Mulan

A young woman poses as a man to join the Imperial Chinese Army's fight against fearsome invaders, but her subterfuge brings the risk of exposure and shame for her family, in Disney's engrossing live-action adventure. The approach is more serious than in the studio's 1998 animated version of the story (there's no wisecracking mini-dragon sidekick for starters), and an equal-rights agenda adds to the gravitas. Kiwi director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) takes her cinematic cues from Zhang Yimou's noted wuxia epics Hero and House of Flying Daggers, replicating their intoxicating blend of exquisite historical Chinese visuals and inventive CGI-assisted action. To deliver this within a family-friendly package is no mean feat, and credit should go to Yifei Liu, who gives a vulnerable-yet-dashing central turn as Mulan, while Gong Li adds complexity as an outcast sorceress. Perhaps a smidgen more humour wouldn't have gone amiss, but this is imaginative, eye-popping cinema, winningly open to the riches of Chinese culture and stirring in its feminist engagement.