''Lady General Hua Mu-lan'' () is a

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

, directed by Yueh Feng, depicting the story of Hua Mulan.

Synopsis

Barbarian hordes had invaded and the border towns were overrun. The call went out for able-bodied men to join the army. Hua Mulan returned home from her hunting to find that her frail father had been summoned. Her brother was too young to enlist, so she volunteered to take her father's place but her parents rejected the idea. Determined to convince her father, she conspired with her cousin and elder sister. Dressed as a man, she sparred with her father. Both astonished and impressed, he gave her his blessings to join the army. With her cousin accompanying her, she joined the ranks of army recruits and managed to impress the General in the recruits martial trials. In the 12 years of fighting, she rose through the ranks and attained the status of general. Through this period, she became fast friends with the group of recruits she was with and General Li. The war eventually drew to a close with an ambush and capture of the barbarian king. The Commanding General of the army threw a celebratory feast, after which, he drew Mulan aside to discuss a matter with her. He was especially impressed with her abilities and character and wished to betroth his daughter to Mulan. Unable to reveal the truth about her identity and reluctant to refuse him outright for fear of offending him, Mulan dodged the issue by pretending to be feeling weak from her wound received in the last battle. A few days later, having officially resigned her post, she took leave of her comrades and returned home with her cousin. The Commanding General, however, had not forgotten the proposal and was determined to have Mulan as a son-in-law and served in the government. He sent General Li with some of her comrades bearing wedding gifts to her home. When they arrived, they were shocked and astonished to find that their courageous and heroic comrade turned out to be a lady. General Li agreed to explain to the Commanding General on Mulan's behalf. Before he left, he exchanged betrothal tokens with Mulan, exhorting her to wait for him.

Cast

Huangmei opera dubbing

* Ivy Ling Po - Hua Mulan * Kiang Hung - General Li

Characters

* Ivy Ling Po as Hua Mulan * Chin Han as General Li * Yang Chi-ching as Master Hua * Chen Yen-yen as Madam Hua * Ching Miao as Commanding General

Festivals and awards

The film was screened at the 11th Asian Film Festival in 1964, awarding Best Actress honors to Ivy Ling Po.

Other adaptations

The story of Hua Mulan is well known in Chinese literature. Another musical adaptation of her story is the 1998 animated Disney film ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

''.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady General Hua Mu-lan Films about Hua Mulan 1964 films Hong Kong films 1960s Mandarin-language films Shaw Brothers Studio films 1964 musical films Cross-dressing in film Huangmei opera films Films set in the Northern and Southern dynasties Films directed by Yueh Feng