FEARLESS: The Legendary Jet Li

ditulis pada tanggal 24 Pebruari 2008

Title:
Huo Yuan Jia (2006)
a.k.a
Fearless

Director:
Ronnie Yu

Cast:
Jet Li

Plot:

Martial arts legend Huo Yuan Jia became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master's death, members of Huo's family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family's name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier, and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.

Note:

Entah kenapa, akhir-akhir ini gue pingin banget nonton Fearless. Dulu waktu pertama kali beli DVD-nya cuma sekedar pingin punya aja. Tapi beberapa minggu eh beberapa bulan terakhir ini dorongan untuk nonton Fearless semakin kuat. Padahal akhir-akhir ini juga gue baru banyak dapet film-film bagus-bagus hasil donlod dari internet.

Akhirnya setelah ‘tarik-menarik’ dan ‘dorong-mendorong’ gue pasang juga DVD-nya di ruang TV keluarga. Padahal beberapa jam sebelumnya gue baru aja nonton dan nulis review film Hairspray (1988). Progress yang aneh sih kalo diinget-inget lagi.

Sampe sekarang gue masih ngga ngerti sesuatu apa yang bikin gue niat banget nonton Fearless. Terus terang juga sih kalo pas nonton filmnya sempet juga terkantuk-kantuk. Sebenernya film ini cukup dinamis dari segi plot. Gue sempet ngantuk mungkin karena ngga ‘in’ dengan visualisasi China pada masa itu. Kulturnya yg masih belum banyak tersentuh budaya lain, bisa juga bikin gue ngernyit dahi dan ujung-ujungya jadi ngantuk.

Makin ke tengah film, gue sadar bahwa gue lagi nonton film epic. Ekspektasinya ngga bisa standar hiburan aja. Emang sih waktu itu udah malam banget di rumah. Dan gue nonton film ini sendirian.

Kultur China ‘asli’ yang divisualisasikan justru bener-bener menguatkan cerita epic ini. Dan gue baru kali ini nonton film di mana tokoh utamanya digambarkan karakternya berubah dan berbalik total bener-bener 180 derajat. Banyak film Kung Fu Hero yang gue tonton, tokoh utamanya ngalamin ‘from zero to hero’. Tapi di film ini, Huo Yuan Jia digambarkan ‘from hero to HERO’.

Dari sejarah dituliskan bahwa Huo Yuan Jia adalah tokoh ilmu bela diri yang sudah melegenda di China. Master of Masters dan Fighter of Fighters. Dan dalam film ini, semuanya tersampaikan dengan baik. Judul versi English-nya pun sudah menyampaikan semuanya: ‘Fearless’

Legenda dan ‘kemuliaan’ seorang Huo Yuan Jia tervisualisasikan dengan indah namun tetap lugas sebagaimana kultur China adanya.

Di balik film ini ada fakta menarik bahwa seorang Jet Li pernah memerankan sosok guru dan sosok murid dalam 2 film yang berbeda. Tokoh Chen Chen yang diperani Jet Li dalam film Fist of Fury adalah murid langsung dari Huo Yuan Jia.

Dan Jet Li pun ‘melegenda’ dengan memerankan tokoh-tokoh legenda sejarah China dalam film Once Upon A Time in China (Wong Fei Hung), Master of Kung Fu (Fong Say Yuk) dan Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia).