Legendary Amazons

Lift head and raise eyebrows imposingly
Don’t be a slave of fate.
Who can confront the Yangs?
How powerful!

Cold moon smiling at frost and snow,
Encourage each other until dawn.
Phoenix born in fires.
Fly high.
Deep yard and high wall,
The wind being heartbroken,

The aroma of love cannot be retained.
Girls in armor,
Fragrance shakes the battlefield.
Forget the mortal feelings.
Endless love spurs me in the battlefield.
Brave heart fears no ups and downs of life.
Lift head and raise eyebrow imposingly.

Don’t be a slave of fate.

Who can confront the Yangs?
How powerful!

Synopsis:
The mothers, aunts and grandmothers of the Yang family are all eagerly preparing for the celebration of Yang Wentai’s 18th birthday.  The rejoicing is cut short when news arrives that Wentai’s father Zongbao, the only remaining adult male of the Yangs, is missing and presumed dead.  The Emperor sends word that Wentai is to finish his father’s job of driving back the invading army of Western Xia. 

But there is no way the women of the family will allow him to go alone.  The men of the Yang Clan might be dead, but the women will still fight.  From Great Grandmother She Saihua all the way down to Wentai’s sister Yang Jinhua, every woman of the Yang clan sets out for the front lines.  Nothing- not corrupt officials, misinformation, overwhelming numbers of the enemy, lack of reinforcements or a diabolical enemy commander- will stand between them and their duty to China and their family.

On the battlefield, the final destiny of the Yang Family will be decided.

Review:
Late one night several months ago, I was tired but not ready to sleep.  I wanted to watch a movie that wouldn’t require a lot of thought, but would be entertaining.  Flipping through a list of Chinese movies, I settled on Legendary Amazons.  I fell asleep 20 minutes into it, but it was so interesting that the next night I went back to the beginning and watched the whole thing straight through... and fell in love with it.  I have now seen the whole thing three times and watched a few favorite parts more than that.

Set at the time of the Song Dynasty in China, when Western Xia was constantly attacking them, it is the story of the semi-legendary Yang family.  According to tradition, they were a Han family who swore allegiance to Song after Northern Han surrendered to Song.  The patriarch of the family, Yang Ye, had seven sons and two daughters.  His sons fought valiantly for Song, but eventually all were killed, along with him.  His grandson Yang Zongbao also fought for Song, the only Yang to carry the banner after the death of his father, grandfather and uncles.  Now, he too, has been killed.  This movie follows the story of the women of the clan, who refuse to allow the great-grandson to go to battle alone.  All of the women are trained warriors and each has a preferred weapon.

It deals with internal conflicts as well as external.  Wenguang is about to charge off into the middle of the enemy ranks.  His mother usurps the marshal’s banner from him, to save him and the troops under his command.  According to Song law, this is a crime punishable by death and only redeemable by the person defeating the enemy.  The entire family is faced with a wrenching decision- which matters more?  Imperial law... or fighting to save their family and stave off the intruders no matter what the consequences?

There was so much that I loved about this movie.  The storyline was fantastic and well written.  The characters were great.  The overarching themes of family, duty and honor were well interwoven with the narrative.  The romance wasn't cheesy or lame or contrived.   The soundtrack fit the storyline superbly.  The costumes were AMAZING.  The armor each woman wore was stunning and so were the cloaks embroidered to match their mail shirts - a different color for each woman.  The red mourning celebratory gowns were GORGEOUS.  each mail shirt is trimmed in a different color or shade of color.  and the flowers on their cloaks match that hue, making it somewhat easier to keep track of each woman on the battlefield.  The wide range of weapons and fighting techniques the women employed were absolutely fascinating to observe.  Shield formations such as Golden-roof Defending and fighting formations like Serpent Sticks Out Tongue and Crescent Moon Formation.  Weapons and traps as diverse as smoke bombs, hot pepper smoke lanterns, brooms sweeping dust into the wind, flashbangs, and stilts.

This movie is about women stepping up to do a job that needed doing; answering the call of their country when they were the only ones left, and doing it magnificently.  What's not to love?

Favorite Scenes:
When father, mother, and son unite against the enemy general.

In the tents after the battles, when they are plotting strategy and Taijun is handing out the orders.

As each female warrior is killed, her name is called out, proving that the Yang women know their warriors well and care about each of them.  




Characters:
This might grow rather long but I want to list most of the main and secondary characters because it can be hard to keep them all straight and when I was watching, I wished there had been a guide.

Taijun (She Saihua) - matriarch of the clan, Yang Ye’s widow, Yanzhao's mother, carries Dragon-Headed Cane
Yang Zongbao - son of Yang Yanzhao and Liuniang, general of Song
Mu Guying - wife of Zongbao, mother of Wenguang and Jinhua -
Yang Wenguang - son of Zongbao and Mu Guying
Yang Jinhua - daughter of Zongbao and Mu Guying - wields a spear
Daniang (Zhou Yunjing) - widow of Taijun's first son - double head spear
Zou Erniang (Zou Lanxiu) - first widow of Taijun's second son - curling dragon bagua broadsword
Geng Erniang (Geng Jinhua) - second widow of Taijun's second son - double hooks
Sanniang (Dong Yue’e) - widow of Taijun's third son - Divine Bow
Siniang (Meng Jinbang) -widow of Taijun's fourth son - Double Hammers
Wuniang (Ma Saiying) - widow of Taijun's fifth son - double iron staffs
Liuniang (Chai Qingyun) - widow of Taijun's sixth son - heart penetrating needle
Qiniang (Huyan Chijin) - widow of Taijun's seventh son - double hand broadsword
Bajie (Yang Yanqi) - Taijun and Yang Ye's oldest daughter - longquan sword
Jiumei (Yang Yanying) - Taijun and YangYe's second daughter - Qixing Sword
Yang Paifeng - servant raised as an adopted daughter of the Yangs
Yin Qi - general of Western Xia, in charge of the invading army
Wang Qiang - corrupt official of Song
Little Bean - nomad girl who rescues Wenguang

Favorite characters:
Yang Paifeng - for her fierce loyalty, her stout heart, and her determination
Mu Guying - she was strong and held unswervingly to her love for Zongbao as well as her moral code
Taijun - because of her wisdom and sense as well as courage
Jinhua - she was spunky and hilarious

Favorite Quotes:
~ We are the Yangs' female soldiers.  Never say die until the last minute!

~ Trifling matters rely on public discussion while important matters are dealt with alone.

~ If I cannot live together with you, I’d rather die together with you on the battlefield

~ The Yang family generals are coming to take your life!

~ We also are the citizens of Song!

~ Betrayer!  I will not spare you!
~ It is our Yang family that will not spare YOU.

~ So long as the war-drum doesn’t stop, the yang’s heartbeat will continue to sound on every battlefield.

~ Not everyone has the opportunity to sacrifice family happiness to protect the nation.

 

Warnings:
It’s a movie about war and battles so there is the usual battlefield violence and blood.  No sexual content.  No unnecessary gore.  A beheading that's not very graphic.  PG-13.

Conclusion:
I highly recommend this movie.  It's good clean fun, some history thrown in, and an all around fantastic experience.  If you like good stories about family or war or both; wuxia history movies or Chinese movies, definitely watch this one.

Before this movie, I knew nothing about the Yang family.  Now, I’ve practically memorized everyone’s names and as the Empress can tell you, once I get started talking about them, I can go on for hours.  I will forever thank Legendary Amazons for having introduced me to this wonderful body of Chinese legends.

 

Smoke pops up in the desert.  

Flute sounds remote.  

Cover one thousand miles in the front line.  

Red sleeves dance with golden spear.  

Love for home, hatred for enemy.  

Tears pour down.  

Serve the country and kill invaders.  

Love is deep and tender.  

Heroine buried in sand.