Of Romance and Heroism - Hua Mulan

I grew up loving Disney's Mulan. A loving daughter, a brave warrior and ultimately meeting and being with her 'prince charming' -Li Zhang. Every little girl and even grown up girls love these kinds of stories - happy endings. Well who wouldn't like a happy ending anyway? 

One of the best movies that I have ever watched is another version of the folktale. A version which could disappoint many, but would give its audience the real sense of what love is. Hua Mulan was released in November 2009 and was nominated for six awards in a prestigious award-giving body in China. So why did I say that it would disappoint many? Because it has a sort of sad ending. But it also has a happy ending because the movie will make the audience realize a lot of things.

Before divulging the differences between the two movies, I would just like to point out the four things that I have found common in both versions. a.) Mulan exemplified familial piety when she disguised as a man to replace her father in serving the army; b.) they both found their love interest in the camp/battlefield; c.) they both have a black horse. 

So what differentiates Hua Mulan from Fa Mulan?

 

1. Hua Mulan's mother died even before her father was called for duty in the army
2. Hua Mulan was not a weakling. She was well-trained in kung fu and had great battle techniques that she even became a general.
3. There was no lizard/dragon - Mushu. Instead there was "Tiger" (according to the subtitles) who was her sidekick.
4. The fourth difference showed how Hua Mulan was an exemplary leader among her troops. Hua Mulan led by example. She protected her troops as much as she could. She loved her troops genuinely that her soldiers were all willing to die protecting her. She was the complete opposite of the Rouran leader who even managed to kill his father just because he wanted to take over the decision-making. This selfishness eventually led to his death when Rourans connived with Mulan in killing Mendu (Rouran leader). 
5. The fifth difference is the greatest difference between the two movies. It is how their love stories ended and how Hua Mulan the Movie, for me, is a better film than the cartoon version.

When Wentai found out the Mulan was a woman, he started protecting her. He had great dreams for her. He wanted Mulan to become a great leader because he saw in her great fighting skills. There was once one time when Mulan had to leave her troops just to see if Wentai's troop was still okay. When she came back to her troops, they found out that they have been attacked by the Rourans (Huns). This incident was the start of the hardships that both Mulan and Wentai had. Wentai felt that Mulan fell in love with him already, and at the same time he has also fallen for her. Wentai had to put on a face and tell Mulan that he wouldn't do the same thing if roles had been switched. 

It was not that Wentai did not want Mulan to know that he loved her, Wentai just wanted Mulan to become a stronger person for herself, for him and for the whole nation. He wanted her to be strong that he even pretended to be killed in battle just to harden Mulan's heart and empty her of emotions. This way, she can fulfill her responsibilities as a general. 

When Mulan was wounded, Wentai cut himself many times to give Mulan his blood since they ran out of water and other medicines. And in order to gain medicines, he turned himself to the Rourans (because he was a real-life prince). 

Mulan being the fighter that she is, dressed up as a Rouran to spy in and know who among the Rourans could be turned into allies in order to free Wentai and ultimately stop the plunders done by the Rourans. In doing so, she found out that the Princess of the the Rourans wanted to be the queen of the Wei people in order for peace to be established between the two nations. Mulan sacrificed her desire to be Wentai's wife just to be able to stop the killings of her 'brothers' and make peace with the Rourans. 

"It is easy for me to sacrifice my life for my nation. But giving up the woman I love is too difficult." -Wentai 

Truly it can be said that this could be one of the most heart-breaking films, but in the end, the movie taught us of love which is not selfish and love which is true. The movie exemplified all kinds of love: filial piety, love of neighbors - love of nation, and romantic love. 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." -   1 Corinthians 13:13