Hero Review
by David N. Butterworth (dnb AT dca DOT net)September 7th, 2004
HERO
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2004 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
The Chinese film "Hero" ("Ying Xiong"), the most expensive ever made in that country, washes up upon these shores amid a flood of fairytale controversy. The original version of this 2002 film has been available on import DVD for some time, but only now are moviegoers able to see the version Miramax is releasing to theaters (uncut at the bequest of Quentin Tarantino, who's been given a presenter credit for his troubles).
The film's fascistic message that individuals' rights should be sacrificed for the good of "the people" has resulted in comparisons between the film's director Zhang Yimou ("Raise the Red Lantern") and Leni Riefenstahl, a principal of Hitler's propaganda machine (see: "Triumph of the Will"), and it's an ardent belief that's likely to polarize audiences depending on their politics: you'll either denounce the film as a "manifesto of evil" along with the vocal minority or, like most everyone else, applaud it for everything *but* its political viewpoint.
I fall into the latter camp, finding much to enjoy in this beautiful, affecting motion picture. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Ang Lee's crossover hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hero" also features spectacular "wire-fu" action sequences in which martial artists are literally elevated to a higher level, possessing the ability to float, hover, and spiral in midair with miraculous ease.
Set 2000 years ago in pre-unified China, "Hero" tells the tale of a master swordsman with no name (played by Jet Li) who is summoned to the grand palace of the King of Qin (Chen Daoming) to be rewarded for dispatching three legendary assassins known as Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. The film deploys the oft-used flashback technique to illustrate just how "Nameless" succeeded in his task and that's where the film gets interesting, because in each telling of the tale (the warrior's version, the King's interpretation of what he believed happened, and what actually happened) different "realities" are offered up as truth. Each time we're given more information, more possibilities of the truth, and what initially starts out an open and shut case with no surprises (the three assassins are dead, after all) slowly becomes a fascinating "Rashômon"-like exercise in the corruptible art of storytelling.
Nameless is a laconic, silent type but, it turns out, "Hero" isn't really about him. It's about the relationship between Broken Sword and Flying Snow (played by Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung, previously paired in Wong Kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love") and to a lesser extent Long Sky (Donnie Yen), whom Nameless engages in a spectacular rainstorm.
Director Zhang's relatively straightforward story is given added depth by gorgeous cinematography (our principals' costumes forever complement the changing topography), stylish action sequences (in which, like "Crouching Tiger," the women give as good as they get--that film's Zhang Ziyi plays Broken Sword's dutiful attendant Moon), and a moving score by Tan Dun that reprises his excellent work on Ang Lee's film (with Itzhak Perlman's fiddling standing in for Yo-Yo Ma's cello solos). And then there's the wind, a billowing, ever-present force that ruffles draperies and garments with an exacting consistency.
Its authoritarian political message aside, "Hero" is a sensuous journey in which some beautiful people make some beautiful, breathtaking moves.
--
David N. Butterworth
[email protected]
Got beef? Visit "La Movie Boeuf"
online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
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.
