Just because a story is important doesn’t mean that it makes for an interesting feature film.
What They Say:
From director Herman Yau (The Legend Is Born – Ip Man) comes the thrilling story of one woman who dared to fight for her ideals even in the face of certain death. Filled with intense scenes of martial arts action, The Woman Knight Of Mirror Lake burns with the fires of revolution.
In late 19th century China, Qui Jin was many things: a defiant rebel armed with both blades and guns; a paramilitary leader dedicated to overthrowing an unjust government; a non-conformist who boldly donned men’s attire in spite of tradition; a radical poet whose words inspired the oppressed; a heroic martyr whose views on equality altered history. Her steadfast resolve to improve the plight of women and her bravery in the face of tyranny led her to the executioner – but her determination to topple the status quo changed a nation forever.
The Review:
Audio:
The release includes two audio tracks with both the original Mandarin track and an English dub track being presented in 5.1 mixes in Dolby TrueHD. For the purpose of this review the Mandarin track was used and it does a sufficient job of delivering its materials as the front speakers carry the majority of the burden while the back speakers get some at appropriate times though at a rather more subdued level at times that seems warranted. The track does what it needs to in presenting all the various elements such as dialogue, music and whatever background/effect music may be needed free of drop outs or distortions and without having things be covered up by some other part that is being used at the same time though the full surround idea doesn’t seem to be as high on this feature as some other films use.
Video:
Originally premiering in Chinese theaters in 2011, the feature is presented in 1.78:1 ratio in 1080p using the AVC codec. The film itself presents with a fine layer of noise being noticeable only when looking rather closely while sitting in close proximity to a large screen while the film stock used presents some minor print imperfections (pops) in addition to having points where the film’s grain seems to shift in the level of presence somewhat in some shots of varying lengths at times. Additionally there is a moment of shimmer present on some rods which possibly could have been from the source/construction of the rods material and some minor moiré is on display with one particular clothing pattern. Overall though the presentation is sharp in its display and colors come across strongly with no issues being present in either the quieter and more static moments or the films more energetic action moments.
Packaging:
The release for this feature comes packaged in a two disc eco-Blu Ray case with the DVD being on one side and the Blu Ray disc being on the other. The image on the front image uses a close up of its lead actress who is wearing a Western style suit while pointing a gun off to the left with four of the men who play prominent roles being present in costume and grouped together under the image of the gun on the middle left side of the image with the feature’s title being present at the bottom of the image. These characters are then set against a background of an explosion that is mostly earth toned and the image looks like it has rips as if from a film poster at the top and bottom that continue onto the back at an angle that looks to be a far redder hued explosion. The back of the packaging continues the look of the front background as the copy is placed over the earth toned explosion that fades to black at the lower part where there are 5 stills from the feature placed over the copyright and technical information.
The inner part of the cover art features a split poster on the left side that shows characters from the feature with the left side showing characters in more everyday presentation of dress while many of the characters on the right of the split look like they are under considerably more duress and are rather haggard in appearance. This poster also uses the “tear” imagery from the front though vertically this time with the majority of the right side of the inner cover being given over to the same background explosion that appears on the front cover. The discs themselves also use the same explosion image and are nearly identical in their appearance of background and title appearing over the hub with only a small red indicator mentioning of which disc is the DVD and which is the Blu Ray. Additionally the release comes with a slipcover that replicates the cover sleeve and which is embossed to help the image stand out more.
Menu:
The menu for this release uses a standard type of Blu Ray menu feature where the options are present at the bottom of the screen in a bar that runs across the entire length with the top half of the bar being red and with pieces from an explosion like are found on the cover while the bottom of the bar is a light yellow with some red speckles clumped in the middle-right side of the screen and a white “tear” separating the two. The options themselves are listed in the red upper half of the bar in same pale yellow as the bottom with a very large black arrow (almost like a generic house shaped silhouette) indicating which option is highlighted (additionally the option currently inside the arrow turns white to add even more contrast). The menu itself works as a standard popup menu found on Blu Rays that moves in response to the size it needs to grow to fit in its options and while waiting for a selection to be made the majority of the screen uses a variety of (mostly action) scenes from the feature as a melancholy instrumental piece plays. The menu itself is quick to respond to changes in the currently highlighted option and to implement any actions once a selection has been made.
Extras:
There is only one extra present on this release in the form of a 22 minute long “making of” featurette that shows off both some of the work that went into creating some of the scenes as well as showing the filming of certain scenes and the cast preparing for the shoot. This featurette is largely more of a presentation than a guided tour so the audience gets to see some of the pre-edited work which includes seeing the wirework that went into certain scenes as well some outtakes. It isn’t strictly a highlight reel though as it does contain interviews with a couple members of the cast as they talk both about the historical aspects of the film as well as their experiences while making the film.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake adapts the real life story of Qui Jin who was born in China in 1875 and whose legacy includes many writings about her strong convictions in both the area of women’s rights in China as well as her belief that the nation should stand up to the moral decay she saw it sinking into as it bowed before other nations. Her passion was such that she was willing to go to extreme measures in pursuit of her cause, measures which made her an enemy of the state and which lead to her death.
The film itself begins at what is pretty close to the end of her story, at least as far as her being able to actively participate in the change she was so desperate to see brought. It opens with showing the government trying to track down the conspirators who killed one of the providences governors and leaving no stone unturned. From a scene of one bound man being who had been severely beaten being questioned the action shifts to the school he founded as it is raided in force the next day. In the middle of events the students attempt to protect their leader Qui Jin who uses the time they are buying to try to destroy all the evidence that connects the school to their attempts at revolution.
With that as the setup setting the film then begins to use a shifting in time to attempt to show both the dedication of Qui Jin to her cause as well as the events that lead to her becoming a revolutionary. To that end the film works to bring in many of the important events in her life to present to give the viewer a sense of just where her commitment started and how long and deep it ran. Initially it begins when her father allows her to study along with her brother both in academics and the pursuits of swordsmanship and martial arts after as a young child Jin questions him why she needs to undergo the practice of having her feet bound rather than being able to join her brothers in more scholarly pursuits.
She discovers as she grows older though that despite her learning there are still societal limits in place that she can’t completely buck and she finds herself in a marriage to a man who despite his family’s power and ability to get him into government service isn’t anywhere near as committed as her to what she feels the nation needs to be which creates some friction between the two. Qui Jin does luck out though as her writings have made her popular among a number of women, one of who’s sponsorship allows Qui Jin to travel to Japan where she meets Xu Xilin, a young man whose cause she joins as their aims to change society are in agreement. This decision will prove fateful though as the cost of being a member of a revolutionary group carries a high burden as it demands much of its followers and in no small number of cases it asks for the ultimate price when events turn violent.
The story of Qui Jin has become such that (according to the internet resources I found anyway) she has risen to the legend of heroine in China due to the beliefs that she espoused. Unfortunately just because a person’s story can be the source of pride for a nation and important to its development as it exists at a given period in time doesn’t mean that it translates to film well. Part of this may be due to the cultural gap that exists as in China the story may resonate more because the audience will have a basic familiarity with the character but even the mechanics of the film seem to speak of an acknowledgement that bringing the story of a person who for the majority of their life was more a philosopher and writer than active revolutionary creates problems.
To try to solve this the film begins with a major bit of action and danger as the revolutionary fighters come up against the government forces after the fighters commit an assassination and the government sets out to find (and punish) those responsible. While this intro certainly creates a bang it is also a sort of tacit admission that the production team feels the audience needs something to sustain them throughout the frankly less action and more philosophical parts of the feature. And the shame here is that the film does a tremendous job on the action parts as well as showing off Qui Jin’s commitment to her beliefs as she faces the consequences for her decisions but it tries to hide some of the earlier parts where the character should be more developed but isn’t inside these parts the filmmakers know how to do which undercuts the development of Qui Jin as a relatable character in the film incredibly.
With the exception of one really powerful scene for the most part the audience isn’t really connected to the pain that comes with Jin’s decision as it impacts on her life before the government roles in. The non action parts as it were seem to be disconnected almost entirely from the passion that the real life person must have felt as the cut up nature of presenting these back story events with the government inquiry hurt any momentum that might be acquired and capitalized on to try to flesh out the people behind the actions. This winds up being a rather sizable lose for the viewer as at times the potential that Qui Jin has to become a relatable character seems to be lost in presenting how her life ended rather than really demonstrating how she came to that end.
In the final measure though what one seems to get is a story of a powerful figure that has been chiseled away in an attempt to get the tale to fit better into modern filmmaking narratives which the audience will connect with better even if it is at the loss of establishing its core characters. Along those line the film does do the action sequences in a very big and modern way as it uses some spectacular choreography at times with some rather well executed film effects to help back this up (though some of the wirework parts stand out slightly and at a few points the speeding up of the film for effect is just noticeable) but one can’t help leaving the film feeling kind of hollow like somehow the style was emphasized over the substance and that the final product is lesser than the material deserved because of that.
In Summary:
The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake feels at times like a project that was made to highlight an important historical figure but that either doesn’t trust the audience enough to connect with her without a lot of action sequences and thus relies heavily on interspersing her tale with the chaotic actions that marked the end of her life or which is admitting its writers don’t have the ability to really bring out those more humanizing moments. What the movie has is a lot of big and splashy moments that are used to highlight what should be the philosophical or character building points but which serve to overshadow instead of highlighting the process that lead to them. Those looking for some superb action will find a good deal here but there is a hollowness that marks the space where the connection that the lead character should have occupied but which wasn’t developed undercuts the real power that could have been the hallmark of the feature.
Features:
Cantonese Language, English Language, English Subtitles, Making Of
Content Grade: C+
Audio Grade: A-
Video Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B
Released By: FUNimation
Release Date: May 15th, 2012
MSRP: $29.98
Running Time: 115 minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Samsung 50″ Plasma HDTV, Denon AVR-790 Receiver with 5.1 Sony Surround Sound Speakers, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080.
