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trailer.
Follow Your Heart.
"Hero"
2002 Rating I love great movies. I guess if a movie is
great, people call
it a film to sound all
educated and "in
the know". Like
how smart wine lovers
will make sure they
call it a "bouquet"
instead of
saying "dayum,
that stanks purdy".
I just call them
movies and I watch them
for different reasons. Sometimes, I just want to laugh. It is those
times I watch a non-great movie like "Harold
and Kumar" or any movie with Leslie
Nielsen in it. Other times, I want to see
a great story like I saw in the recent Clint
Eastwood movie, "Gran Torino" or
the wonderful "Shawshank Redemption".
If I feel like being scared (which is not
very often) I will watch a movie like "Hostel"
or anything with clowns in it. If it is a
"Hostel" type movie, I keep my
eyes closed most of the time and if it is
about crazed clowns (like "Killer Clowns
from Outer Space")...well, those are
almost too scary to watch. Sometimes I watch a movie and am in awe of
the art direction or the scenes or the camera
angles. Those are one of my favorite types
of movies since it is like watching a moving
piece of artwork hanging in the Louvre. The
movie "Hero" is one of those. I have to be honest, I really do not like
reading my movies.
Subtitles have always
kinda bothered me,
so I almost stopped
"Hero"
when the little words
started showing up.
I am so glad I decided
to keep watching.
There is something
romantic and mysterious
about the Chinese
language and after
about
10 minutes I was
simply pulled into
the story.
The subtitles were
not even noticed. Hero was released in 2002 and I guess it
can be considered a Chinese martial arts
film along the lines of "Couching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon". It was directed by Zhang
Yimou with unbelievable music by Tan Dun
which is playing now. The story line revolves around a group of
assassins: Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), Broken
Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), and Long Sky
(Donnie Yen), who have sworn to murder the
Emperor of Qin (Chen Daoming) who united
the Middle Kingdom under one rule, unifying
the Chinese language, its weights and measures
system, completing the Great Wall of China
and ushering in the Qin Dynasty of a unified
China. The King of Qin became Qin Shi Huangdi, the
First Emperor of China, a controversial figure
who was said to use extreme violence and
cruelty as he sought to conquer the known
world. Our Hero called Nameless (Jet Li)
comes to the Emperors palace claiming he
has defeated Broken Sword, Long Sky and Flying
Snow and tries to claim a reward. The whole movie uses flashbacks while Nameless
tells the Emperor how he defeated the three
assassins and his journey to see the Emperor.
Nameless is only allowed to speak to the
Emperor after he is searched for anything
that can be used as a weapon. The Emperor is
very paranoid and lives alone in his palace
because of an assassination attempt. He always
wears armor and will not allow anyone to
come within 100 yards of his throne. Nameless kneels before the Emperor and displays
the weapons of the legendary assassins. The
Emperor, impressed with Nameless having killed
three of his most feared enemies, invites
him to sit within ten paces of his throne
and tell his story. Using the most artistic
and gorgeous scenes combined with wire stunts,
Nameless describes his victories over the
would-be assassins. This is an amazing movie and the story has
twists and turns
that will keep you
thinking
about the film long
after it has ended.
I
cannot tell you how
it ends, since it
would
spoil the story,
but I can tell you
that
honor, pure love
and sacrifice play
a huge
part in the ending. Hero was first released in China on October
24, 2002. At that time, it was both the most
expensive and the highest-grossing motion
picture in Chinese film history. Miramax
Films owned the American market distribution
rights, but had delayed the release of the
film for nearly two years. It was finally
presented by Quentin Tarantino to American
theaters on August 27, 2004. There are three separate things that make
me give this movie five Angel Wings out of
five. The first is the colors which play
a significant role in "Hero". Using
black, red, blue, white, and green, the Director
is able to send a message that follows the
story and gives this film a feeling of watching
art in motion. Each color also means something
in this amazing movie Black: Mystery, Solemnity, Power, and Kingdom.
In Hero, black represents the King of Qin.
Whether the costume that the Emperor wears
or the palace where the Emperor lives, black
is the major color we can easily recognize. Black
also means control and domination; in the
real history of China, almost every dynasty’s
troop chose black to be their primary color. Red: Passion, Desire, Anger, Revenge, and Jealousy.
Red is one of the most impressive colors
in Hero. When Nameless depicts how he beats
Broken Sword and Flying Snow, the Director
uses burning red to enhance the monumental
emotional flowages between the characters.
Besides, when the Qin army uses arrows to
destroy the town of Zhao, all people in the
calligraphy school wear red costumes; the
atmosphere out there is just like religious
martyrdom, so red also means blood and heroism. Blue: Intelligence, Calm, Sobriety and Sacrifice.
Nameless’ story version has some flaws that
are penetrated by the King of Qin. So the
Emperor tells his own version. In his version,
Flying Snow sacrifices her life so Nameless
can access the King of Qin within ten paces,
where he can use his masterstroke “Death Within Ten Paces”
to take the Emperor’s life. At the end of
this version, Nameless and Broken Sword have
a fight to honor Flying Snow, not a duel,
just a battle in their minds. The fight takes
place on a lake, which is like a mirror reflecting
all kinds of colors, including the lake itself.
Therefore, we can see the elegant blue above
and below the lake. In this beautiful scene,
blue gives audiences the feeling of clearness
and sereneness. White: Truth, Peace and Sanctity. After the Emperor’s
conjecture, Nameless finally presents the
truth. In the real plot, Broken Sword hopes
that Nameless can abandon his plan, and asks
him: Was your sword forged in hatred? Broken
Sword thinks revenge is not the answer, and
Nameless should give up the assassination
and terminate the endless hate. White is
an intensive contrast against black; therefore,
in the white scenes, we can understand how
difficult it is for Broken Sword to forgive
the Emperor, under his ideal, so-called “All
Under Heaven”. Green: Land, Simplicity and Vitality. In Nameless’
final statement, it is inset by another narration
from Broken Sword who recalls how calligraphy
inspired their swordplay and why he didn’t
kill the Emperor when they fought in the
palace. Green is the color of nature, and
it means all turmoil returns to the basic
source and a pure mind. The second thing I love about this movie
is the strength of
the women heroes. Flying
Snow and Moon (her
servant) are as strong
and agile as the
male heroes. They hold the
same honor and skills
and they are full of
passion. Besides being as talented as the men in this
movie, Moon and Flying
Snow are stunningly
beautiful, as are
the hunks - Nameless,
Broken
Sword and Long Sky.
Each scene is a feast
for the eyes and
libido. I could just
stare
at the actors and
actresses in this
film
for hours. The third thing that makes this movie an
instant classic is the music from Tan Dun.
Eerily beautiful, the music wafts through
the story and scenes like a blossum fragrance
- never overwhelming but pleasently noticeable.
I had never heard of Tan Dun before, but
after watching "Hero", I looked
him up and found more of his creative genius.
He also created some of the music in "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Some people have over-reviewed this movie
and analyzed it to a point where it is just
plain silly. They claim it is a movie about
todays China with hidden meanings to justify
the communist rule there today. Whatever.
I think these people
have missed the point.
This movie is a feast
for the eyes and
the
soul. You will watch
it more than once,
as
I did. I do have to warn you that this is a movie
you need to sit and watch. It is not a film
that you can just kinda watch. You really
need to give it all of your attention. Do
not fret about the subtitles, they will quickly
go unnoticed as you immerse yourself in the
bygone days of China. Full of romance, amazing stunts and scenes
of epic proportions, this is a movie for
both the ladies and gentleman of Moove. I
hope you take my advice and give it a peek.
I can promise you will not be dissapointed.
PLEASE NOTE: This
is a very hard movie
to
find online for free.
Several sites that
say they offer it
have the dreaded
Zango
download and others
have been required
to
remove it due to
copyright infringement.
I was only able to
locate one link,
and it
does not offer subtitles
in English. I would
REALLY suggest renting
this with the English
subtitles for an
evening of pure joy.
now.
can be used as a weapon. The Emperor is
very paranoid and lives alone in his palace
because of an assassination attempt. He always
wears armor and will not allow anyone to
come within 100 yards of his throne.
major color we can easily recognize. Black
also means control and domination; in the
real history of China, almost every dynasty’s
troop chose black to be their primary color.
use his masterstroke “Death Within Ten Paces”
to take the Emperor’s life. At the end of
this version, Nameless and Broken Sword have
a fight to honor Flying Snow, not a duel,
just a battle in their minds. The fight takes
place on a lake, which is like a mirror reflecting
all kinds of colors, including the lake itself.
Therefore, we can see the elegant blue above
and below the lake. In this beautiful scene,
blue gives audiences the feeling of clearness
and sereneness.
