Robert here with news...
With the media saturated with controversy surrounding the portrayal of Asian peoples and cultures in film (The Great Wall staring Matt Damon in theaters this Friday!) here is a piece of interesting news: the live action Mulan film that has been in various stages of development for quite a while has reportedly found its helmer in the form of Whale Rider writer/director Niki Caro...
Caro made a huge splash in the early 2000s with Whale Rider, about a young Maori girl who challenges societal norms by wishing to become chief of her tribe. It went on to garner critical acclaim and a slew of festival awards and nominations, including an Oscar nomination for its star, the at the time thirteen year old Keisha Castle-Hughes. Caro followed up Whale Rider with the very good Charlize Theron starring North Country and then was out of the spotlight until she inexplicably directed 2015's McFarland, USA starring Kevin Costner as a grizzled old baseball coach who teaches Latino youths the power of perseverance through baseball (I'm guessing, I've not yet had the pleasure of laying my eyes upon this film).
Her film trajectory reminds us sadly of fellow one-time indie darling Patty Jenkins of Monster fame: one huge, gigantic hit that is met with a decade of industry silence. We can only speculate why neither of these woman have (thus far) had careers that have matched the promise of their first films, but I'd bet dollars to donuts if they were men they would already have half a dozen studio films and an Oscar nomination a piece between them. Hopefully with Caro's Mulan gig (there's also speculation that she'll be helming Captain Marvel) and Jenkin's Wonder Woman looking to make a major splash these women will start getting the recognition they deserve. It's also worth noting that this makes Caro only the fourth woman to be hired to direct a film with a budget over $100m. Jenkins is also on that list.
All of that being said, Caro coming on board does raise the question: should Mulan have a Chinese director? I do not subscribe to the view that stories of a certain culture can only be presented by people from said culture. On the other hand given the ways in which Hollywood has white washed pretty much all Asian cultures to the point of absurdity throughout its history perhaps a Chinese director – more specifically, a female Chinese director – would have been a more appropriate choice. On the flip side, Caro has shown both with Whale Rider and North Country that she is more than capable of carefully and empathetically exploring the intricacies of cultures that aren't her own.
So my official opinion on this development is ~i t ' s c o m p l i c a t e d~ and The Film Experience looks forward to hearing others, especially those from Chinese communities, weigh in.