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  • Everything Everywhere All at Once is a remarkable movie 

  • Densely packed with comedy, action, and drama

  • It is a grand multiversal adventure

  • And also an intimate familial story

  • In the film, an ordinary working-class mother

  • Is tasked to save the world from being destroyed

  • To do that, she must channel the talents

  • From different versions of her across the multiverse

  • From a sign spinner

  • To a kung fu superstar

  • And, in the role of the multi-dimensional mom

  • Is the heart and soul of this movie

  • The legendary Michelle Yeoh

  • One of the trinity of 90s kung fu stars

  • But did you know, Everything Everywhere

  • Was originally meant to be a Jackie Chan movie?

  • From its humor to its fighting style

  • You can definitely see how that would work

  • But I think we can all agree that

  • Michelle is the superior choice

  • Because in most movies, Jackie is just acting as himself 

  • "Jackie, kick it"

  • "Jackie again?"

  • Michelle Yeoh, on the other hand

  • Is an actress of thousand faces

  • She was a Bond girl

  • A politician

  • A geisha

  • And many more

  • Sometimes, her characters are so different from each other 

  • You can barely recognize her

  • Heck, she's in the MCU

  • Twice

  • That's why we all love her in the role

  • There's no other actress who embodies the multiversal kung fu mom

  • Better than Michelle Yeoh

  • Today, let's take a look at the career of this living legend 

  • An actress whose career looks crazier

  • Than the multiverse movie she acted in

  • This is the thousand faces

  • Of Michelle Yeoh

  • [The Thousand Faces of Michelle Yeoh]

  • [Chapter One]

  • This is Michelle's first acting gig

  • A commercial with Jackie Chan

  • She entered the film industry as a pageant queen

  • Which means she was already typecasted as a pretty woman

  • Just like most women in action cinema at the time

  • Michelle was aware of that 

  • And actively requested to be in fights, just like the men

  • "We should get the equal opportunity to be where they are

  • "Or get to where they are"

  • Luckily, the then newly formed D&B films needed something new 

  • To set their films apart from the competition

  • So, they cast two newbies:  

  • Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock

  • And began producing a female lead modern action film

  • Yes, Madame

  • With her background in dancing and sports 

  • Michelle proves to others that she can not only do it 

  • She can do it better than most

  • That is her, doing the stunts

  • The film caught the audience off guard

  • With slick actions performed by not one but two women

  • What a statement

  • But that's enough about the action 

  • Let's, instead, take a look at Michelle's character

  • In the film, she plays a cocky police inspector 

  • "I cut my hair short"

  • "I was tan"

  • This is her first starring role, 2 years after her pageant victory 

  • And she already looked nothing like her commercial appearance 

  • She was in her 20s, and she was already a chameleon actress

  • Yes, Madam was a great success 

  • Launching the career of both its starring actresses

  • Michelle would continue working with D&B films

  • Starring in 3 more movies

  • Rocking the same short hair look in Royal Warriors

  • And Magnificent Warriors

  • From beauty queen to inspector 

  • From ballet dancer toGatling gun-wielding badass 

  • Even this early in her career

  • Michelle actively fought against stereotypes

  • And prove to the world that she can be whoever she wants

  • This, however, could've been Michelle's entire career 

  • Back then, it was common practice

  • For Hong Kong actresses to get famous in the industry

  • Retire early, marry young, and have children

  • Michelle Yeoh was no exception

  • She married the head of D&B films in 1987

  • And would retire from acting

  • But as we all know, that's far from the end of the story

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  • [Chapter Two]

  • In 1991, 4 years after their marriage

  • Michelle Yeoh and her  then-husband officially divorced

  • The reason was never disclosed

  • But that's not important to us anyway

  • Michelle immediately returned to acting

  • Both as a form of distraction and as her passion

  • Having previously worked with Stanley Tong

  • Michelle was invited to be in the next Jackie Chan movie

  • And that movie is none other than the biggest movie of that year

  • Police Story 3

  • "Personally, it was a very important movie at that time

  • "Because I had 'retired' from the film business for about 4 years

  • "Police Story 3: Super Cop was my first comeback"

  • Michelle stars as inspector Yang 

  • A Mainland Chinese police officer

  • Who goes undercover to bust a drug cartel

  • Instead of the feisty young woman persona

  • Michelle looks much closer to her signature look today

  • An imposing lioness, not to be trifled with

  • Yet underneath her stoic look

  • She's also a bit of a prankster

  • When she sets up Jackie to be beaten up by her soldiers 

  • From this smile, you can tell there's a devious heart 

  • Underneath her no-nonsense appearance

  • Up until this point

  • None of Michelle's roles demand much dramatic acting

  • But you can still see her talent shines through

  • Even in small details

  • Behind the scenes, Michelle also deserves much respect 

  • She continued doing a lot of stunts

  • Bigger, better, and more dangerous than ever

  • The film propels Michelle's career to a new height

  • She went from a retired B-list action star

  • To the highest paying actress in Hong Kong

  • An S-tier icon, right next to Jackie and Jet Li

  • For the next decade, Michelle would star in a wave

  • Of female lead action films

  • In Heroic Trio, she teamed up with Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui 

  • To fight against imperial loyalists

  • And the film is every bit as awesome as it sounds

  • In Holy Weapon

  • Michelle is one of the seven maidens

  • Who fight against Japanese pirates

  • Yes, they are all female team-up movies

  • These films put a very strong emphasis

  • On the power of femininity

  • Which is another thing Michelle pushed for

  • From her first starring role

  • Michelle made it clear that she wants to be strong as a woman

  • Instead of a woman posing as a man

  • "I don't want to look like [a muscle man]"

  • "She has to maintain a sense of femininity"

  • Michelle's fight changed the landscape of Hong Kong cinema

  • And gave other actresses a much wider range of roles to play with

  • By the mid-90s 

  • Michelle had been in a wide variety of roles with different looks

  • Their personalities, however, don't differ greatly

  • They are all the same confident kung fu fighting warriors

  • It's not very challenging

  • Which clearly is not how Michelle Yeoh lives her life

  • So, Michelle would expand beyond kung fu movies

  • And begin acting in more dramatic roles

  • In Ah Kam 

  • Michelle plays a Mainland Chinese martial artist

  • Who seeks a career as a stunt double in Hong Kong

  • With director Ann Hui at the helm

  • Michelle was given a lot more room to play with her characters

  • And you can definitely tell

  • In this scene, she approaches Sammo for her first stunt job 

  • Rather than her usual confident and arrogant attitude 

  • Michelle is a fish out of water

  • Look at her hands

  • She's nervous but excited

  • And there's a naive innocence behind her demeanor

  • You can see what kind the person she is

  • Before she left the Mainland for Hong Kong

  • The Soong Sisters is another high profile drama she starred in 

  • In this historical drama 

  • Michelle plays the eldest sister of an influential family 

  • Who helped established the Republic

  • And later, the People's Republic of China

  • From a loving yet stern lady of the family

  • To the leader of a political movement

  • To an aging woman leading the fight against the Japanese invasion

  • For the first time, Michelle proves herself as a competent

  • If not an excellent drama actor

  • With or without action

  • Her career in action and drama would collide 

  • In her most career-defining role so far

  • In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

  • What can be said about this movie that hasn't been said before?

  • Let's put it this way

  • For this movie, Michelle has to learn proper Mandarin

  • Perform wire works

  • Fight with no less than four different weapons

  • And acting alongside the legendary Chow Yun-fat

  • It was a very demanding film

  • But we all saw that movie

  • And we can all agree that Michelle Yeoh pulled it off

  • Like no one else can

  • Michelle plays a peasant-class warrior woman

  • Who's too bounded by traditional Chinese morality

  • And struggles to face and express her own desire

  • This reserved, and cold demeanor

  • Is her most understated performance yet

  • Look at this moment, where her love confesses to her 

  • See that subtle smile, see how happy she is 

  • But then self-doubt, shame, and fear begin to appear as well

  • Her smile changed back to a polite one, a fake one

  • A battle unfolded in her heart

  • All expressed through her subtle and masterful acting

  • Crouching Tiger's success made a name for Michelle

  • On the international stage

  • People around the world saw her versatility

  • Naturally, she'd be the next global sensation

  • [Chapter Three

  • It was the mid-90s, and the world was caught by the kung fu mania 

  • Hong Kong filmmakers were bringing the art overseas 

  • And the Matrix would cap off the decade by revolutionizing the industry 

  • Naturally, the next Bond film will have to have some kung fu, too

  • Barbara Broccoli, who produced

  • Every single Bond movie since GoldenEye

  • Pushed for stronger female  characters in the franchise

  • And for Tomorrow Never Dies

  • They wanted someone who can be Bond's equal

  • And who else can equal Bond in terms of badassery

  • Other than Michelle Yeoh?

  • I remember watching this movie on TV as a kid

  • (And yes, I watched Bond movies as a kid)

  • I was absolutely mesmerized by Michelle Yeoh's aura

  • It's actually pretty rare to see Michelle

  • Playing a traditionally sexy female character

  • But she pulled it off effortlessly

  • Yet, she also appears in action-appropriate attires

  • Functional clothes like a pair of sneakers 

  • You mean she doesn't fight in heels?!

  • It's almost like she's not just there to look good

  • While not the most beloved Bond film 

  • I think Michelle Yeoh's performance did leave a legacy 

  • To this day, Michelle is seen as this glamourous ass-kicker 

  • And this is likely the film that introduced the archetype into her career

  • Post-Crouching Tiger, Michelle's acting talent

  • Would be recognized worldwide

  • As a result, Michelle's post-Hong Kong career

  • Is quite a bit more colorful and varied

  • She'd play a famous geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha 

  • And makes one of the most memorable film entrances of her career 

  • Even just from her upper body movement

  • You can see she walks like a trained geisha

  • She talks and smiles

  • A raise of an eye brow from her is both flirtatious and dangerous

  • It conveys so much history about her character's life

  • Yet, it all comes out through such small details

  • "I see the character as a real person"

  • "Who needs to have real emotions, a path"

  • One of her more iconic portrayals, however

  • Comes from an unexpected place

  • "You will never be enough

  • "Everybody loves the line whensaid 'you will never be enough'" 

  • "Everybody's always very scared when I say that"

  • "Jon Chu said 'you terrified me'"

  • I agree

  • In Crazy Rich Asians, Michelle plays the matriarch

  • Of an extremely wealthy family

  • She's fiercely devoted to her family

  • And very much a conservative woman

  • Despite playing yet another high society woman

  • The difference between this and her previous roles Is night and day

  • You can tell she's not the type of woman

  • Who puts her emotions on display

  • Yet, you can easily read her emotions, like her disapproval

  • Just the way she walks exhibits a different type of elegance 

  • A different type of confidence

  • A different type of danger

  • This Michelle knows she can control you

  • This Michelle is already in control

  • The nuance she brings to these characters is subtle, yet visceral 

  • I struggle to describe it with words

  • But I'm sure we can all feel it

  • Michelle Yeoh would play an important supporting role in Shang-Chi

  • As the loving warrior aunty

  • Another matriarch, yet much kinder

  • Although nevertheless stern

  • It's nice to see Michelle getting to fight on screen again

  • And with that

  • We've come to Everything Everywhere All at Once

  • [Conclusion

  • In the film Everything Everywhere All at Once

  • Michelle plays an ordinary working-class mother

  • Who's tasked to save the world from being destroyed

  • While the character in the film has to channel her abilities 

  • From the multiverse 

  • The Michelle Yeoh I know of only needs to look into her acting career 

  • To find a multiverse worth of lives, experiences, and talents

  • Look at all these characters

  • You can barely tell they are the same person

  • For her entire career

  • Michelle has been fighting on and off-screen

  • To break away from any and all roles that would confine her

  • She's ever-changing, constantly evolving 

  • And it is the reason why Everything Everywhere

  • Can only truly work as a Michelle Yeoh movie

  • It's kinda crazy to think that Michelle's career has yet to reach the top 

  • She'll be in at least 5 different movies in 2022

  • And with her recent success 

  • Surely she'll bring in even more iconic roles in the future

  • And that's great news

  • Because with Michelle

  • You have no idea what she's going to bring

  • A martial arts folk hero?

  • A terrifying mother-in-law?

  • A Mainland Chinese officer?

  • A Bond girl?

  • Or all of that, in the same movie?

  • Whatever it is 

  • You just know Michelle will fight tooth and nail

  • To make it the best, most exciting thing ever

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楊紫瓊的千面(The Thousand Faces of Michelle Yeoh | Video Essay)

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    韜光 發佈於 2022 年 05 月 27 日
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