Fearless

Jet Li's Frearless is a tale of redemption of a young up-and-coming Kung Fu master. We find the main character growing up in a competitive culture of fighters to see who can be the best fighter in the land. His rise to the top made him very prideful and foolish. At the top of his fame, he kills a rival master. Consequently his whole family is kill by the opposing side. Our hero retreats into the country side where he morns the death of the ones he truely loved. During this time he is taught by simple rice farmers the virtues of patience and self-control, which he takes back to his home region to regain his honor as Kung Fu master. He eventually forms the Jingwu Sports Federation and is challenged by Foreign Chamber of Commerce to see who is the best fighter in the world. Even though this fight will kill him, his virtues still prevailed in the end, making him the best fighter in the world.

This movie is stunning to watch. The camera captures the fluidity of the fighting along with the intensity and skill of the fighting. What we gather from just simply watching the film is a very up-close view of Kung Fu and how the fighters fought.  Also color is an important visual trope in this film. The first half of the film, though there is color, it is not vibrant at all. In fact I will argue that this was a careful choosing of the film makers to show the redemption process through out the main character's life. This is true when he is living and working in the village. The country side is much brighter and vibrant than the city, which gives the audience a inclination that there is some sort of change that will happen during his stay.

Another important visual trope in this film is the blindness of his caretaker. She was blind at birth but I know this shows a very definite truth in this film. Even though she was blind, she knew more about living and the values of life than our hero. We realize that our hero is the one who is truly blind and eventually regains his sight on what is important and what is the value of Kung Fu.

This movie is a wonderful example that Kung Fu is more than just a fighting style, is a disposition on life. Fighting is the expression of the discipline and self control of Kung Fu. This powerful film of redemption is a modern way of capturing the true essence of what particular fighting styles are for.