Hero Review
by Andy Keast (arthistoryguy AT aol DOT com)September 28th, 2004
Ying xiong (2002): ***1/2 out of ****
Directed by Zhang Yimou. Screenplay by Zhang, Li Feng and Wang Bin. Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Daoming and Donnie
Yen.
by Andy Keast
Zhang Yimou's 'Ying xiong' is an epic poem of a movie, steeped in Chinese folklore and cycling it's way through violence, mystery, romance, and tragedy.
It is also an eye-popping and at times stirring martial arts film, inhabiting a
millennia-old genre of timeless popularity, *wu xia.* Several of these films are produced every year, though every time I see a good one I feel as if I'm completely new to the genre. A lot of this is due to the directing and the performances, made by actors who project bold human emotions while portraying fearless, invincible heroes.
Depending on the history, the film takes place sometime around 220 BC. The land that will be known as China is divided into warring states and without a ruler. Mightiest of these states is the massive kingdom of Qin, and the film is based on a legend of assassins who attempt to kill Qin's leader (Chen Dao Ming) before their respective kingdoms far under his armies. These assassins make up almost a who's-who of Chinese and Cantonese film stars: Jet Li, the stoic Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, and Zhang Ziyi. The course of events leading up to the assassins' attempt on the King's life is recounted by Li and the king in his throne room in about three-and-a-half different ways. Zhang films each episode in a different color scheme, which works on both symbolic (red - imagination, blue - perceived reality, white - truth, green - enlightenment/peace) and base levels (a good device for audiences to literally keep all the stories straight). If this is sounds all too familiar, know that this is not the first -nor will it be the last- movie to 'borrow' from 'Rashômon.'
This has also been the subject of Zhou Xiaowen's 'Qin song' ('The Emperor's Shadow') and Chen Kaige's 'Jing ke ci qin wang' ('The Emperor and the Assassin'). All three are romantic visions of history, which I always prefer over something that tries for the oxymoron that is 'historical accuracy' (how could one today know with any confidence the events of 2200 years ago?). Give me a fantasy any day. Ying xiong was directed by Zhang Yimou, whose output in the 1990s has turned out to be one the best of that decade, including 'Ju Dou,'
'Da hong deng long gao gao gua' ('Raise the Red Lantern'), 'Qiu Ju da guan si' ('The Story of Qiu Ju'), 'Huozhe' ('To Live') and 'Yao a yao yao dao waipo qiao' ('Shanghai Triad') -I suppose a sign that read *I'm Dating Gong Li* may have been pushing it.
Zhang's use of color in the film is worthy of a separate review altogether: I went in knowing that it had been shot by Australia's great Christopher Doyle, and indeed any review you may read praising 'Ying xiong''s look and design are true: this man does not mess around. As he has done with the work of Wong Kar Wai, and recently with Phillip Noyce's 'Rabbit-Proof Fence' and 'The Quiet American,' he demonstrates his expressionist vision of the world and mastery of
color…and what can I say? It's a beautiful movie.
Ying xiong is also about an enlightenment of sorts that took place in China in that time, and contains a number of Confucian themes. Zhang's directing is strong enough so as to balance the swordplay and the philosophy, infusing his duels with multiple meanings for those who wish to seek them out. Underneath the main story arc lies the Confucian idea that rulers must rule with benevolence and for the good of all people, and there's even a line late in the
film: "The highest ideal for a warrior is to ultimately lay down his sword." This is exemplified in the plight of Broken Sword, played by Tony Leung. He is
my favorite character in the film, and also engages in my favorite duel -one where he and the king leap around the throne room as gigantic green curtains swirl and billow all around them. It's during this scene that Leung finally realizes what must happen in order for them to attain peace in their time.
After the arrival of 'Enter the Dragon' in 1973, martial arts films were for the most part sought out only by devoted fans of the genre and were otherwise not taken seriously by audiences in the United States, whose awareness of the martial arts tradition remains slim (the genre dates back as far as 3rd Century
BC). 2000 saw unprecedented change with the release of Ang Lee's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' -a movie with what American critics thought of as a revisionist approach to wu xia, while in the East it was simply another martial
arts film. Between Lee's film, Tarantino's advocacy for Hong Kong cinema, the 'rediscovery' (though in actuality it is just the discovery) of John Woo's pre-U.S. action films, the success of 'Fa yeung nin wa' and the greater success
of 'Lost in Translation,' the Orient has become the current 'other' of choice for Americans (is there anyone you know who is specifically not excited for '2046'?), the transpacific success of their films unfortunately resting upon their marketability as works of either exotica or exploitation. Whether the same will happen with 'Ying xiong,' which has been marketed to Americans as a high-octane action picture, who can say?
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