AKA: Hua Mulan
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Summary:
Mulan follows the Chinese folktale of Hua Mulan (Zhao Wei), about a young woman who dresses as a man to fight in the war in place of her father. At the start of the film, Mulan lives with her aging father, a former soldier for the Northern Wei dynasty. One day, envoys from the emperor arrive, announcing that an army is being mustered to fight off an invasion by the nomadic Rouran. As her father prepares to again go to war, Mulan, in the middle of the night, takes his armor and his sword and takes his place.
In camp, she meets and befriends several other soldiers, including Xiaohu (Jaycee Chan), a fellow villager who recognizes Mulan but promises to keep her gender a secret. She also meets Wentai (Chen Kun), an officer who takes a liking to the young soldier. Mulan's identity is at jeopardy, however, when Mulan admits to stealing a jade pendant owned by another soldier to avoid participating in a strip search. Scheduled for execution, she is only saved when Wentai loosens her binds during a surprise attack by Rouran. Rather than escaping, Mulan proves her bravery when she turns the tide of battle by killing the enemy general. Mulan's exploits are rewarded and she and Wentai are promoted through the ranks of the army, eventually reaching the status of general. Despite their victories, Wentai realizes that Mulan is still too emotionally attached to both himself and to her men, and fakes his death after suffering an ambush by the Rouran. Hiding in the medical tent, Wentai watches as Mulan first falls into deep despair before eventually overcoming her grief to become one of the emperor's finest generals.
After twelve years of fighting, the Rouran is near a breaking point. The foster son of the Rouran Dayan, Mendu (Hu Jun) nevertheless still thirsts for power and kills his less ambitious father to take the Rouran crown. Gathering an army of 200,000, he invades the Wei heartland once more. In response, Mulan develops a plan that will trap and eventually destroy the invasion, despite the Rouran superiority in men and supplies. She is give command of 20,000 soldiers and wins an early victory before retreat to a canyon. Awaiting support from the commander in chief of the Wei forces, she eventually finds herself betrayed by her superior when no supplies and no support is forthcoming. With an army slowly dying from thirst and wounds, Mulan prepares for a martyr's death when Wentai reveals himself to the Rouran as a prince of Wei, and offers himself in exchange for the safety of Mulan and her soldiers.
As Mulan’s soldiers retreat, she disguises herself as a Rouran soldier and sneaks into their camp. Mulan confronts Rouran princess who dreams of peace between the Wei and the Rouran tribes. She convinces the Rouran princess to aid her, and the two and Gude (Vitas) assassinate Mendu and rescue Wentai. Mulan returns to the Wei capital where she at last reveals herself as a woman and not a man. The Wei emperor nevertheless rewards her and announces that his son, Weitai, will marry the Rouran princess to bring peace to the lands. Mulan asks only to return to her native village. Later, Wentai pays a visit to Mulan’s village and asks her to elope with him. Mulan, however, convinces Wentai the necessity of sacrificing for their country. Understanding this, Wentai sadly leaves the village.
