I accidentally watched the nearly two-and-a-half-hour director's cut version of Fearless by Jet Li in 2006. I was surprised that this was actually a highly completed and excellent movie. It’s just that too many literary dramas and details were deleted when it was released that year, and these literary dramas and details are precisely the place that shines.
First of all, there are a lot of back and forth echoes in the film to reflect the change. The young Huo Yuanjia was full of blood and just wanted to be the first in Tianjin. He and Nong Jinsun stood on the ring and asked, "Did you hear?" Nong Jinsun said, "I can't hear anything." Because the minds and goals of the two were not consistent at that time. And Nong Jinsun disagreed with Huo Yuanjia's approach in his heart.
And many years later, when Huo Yuanjia wanted to establish a Jingwu Gymnastics Club to resist the invaders and carry forward the spirit of martial arts. The two came to the ring again, and Huo Yuanjia asked "Did you hear that?" Nong Jinsun happily replied, "I heard it!" At this time, the goals of the two were finally the same. This also reflects the growth of Fearless's role.
On the other hand, the film has two deleted transitions. Both of these scenes took place in Nong Jinsun's restaurant. The first transition is a male actor playing a female opera role; and the second special is a real actress in the scene. If Huo Yuanjia returned to Tianjin and saw the streets full of foreigners, this is a change in the surrounding environment, then these two transitions are a change in the concept of the masses. Because in the past, women could not perform on stage. So these two transitions are very useful. Unfortunately, the release version was deleted.
Similarly, Fearless's life in the country was almost deleted. The scene is actually the key to Fearless's comprehension. In the village, Huo Yuanjia lived with a cow, but the cow was too old, so he was about to die. But one morning I went to Huo Yuanjia and found that the cow had run into the field. The grandmother in the village then sighed, "Everyone will die, the key is to see if there are any regrets in life. If you can accomplish what you should do, you can die calmly." During this period, Huo Yuanjia still had a fight, yes With a Muay Thai guy in another village. At first he was unwilling to make a move, so he was beaten badly. It was also the grandmother who said distressedly, "Even if you don't want to hurt people, you can't let people hurt you!" It can be said that these two experiences have made Fearless. Knowing the real purpose of his martial arts training, it also laid the groundwork for him to stand up later, prevent his compatriots from being bullied, and finally go to death calmly.
This drama actually incorporates Jet Li’s own thinking about martial arts and even the world. He mentioned in the play that "Martial arts itself has no distinction between high and low, but people who practice martial arts are different. Tea itself has no distinction between superior and inferior. The so-called good tea and bad tea are defined by people. And drinking tea lies in it. The mood, the mood, the so-called good tea or bad tea is not important. And the competition is to compete with oneself." This is also what I think, everything in the world has no distinction between high and low. The so-called high and low are defined by people. , This is not the essence of the world. If everyone is aware of this, there will be no race, gender, discrimination and oppression.
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There is a small detail in the film that touched me a lot. That is, Huo Yuanjia has lived in the country for many years. When he left, he said to the girl who had been taking care of him, "I haven't told you my name for so long. My name is Huo Yuanjia."
I don't know why I was so moved when he said his name. Maybe it's because I feel that he, who has always been evading, finally has the courage to face himself. At that moment, the blind girl Yueci touched his face and said, "I've written it down." There might also be two people's emotions that moved me. At that moment, the appearance of the two was permanently engraved in each other's hearts.
At the end of the film, Huo Yuanjia seems to have returned to the quiet village, and that scene is more like a reunion from another life.
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