My "Hero" review
12-21-02 | 10:21 PM
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From: Hong Kong
Zhang Yimou's "Hero" review
Hero (Ying Xiong)
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Cinematography by Christopher Doyle
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Daoming
Hero is not a commercial film.
Despite costing US$31 million (the largest budget yet for a Chinese film) and starring msot of the biggest Chinese stars in existence, Hero turns out to have more in common with Wong Kar-Wai's "Ashes of Time" and "In the Mood for Love" than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". In Hong Kong, people were expecting a grand, action-packed epic, only to leave the theaters utterly confused about what they had just seen.
In simplest terms, Hero can be seen as an amalgamation of four distinct influences.
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
While not directly an influence, the public will nonetheless see many similarities in the use of wire-fu and scenery. Some of the scenes, such as the battle fought over a lake, is reminiscent of the 4-time Oscar winner. However, the comparisons are mostly visual and action-oriented.
RASHOMON
"Hero" has no real narrative, partly because it is played out through a conversation between two people. Like Rashomon, in which an incident is shown through the eyes of multiple viewpoints and opinions, "Hero" uses this technique to present several scenarios of what actually happened. For those expecting a linear storyline, "Hero" will prove rather confounding.
It may also seem unintentional funny that certain people keep on dying over and over, because of the different scnearios shown on how they died.
WONG KAR-WAI
Perhaps there is no way to escape this influence, partly because Zhang Yimou hired the three most famous collaborators of Wong's - Chris Doyle, Tony Leung, and Maggie Cheung. However, one look at Hero's absolutely luscious art direction and cinematography, and the comparison will seem apt.
In "Hero", colors express three different values: emotion, age, and element. As such, when the characters are dressed all in green, their surroundings also relefect ths same color pattern. "Green" here reflects youth, innocence, forests and trees. Each character's behavior then reflects the values of this color. Precisely because the mood of the film is expressed from the costumes, art direction, and the reservedness of the characters, the comparison between this film and "In the Mood for Love" is inevitable.
Zhang also took a chunk out of Wong's Ashes of Time, especially the idea of battles being playing within the mind rather than the physical.
ZHANG YIMOU
The final influence is the most important of all, and that is the director's own personal touches. Zhang has always been a director whose films always have underlying values or meanings. And this is what seperates "Hero" so greatly from Crouching Tiger.
"Hero" is the first modern Chinese wuxia film to truly reflect the ideas of Chinese philosophy, particularly Taoism. While "Ashes of Time" was a modern musing about memory and time via French New Wave, and Crouching tiger was a love story governed by more of a Western sensibility, "Hero" manages to be utterly Chinese.
And this is where it may cause some controvesy for some, especially when the film is played abroad. Western values tend to favor individualism and self, but Chinese values are never about the individual. They are about the greater good, whether this may be the family or even the whole society.
As such, the ending may prove extremely dissatisfying to those who do not understand or accept it. I could already see how this film may not go down very well in the US, where "Hero" may seem like a Chinese propagandist vehicle. Indeed, Tony Leung already started a controversy by saying that his values are similar to those espoused by "Hero", and as such the Tiannamen Massacre is necessary because it is done to keep the law and to prevent society from chaos.
-----------------------------------------------------
The film does, unfortunately, have a few flaws:
1) The use of Computer Graphics is, in my opinion, utterly unnecessary and wasteful on such a beautiful film. Due to this, some of the effects during the fight scenes are not done convincingly. However, in one particular fight scene amoung the falling leaves, the addition of special effects help to create one of the most stunning fight sequences in recent memory.
2) The pacing of the films seem a bit off, perhaps because the theatrical version is actually cut down from the originally planned 2-hour length. The DVD version has already been announed to be the "Director's Cut".
3) Jet Li's performance leaves something to be desired, especially when compared to Tony Leung's and Maggie Cheung's.
CONCLUSION
Despite the flaws, "Hero" manages to retain the Chinese ethics that have been missing in many other recent wuxia films. It is also one of the most stunningly beautiful films ever put on-screen. Whether one agrees with the underlying message or not, it should not detract viewers from what is another exemplary work from Zhang Yimou.
8/10
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Cinematography by Christopher Doyle
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Daoming
Hero is not a commercial film.
Despite costing US$31 million (the largest budget yet for a Chinese film) and starring msot of the biggest Chinese stars in existence, Hero turns out to have more in common with Wong Kar-Wai's "Ashes of Time" and "In the Mood for Love" than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". In Hong Kong, people were expecting a grand, action-packed epic, only to leave the theaters utterly confused about what they had just seen.
In simplest terms, Hero can be seen as an amalgamation of four distinct influences.
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
While not directly an influence, the public will nonetheless see many similarities in the use of wire-fu and scenery. Some of the scenes, such as the battle fought over a lake, is reminiscent of the 4-time Oscar winner. However, the comparisons are mostly visual and action-oriented.
RASHOMON
"Hero" has no real narrative, partly because it is played out through a conversation between two people. Like Rashomon, in which an incident is shown through the eyes of multiple viewpoints and opinions, "Hero" uses this technique to present several scenarios of what actually happened. For those expecting a linear storyline, "Hero" will prove rather confounding.
It may also seem unintentional funny that certain people keep on dying over and over, because of the different scnearios shown on how they died.
WONG KAR-WAI
Perhaps there is no way to escape this influence, partly because Zhang Yimou hired the three most famous collaborators of Wong's - Chris Doyle, Tony Leung, and Maggie Cheung. However, one look at Hero's absolutely luscious art direction and cinematography, and the comparison will seem apt.
In "Hero", colors express three different values: emotion, age, and element. As such, when the characters are dressed all in green, their surroundings also relefect ths same color pattern. "Green" here reflects youth, innocence, forests and trees. Each character's behavior then reflects the values of this color. Precisely because the mood of the film is expressed from the costumes, art direction, and the reservedness of the characters, the comparison between this film and "In the Mood for Love" is inevitable.
Zhang also took a chunk out of Wong's Ashes of Time, especially the idea of battles being playing within the mind rather than the physical.
ZHANG YIMOU
The final influence is the most important of all, and that is the director's own personal touches. Zhang has always been a director whose films always have underlying values or meanings. And this is what seperates "Hero" so greatly from Crouching Tiger.
"Hero" is the first modern Chinese wuxia film to truly reflect the ideas of Chinese philosophy, particularly Taoism. While "Ashes of Time" was a modern musing about memory and time via French New Wave, and Crouching tiger was a love story governed by more of a Western sensibility, "Hero" manages to be utterly Chinese.
And this is where it may cause some controvesy for some, especially when the film is played abroad. Western values tend to favor individualism and self, but Chinese values are never about the individual. They are about the greater good, whether this may be the family or even the whole society.
As such, the ending may prove extremely dissatisfying to those who do not understand or accept it. I could already see how this film may not go down very well in the US, where "Hero" may seem like a Chinese propagandist vehicle. Indeed, Tony Leung already started a controversy by saying that his values are similar to those espoused by "Hero", and as such the Tiannamen Massacre is necessary because it is done to keep the law and to prevent society from chaos.
-----------------------------------------------------
The film does, unfortunately, have a few flaws:
1) The use of Computer Graphics is, in my opinion, utterly unnecessary and wasteful on such a beautiful film. Due to this, some of the effects during the fight scenes are not done convincingly. However, in one particular fight scene amoung the falling leaves, the addition of special effects help to create one of the most stunning fight sequences in recent memory.
2) The pacing of the films seem a bit off, perhaps because the theatrical version is actually cut down from the originally planned 2-hour length. The DVD version has already been announed to be the "Director's Cut".
3) Jet Li's performance leaves something to be desired, especially when compared to Tony Leung's and Maggie Cheung's.
CONCLUSION
Despite the flaws, "Hero" manages to retain the Chinese ethics that have been missing in many other recent wuxia films. It is also one of the most stunningly beautiful films ever put on-screen. Whether one agrees with the underlying message or not, it should not detract viewers from what is another exemplary work from Zhang Yimou.
8/10
Last edited by Grimfarrow; 12-21-02 at 10:42 PM.
12-22-02 | 12:36 AM
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From: Hong Kong
Two quick additions:
SUBTITLES
The English subtitles are some of the WORST I have ever read in my entire life. Not only do they not convey any of the depth in the dialogues, some are unintentionally funny when the occasion is actually quite solemn. Luckily, I speak Mandarin, but I do also read the subtitles to make sure that they are translated properly. Sadly, they are beyond atrocious.
BATTLE SCENES
The battle scenes are styled after Chinese Operas, which means that:
1) there are moments of stillness where the characters face each other, immobilized and locked in their fighting stance.
2) the music, compsoed by the Crouching Tiger composer Tan Dun, is also structured more like those of Chinese Opera. In CTHD, the music is continuous, as is the fighting. In Hero, the music will build to a crescendo, stop for a minute, then build again.
3) The actors fight with long, wailing cries - something that the audience actually was not used to, considering that it is another Chinese Opera convention. In CTHD, they shout brief bursts of exclamations while fighting.
I think that those who are not used to the conventionswill find the battles rather odd.
SUBTITLES
The English subtitles are some of the WORST I have ever read in my entire life. Not only do they not convey any of the depth in the dialogues, some are unintentionally funny when the occasion is actually quite solemn. Luckily, I speak Mandarin, but I do also read the subtitles to make sure that they are translated properly. Sadly, they are beyond atrocious.
BATTLE SCENES
The battle scenes are styled after Chinese Operas, which means that:
1) there are moments of stillness where the characters face each other, immobilized and locked in their fighting stance.
2) the music, compsoed by the Crouching Tiger composer Tan Dun, is also structured more like those of Chinese Opera. In CTHD, the music is continuous, as is the fighting. In Hero, the music will build to a crescendo, stop for a minute, then build again.
3) The actors fight with long, wailing cries - something that the audience actually was not used to, considering that it is another Chinese Opera convention. In CTHD, they shout brief bursts of exclamations while fighting.
I think that those who are not used to the conventionswill find the battles rather odd.
12-22-02 | 11:09 AM
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Just to clarify one thing - I gave the film an 8/10, but I do not give such a rating lightly. In comparison, the best English-language films of the year all received 8/10 from me, including "The Royal Tenenbaums", "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring", "Memento", and a few others.
As a reference, I gave Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a 5/10. Conversely, I gave Ashes of Time a 9/10, but if compared to Hero, I actually personally like them equally.
As a reference, I gave Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a 5/10. Conversely, I gave Ashes of Time a 9/10, but if compared to Hero, I actually personally like them equally.
12-23-02 | 10:06 AM
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Here are some of my 10/10 films:
In Praise of Love (Jean-Luc Godard)
Satantango (Bela Tarr)
Persona (Ingmar Bergman)
Eureka (Shinji Aoyama)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Dreyer)
L'Avventura (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)
Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata)
Zerkalo (Andrei Tarkovsky)
In Praise of Love (Jean-Luc Godard)
Satantango (Bela Tarr)
Persona (Ingmar Bergman)
Eureka (Shinji Aoyama)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Dreyer)
L'Avventura (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)
Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata)
Zerkalo (Andrei Tarkovsky)
12-24-02 | 08:58 PM
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Hero
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Released By Edko Films
100 Mins
Firstly I was disappointed with Hero and overall it isn't as good a CTHD.
It is however very different form CTHD and more akin to Chen Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin in scale and theme ...
It is a full blown art movie and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. After skirting around good simple fables Zhang Yimou goes back to what brought him all the attention from the west, beautifully filmed chinese flavour specific movie making.
You won't see a better looking martial arts movie and it is everything that the legend of Zu was to SFX in Martial arts ... hmmm perhaps that wasn't a good comparison
...
The film runs like Rashomon and follows the same plot/theme/ideals as the Emperor and the Assassin.
The Rashomon like storytelling technique found in many hollywood whodunnits causes Hero's overall structure to suffer because Hero isn't the type of story that works in that way.
Some may see this as a spoiler if so skip it but if you know what rashomon is like then I have already spoiled it for you so read on ...
...............
Zhang Yimou hasn't failed with Hero its just that I always expect a lot from him in the same way I expect a lot from John Woo (but he would be a failure in my books). Zhang Yimou has always been a favourite of mine since seeing Ju Dou at an art cinema way back in 1990 and I have only ever been disappointed with To Live. Well now I can add Hero to that short list of Zhang Yimou disappointment especially after just seeing happy times which I loved.
It won't win any oscars and I doubt it will even be selected and I can now understand why Miramax has decided to release it in Nov 2003 ... they will definitely see it as another legend of zu failure and I can guess that their funding for chinese martial art movies will soon come to an end ...
Someone asked what the fights were like:
The fights in Hero are incredibly beautiful to look at but Yuen Woo Ping is the master and he wasn't hired to do this movie.
As well as being very different to CTHD Hero is also very different from The Emperor and The Assassin. The latter has a very complicated and seriously deep story, the former simplifies it to an extent where you can just switch off and marvel at what is onscreen.
Having had time to digest this movie over night I still feel my initial impressions of disapointment holds true. The general public in HK also feel the same and are queuing up in droves to see Harry potter 2 instead this christmas.
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Released By Edko Films
100 Mins
Firstly I was disappointed with Hero and overall it isn't as good a CTHD.
It is however very different form CTHD and more akin to Chen Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin in scale and theme ...
It is a full blown art movie and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. After skirting around good simple fables Zhang Yimou goes back to what brought him all the attention from the west, beautifully filmed chinese flavour specific movie making.
You won't see a better looking martial arts movie and it is everything that the legend of Zu was to SFX in Martial arts ... hmmm perhaps that wasn't a good comparison
... The film runs like Rashomon and follows the same plot/theme/ideals as the Emperor and the Assassin.
The Rashomon like storytelling technique found in many hollywood whodunnits causes Hero's overall structure to suffer because Hero isn't the type of story that works in that way.
Some may see this as a spoiler if so skip it but if you know what rashomon is like then I have already spoiled it for you so read on
... Spoiler:
...............
Zhang Yimou hasn't failed with Hero its just that I always expect a lot from him in the same way I expect a lot from John Woo (but he would be a failure in my books). Zhang Yimou has always been a favourite of mine since seeing Ju Dou at an art cinema way back in 1990 and I have only ever been disappointed with To Live. Well now I can add Hero to that short list of Zhang Yimou disappointment especially after just seeing happy times which I loved.
It won't win any oscars and I doubt it will even be selected and I can now understand why Miramax has decided to release it in Nov 2003 ... they will definitely see it as another legend of zu failure and I can guess that their funding for chinese martial art movies will soon come to an end ...
Someone asked what the fights were like:
The fights in Hero are incredibly beautiful to look at but Yuen Woo Ping is the master and he wasn't hired to do this movie.
As well as being very different to CTHD Hero is also very different from The Emperor and The Assassin. The latter has a very complicated and seriously deep story, the former simplifies it to an extent where you can just switch off and marvel at what is onscreen.
Having had time to digest this movie over night I still feel my initial impressions of disapointment holds true. The general public in HK also feel the same and are queuing up in droves to see Harry potter 2 instead this christmas.
12-24-02 | 09:56 PM
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Torrance, "Hero" broke the box office record in China, where it is definitely on track to become the highest grosser ever there.
In Hong Kong, it also did very well, earning over $10 million Hong Kong over the weekend (a rare feat nowadays). However, as expected, it came in at #2 behind Harry Potter's opening weekend, partly because Hero is on less screens than Harry. However, I do expect the drop-off for Hero to be greater, because as I have said, the film is an arthouse film and not a commercial one.
In Hong Kong, it also did very well, earning over $10 million Hong Kong over the weekend (a rare feat nowadays). However, as expected, it came in at #2 behind Harry Potter's opening weekend, partly because Hero is on less screens than Harry. However, I do expect the drop-off for Hero to be greater, because as I have said, the film is an arthouse film and not a commercial one.
12-25-02 | 10:20 PM
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From: Hong Kong
Hero opened strongly in Hong Kong, grossing $945,000 (HK$7.34m) over a four-day period (December 19 – 22) from 46 screens.
The film came in third at the weekend box office behind Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets with $1.13m (HK$8.77m) and local action vehicle Infernal Affairs with $989,000 (HK$7.68m).
However, Hero had the highest screen average of $20,600 (HK$159,700), compared to $16,400 (HK$127,100) for Harry Potter and $16,500 (HK$128,000) for Infernal Affairs.
The film came in third at the weekend box office behind Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets with $1.13m (HK$8.77m) and local action vehicle Infernal Affairs with $989,000 (HK$7.68m).
However, Hero had the highest screen average of $20,600 (HK$159,700), compared to $16,400 (HK$127,100) for Harry Potter and $16,500 (HK$128,000) for Infernal Affairs.
12-26-02 | 03:03 AM
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Excellent review, Grimfarrow!
I am also anxiously waiting for this movie, hopefully it's not CTHD type (i.e., made for foreigners). I also speak Mandarin so the poor subtitle might not be a problem to me.
01-01-03 | 11:00 PM
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From: USA
It's scheduled to be screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 14. Tickets are $10.
