Film Reviews

YING XIONG (HERO)

Let’s get one thing straight, despite having the same production team, Yimou Zhang’s Hero is NOT a rehash of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, it’s by far its superior. Based on a Chinese legend of the warlord Qin, who united the centuries old six warring tribes to create the first Chinese dynasty, it tells the story of a nameless minor official, Jet Li (or more precisely a prefect called Nameless), who is granted unprecedented access to Qin after claiming to have defeated the throne’s three most feared assassins. Whilst recounting his incredible feat Qin casts doubts on the credibility of the tale and offers his own interpretations.

But Hero isn’t a film you watch for the story, you watch it for two reasons, its indescribably stunning cinematography from Christopher Doyle, (The Quiet American, Rabbit Proof Fence) who despite being a native Australian, is a 20 year veteran of Martial arts movies, and its overpowering wushu fight scenes. Like Ang Lee’s masterpiece that introduced the wushu wirework martial arts style to the wider western world Zhang’s Hero likens its fight scenes to dance, a complex pas de deux with swords, indeed, the very art of fighting is assimilated within the film to music with both using “established chords and complex melodies”. Think about it, that’s what we’re all learning. Indeed, the opening set-piece fight between Nameless and the first assassin Sky (Donnie Yen – Blade II) is played out amongst a rain-soaked checkers courtyard and accompanied by an aging blind busker. This is not just a cinematic trick, we train to music, we learn technique and form to the rhythm of the music and the beat of the heart.

With Nameless claiming to have set the other two assassins, the lovers Broken Sword (Tony Leung – Infernal Affairs trilogy) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung – In The Mood For Love) against each other using Broken Sword’s jealousy over his lover’s one night stand with Sky, Hero also teaches us that control is essential and to fight from passion or anger is to weaken our ability to defeat an opponent, in the same way that the perfection of gentile strokes of a paint brush can teach us that control. For those who are studying the sword form it is an invaluable example of the importance of the Secret Sword, whether it be in the autumnal battle amongst falling leaves, the reluctant lake-top revenge duel or the displays of speed and accuracy amongst the rolled tomes of a library, and the en ralenti wirework style allows not only the chance to be inspired but to study the precision and technique that underlines the sumptuous visuality.

And Hero is possibly the most visually stunning film or all time, that is of course until Zhang’s follow-up House Of Flying Daggers is released. He has promised that his current chef d’ouvre is merely a rehearsal.

Oh, and once you’ve seen it you’ll never forget the arrows, you’ll see what I mean.

100 minutes. China 2002.

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