Hero Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)September 7th, 2004
"Hero" – How Quick Thy Sword
by Homer Yen
(c) 2004
The martial arts genre is wonderfully transcended by idealism, sacrifice, and romance in director Zhang Yimou's saga of China some 2,000 years ago. The movie is called "Hero," and the lineup of Asian superstars can be considered the "Ocean's Eleven" of Chinese films. Presented in Mandarin with English subtitles, it is the Academy Award-nominated picture for Best Foreign Film in 2002.
The Asian community has probably already seen this, for the pirated copies immediately flooded the DVD market just after its Chinese release while Asian video stores already carry it on its shelves. I saw it last year when a good friend had lent me the DVD. On the 27" TV, the presentation seemed two-dimensional and almost boring. In fact, I couldn't immediately understand what all of the hype was about. But to see this glorious presentation on a full-scale screen versus the small screen is like being at a football game rather than watching it at home. It is a world of difference and merits your time and attention.
The story centers on a stirring conversation between Nameless (Jet Li), an incredibly adept sword fighter and the King of the Qin Province (Chen Dao Ming). Nameless is a man of stoic intensity who has been invited to drink with the King because he had slain several of the King's most hated enemies. The King is curious to know how he accomplished this. Even this opening scene is thrilling, as the drinking ceremony requires Nameless to maintain a distance of 100 paces or be killed instantly by his guards.
We learn that the King is not a benevolent ruler. He dreams of uniting all of China's warring kingdoms under his rule no matter what the cost (as a side note, although ruthless, he did succeed in uniting China as one land, developed a single currency, and created a common language system). Nameless goes on to explain how he vanquished foes such as Long Sky (Donnie Yen) who is the master of the spear, Broken Sword (Tony Leung) whose style of swordplay is betrayed by his calligraphy skills, and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) whose own martial arts skills are not to be underestimated. And with each foe vanquished, a flashback shows their encounter.
The fighting is deft and the choreography is amazing. However, the tension never subsides. Consider one of the first scenes in which Nameless and Long Sky do battle as a blind man plays his zither in the background as counterpoint. These scenes are punctuated with a rare combination balletic grace and dramatic effect. With its lush imagery, overall breadth, and changing color schemes, you'll certainly be hard-pressed to find a film that is as sweepingly beautiful. It is an enchanting and moving piece of work.
The saga of China's nonage is a visually stunning masterpiece that falls just short of perfection. It is only marred by its own structure in which several retellings are presented as the story winds its way towards its ultimate truth. The different points of view, unfortunately, undermine the reality and the passion of some of the relationships. And this causes the characters to fall secondary to the intensity of the cinematography. However, it is a glorious epic production that shouldn't be missed.
Grade: A-
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
