Review ~ Fearless (2006) #霍元甲 (#孙俪 #SunLi)

This is #SunLi 's debut film, although by the time she did this film, she's already had a few drama series under her belt.

I actually watched Fearless back in 2006 when it first screened which is why my memory of Fearless was a little hazy till I recently re-watched this for Sun Li's sake.  I thought that I liked this film enough but after watching it a second time, I realized that I probably didn't like it as much as I remembered which is why it's one of the few Jet Li films I have never watched again till recently.  This has nothing to do with Sun Li or even Jet Li.  I think I just didn't like the story that much.

I get what this pretty inaccurate biopic of Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲) is trying to do and say but I don't know if it really works that well.  The fighting scenes were cool but maybe I'm tired of the "man makes massive error → falls into depression and self destructs → only to have his soul saved after he is physically saved by native tribe / simple kindhearted girl / simpler way of living etc → thus finds redemption by the end of the film" type of story-line.  I think the story is pretty simple and kind of cliche to the point that I'm not really bothered about possibly giving any spoilers away because I don't think it's that hard to guess what would happen next. 

Jet Li plays Huo Yuanjia, a brash and arrogant wushu master who only seems to care about proving to everyone around him that he's the best of the best.  One day, he fights and kills a rival wushu master which leads to devastating consequences.  Destroyed, he leaves everything behind in Tianjin before he falls into a river and is saved by some villagers.  While living and working in this village for some time, the villagers and his new simpler way of living will help him heal emotionally and he'll become a changed man.  Sun Li plays Yue Ci (月慈), a blind but cheerful girl who feeds him many nuggets of wisdom that help shape his new way of thinking

Although, there seems to be the beginnings of mutual affection between Huo Yuanjia and Yue Ci, he will leave the village for a reason that seems to be more of a plot device than anything else.  He'll reconcile with his friend and fight a whole bunch more people for the honor of China this time. He'll also talk philosophically about wushu and martial arts and never return to the village again.  Maybe because I've watched a lot of wuxia dramas and films since I was a child and some of what Huo Yuanjia's character says in the latter half of the film isn't new to me, so it didn't make as positive an impact on me as it did for several other reviewers.

I don't mean to make it sound like this film was "meh".  It wasn't.  It's very watchable.  The fight scenes are nicely choreographed, the pacing wasn't bad, the acting is above average for the most part and it tried to give its simple story some soul.  However, it's not a great film by any stretch that's all.

Since I'm writing this guide primarily for Sun Li fans, then I'm giving this 3 stars out of 5 because Sun Li's more than convincing here as an sweet blind girl and there is enough in this film that makes her section worth watching even though her character is underdeveloped and one dimensional.  If you're just watching the film for her sake and you just want to skip to where she first appears, she makes her first appearance at  approximately 54:53 mins into the version of the film I re-watched.

Sun Li's first appearance in the film.

Her screen time is actually quite substantial when compared to quite a few other characters in the film.  The main section where she appears will end at approximately 1:26:18 which makes it about 31 mins of screen time. That's not bad at all.

Yue Ci (Sun Li) watches Huo Yuanjia leave the village

She does appear one more time right at the end of the film.

Sun Li makes another appearance in the scene just before
the end credit roll.

So if you only wish to watch her sections just head right to the end, just before the end credits roll.  That scene starts at approximate time-code 2:15:00 in the film.

Sun Li did a first-class job with the little material that she had to work with, exuding an air of tranquility and optimism quite naturally.  And true to what I have read of her dedication to her craft, she apparently volunteered at a school for the blind in Shanghai as part of her preparation for the role.

This article has a section on Sun Li that fans might find interesting.

"For the pivotal role of Moon in the village sequences, Yu met with hundreds of actresses, but none of them had the inherent quality of serenity that was so essential to the part. But once Yu saw a photo of Sun Li, I knew immediately that we had found our Moon.
While Moon was not the first role for Sun Li who is already a television star in China the young actress was a screen newcomer. Accordingly, she undertook extensive research and preparation to play the blind young woman who helps give Huos life new purpose; the actress volunteered at a school for blind children in her native Shanghai.
Sun Li says, The love that Moon shares with Huo comes from the heart. But, like Wushu itself, their love is about the spiritual experience rather than the physical one."

(Fearless: Jet Li’s Star Vehicle,  Emanuel Levy, 2nd Sept 2006)  

Her efforts were rewarded with wins in the Hundred Flowers Award and the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards and a nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Newcomer. (source: wiki)

For other Reviews of Sun Li's work, please head over to this page. CLICK ME.  I have updated the guide with a short comment on Fearless and there are links to other reviews and comments on her other work as well.