Entertainment: Fearless

***1/2 - Fearless stars Jet Li as Huo Yuan Jia in this movie based on a true story from turn of the century China. As China is being ruled and influenced by outsiders, Huo battles in the arena against the best fighters of their occupiers for Chinese pride. At least that's the story suggested by the commercials, and while that is a great part of the story there is much more to this film.

What this movie is really about has nothing to do with national pride but rather personal salvation and how mastering oneself is a greater and harder task than mastering others. We are first introduced to Huo as a child who has great affection for his father but doesn't understand him. Huo watches as his father is beaten in the arena by a rival and swears to never be defeated in his own life. I didn't fully understand Huo's motivation, as his fathers defeat wasn't particularly embarrassing and no one in his house encouraged Huo's lust for revenge, but I guess Huo was just one of those kids with a little bit too much drive in him for his own good. Even after Huo grows and accomplishes his quest, even beating the son of his fathers rival, it is not enough for him.

Huo indulges himself a little too much, his "students" are nothing but drinking buddies who eventually lead him into trouble; financial, spiritual, even his family is not spared. No one can defeat Huo, but it is those around him who are made to pay for his arrogance. This is not just a martial arts film, it is also a compelling and emotional story and I felt Huo's losses, he suffers a great deal and the director never shies away from his anguish. This is essential because it fuels the second half of Fearless, the redemption of Huo.

While Huo does come back from a self-imposed exile and fight foriegn nationals, he does so more with contrition than with pride. He admits to being a bad father and a bad son, but he also has an inner calm that only seems to come to those who have seen and dealt with their own inner evils. He doesn't fight for personal glory, he is fighting to redeem his lost family and himself.

I didn't find this movie to be particularly deep, but there are some philosophies on fighting that Huo shares which help develop him as a character. He has an interesting conversation with a Japanese fighter before a match about different kinds of tea and why Huo doesn't judge them. He feels that people who judge and rate the quality of tea say more about themselves than they do the tea. Everyone has different tastes, and it's the perception that changes, not the tea. It is the same with martial arts, he doesn't feel one school of art is better than another, only that some practitioners are better than others, and the better ones are the those who are winning the struggle within. The arts merely give you tools with which to conquer the conflict within oneself.

I probably would have liked the film more if there had been a little more subtlety. Even in the fight scenes, which are well done, the use of slow motion photography and special effects are a little detracting. Whenever these two techniques are used it always seems to take something away from the reality of the fight. I think what the human body is capable of is amazing and entertaining enough on their own without needing embellishment. Having said that this film is beautifully filmed and is a pleasure to watch. Whether Huo is engaged in battle or working a rice patty every frame is well thought out and full of color and life.

Even if you're not interested in martial arts films, there is much more here for you to enjoy. The film is well rounded, the story is one worth telling, and the relationships depicted are real and carry emotional weight. While not great, I think this movie could appeal to just about anyone.