringing the story closer to the famous original source. Moreover, feminist The subtext in Mulan is very relevant, and Hollywood is doing its best to please the Chinese market - one of the largest in the world.
But in the end, the film turned into a too pretentious, but completely faceless story, which loses even to traditional Chinese action films.
Careful abandonment of the past
Since childhood, young Hua Mulan was more interested in playing with weapons and running on roofs than in household chores that girls were used to.
After an unsuccessful visit to the matchmaker, it seems that the heroine will never find her place in life. But it begins war with invaders, aided by an evil witch, and Father Mulan is drafted into the army of the Emperor. The wounded old man can no longer serve. Then the girl steals his armor and sword and, under the guise of a man, joins the defenders of the country.
First you need to understand: no matter what the creators of the picture say, this is precisely an adaptation of a classic cartoon, not ancient legends. From the 1998 Disney fiction came the matchmaking scene, army training, nighttime swimming, and many other plot moves. Therefore, for those who want to see a realistic retelling of the original source, it is better to turn to the Chinese film adaptation of 2009 (the Russian singer Vitas even appeared there).
But unlike “The lion king"," Beauty and the Beast "and other live-action-remakes, the authors of" Mulan "decided to make a serious correction for new times and Chinese rental, and therefore some of the characters and storylines were simply allowed under the knife.
Even at the production stage, many were outraged by the statement that the film would not include the funny Mushu, who helped the heroine. The fact is that in Chinese culture dragons are majestic creatures and comical behavior is not inherent in them. Moreover, the name of the character was given the most stereotypical - in honor of the dish that is prepared in Asian restaurants in the United States.
Film director Nicky Caro statesThe new ‘Mulan’: What’s different in Disney’s live ‑ action remake (from no Mushu to more hair)?that such changes are due to the "earthiness" of the action, that is, the desire to show the historical thriller, and not a familiar funny tale. Apparently, for the same reason, a lot of jokes related to secondary characters and musical numbers were removed. If such scenes were quite suitable for the game "Aladdin", then in the story of the war they would be out of the plot.
At the same time, the heroine's love line was also cut out. After all, the whole development of Mulan should not be reduced only to the fact that in the final she will find a groom.
Illegal innovations
If you think about it, such changes seem quite reasonable: both times and the genre itself have become different. Indeed, even in the mentioned "Aladdin" Jasmine made more independent and a strong character.
The trouble is that, having got rid of the supposedly superfluous components, the creators of the new Mulan did not bother to fill in the holes that had formed. Instead of Mush, the Phoenix bird helps the heroine. But she just flickers several times in the background, indicating the direction. That is, the clichéd but motivated hero was replaced by the banal "god from the machine" who appears as needed.
Likewise, the rejection of comic scenes killed the entire development of Mulan's associates. In the cartoon, they even defeated enemies in the finale with cunning and wit, disguised as women. But not wanting to offend anyone, the new version turns them into tough fighters, although they did not show special abilities before.
Their significance in the plot also seems to be a reference to the national idea of China: not only the main character is important, but also her entire environment. But Mulan was an outstanding warrior from the very beginning, and the others caught up with her suddenly, just out of necessity for action. And the best fighter in the end is the Emperor himself. After all, who can be stronger than the ruler of the country? This idea is definitely not close to the Americans with their fierce criticism of the president, but it suits China so.
And the most unnecessary thing that was added to the plot is the abundance of talk about the dangers of patriarchy and the search a woman its place. Not because of the theme, it just fits perfectly with Mulan's ideas. Simply because they did it in the most rude way, in the form of vulgar cliches.
The cartoon managed to look like a completely feminist story without such stereotypes: the girl proved that she could be cooler than any soldier and also wants to defend her homeland. And the manifestations of patriarchal culture were turned into comic scenes.
But 2020 Mulan takes the social theme as seriously as it is inept. And at a certain point, even the villainess turns out to be not so bad. It's just that a woman has no place in this culture, so she went to kill everyone.
Fake seriousness
An even bigger problem with the film is that the realism that Nicky Caro claims is sheer deception. Formally, the authors refuse dragons and magic, but they introduce qi energy. This is a classic concept in Chinese culture. But in "Mulan" he is turned into a kind of superpower. And in the end, the plot looks even more magical and implausible than if dragons appeared in it.
Not only that, the change spoils Mulan's motivation. The heroine achieves everything not by her own efforts, but simply because she has abilities since childhood. And even in the battle in which in the cartoon she defeated enemies with courage and resourcefulness, now the same qi helps her.
There is no question of any gloominess at all. The film's children's rating does not allow for cruelty or murder. The battles look theatrical without causing any serious worries. At the same time, the heroes with might and main catch flying arrows with their hands, run along the walls and even fly a little.
They try to replace realism with pathos. Therefore, right in the middle of the fight, Mulan flaunts across the field with her hair down, even on horseback, even on foot. It looks beautiful, but still it is impossible to believe in the plausibility of what is happening.
Mediocre action movie
Giving up fabulous entourage, the film tries to use the style of classic Chinese action films of the Wuxia genre. Only it turns out somehow false, as if the authors did not even understand what exactly needs to be copied. "Mulan" simply snatches the most catchy elements from the traditional style in pieces and mixes them with each other.
Some, like the use of canvases during combat, look pretty. But the acrobatic sketches on horseback are more like a circus show. The final fight on the scaffolding turns into the apotheosis of a cliché of Chinese action movies.
The desire to surprise with complex filming more tiresome than happy. During the first attack, several villains run up the wall, and the camera turns to the side. This move seems clever. But then the picture tilts or flips with unenviable regularity for no reason.
They try to convey the dynamics during action scenes using quick editing. And in fact, they just finely chop each action even where it is not needed. The other extreme is the abundance of scenes in slow-mo with the participation of the main character. It seems that someone liked the way her hair fluttered during battles too much, and they decided to show it in every fight.
Even the background and decorations look too fake. Besides, Disney has definitely invested in the development of the film. But here, it seems, the desire to please everyone again intervened: the entourage seems to be leaning towards theatricality. But Mulan is being promoted as a Hollywood blockbuster for the whole world. And in the end, the landscapes seem too fabulous for historical picture and flat for fantasy.
Of course, it cannot be said that Mulan completely fails in large-scale scenes. But they look too catchy, bright and oversaturated with strange movements. As a result, the film does not give the impression of a classic wuxia, but of a Bollywood action movie with its almost comical grotesque.
And in the end, invite the main star of the screen oriental martial arts Donnie Yen and not giving him a single action scene is too weird.
Obviously, the desire of the authors to interest both fans of the Disney cartoon, and fans of historical action films, and those who follow modern trends, played only to the detriment.
Mulan picks out the brightest details from each component, but cannot connect them with each other. Therefore, the plot randomly jumps from fiction to feminism, and from personal history to chaotic action. It is very difficult to get pleasure from such a heap, and the film does not even seem to be a bad remake, but simply a fake.
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