Hero

China was once a country divided into seven kingdoms, but the Qin dynasty had a lot of power and was obsessed with conquering all of China and becoming her first Emperor. The Qin Emperor became the target of assassins from all the other kingdoms including the three legendary assassins, Nameless (Jet Li), Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wa), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). The protagonist Nameless somehow gets close to the king by telling him that he has killed the three assassins by presenting their swords before the king. However the king finds out that Nameless’s defeats were all thoughtfully planned out in an attempt to get closer to him and kill him. In the end, all three powerful and skilled assassins sacrifice their life in their attempts to have a peaceful China. The king is deeply moved by their passion and story, and eventually unified all the kingdoms in China, and honoured the deaths of the three assassins.

Hero is one of the most expensive Chinese film up to date. The director, Zhang Yimou really tried to show off his skills in the movie which is done by romanticizing the scenes in the movie. There are many superhero moments in the film with unrealistic sword fighting and archery battles. Also, the dramatic sword fighting is always set in a staged setting such as the desert, forest, and lake. Not only do they float on water, have leaves turning into red, unison ripples of green drapery, and swirling sword pieces flying through the air during fighting scenes, but Zhang also uses many close ups of facial expressions, and dreamy visions of Flying Snow and Moon’s (Zhang Zi Yi) hair flowing in the air. According to ancient Chinese culture, Chinese women always had their hair up and were not able to put it down. Thus, Zhang’s overall effects are exaggerated and clearly romanticized in order to boast the traditions of ancient Chinese culture for a mostly foreign based audience. Nonetheless, this big budget movie really portrays China’s vast landscapes, and utilizes a lot of actors especially in army scenes to create the sense of a mighty China.

Yet, Zhang also really emphasizes the ancient Chinese arts and culture. The camera often focuses on the armour wear, swords designs, hair bun tying, sword fighting, calligraphy, and archery skills. Also, the characters speak in an ancient Chinese language that sounds poetic and intelligible. Similarly, the main characters have lyrical names such as Flying Snow, Broken Sword, Sky, and Moon, which are elements that are important to the Chinese culture.

The techniques of calligraphy and sword fighting skills are important in this movie. The skill of calligraphy was a way to determine the sword skills of a person, which relied on strength and spirit. Broken Sword was asked to write calligraphy of the word ‘sword’ that is presented for the King which revealed a hidden message. The Qing Emperor figured out that the message was peace. Thus peace is an important element that Zhang Yimou highlights in the film. In order for the country to achieve peace, heroes like the three assassins had to come forward to create change. In the end, they sacrificed their lives for the greater good of China, and instead of killing the king they decide that it is unmoral to take his life away and persuade him to unify China instead. Most importantly, the movie reveals that it is important for individuals to step up and not be afraid to stand before a higher power in order to obtain justice for yourself or the community. And so, with having individuality, being a ‘good person’ with good deeds, everyone can be a ‘hero’.