Ying xiong (2002)

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Feng Li (writer)
Bin Wang (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Kono kuni wa mada, hontô no hero wo shiranai [Japan] (This land doesn't know a real hero. Yet.)

Plot:

A series of Rashomon-like flashback accounts shape the story of how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.

Plot Keywords:

China | Sword | Assassin | Palace | King

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 26 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Jet Li	...	Nameless
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Broken Sword
Maggie Cheung	...	Flying Snow (as Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk)
Ziyi Zhang	...	Moon (as Zhang Ziyi)
Daoming Chen	...	King of Qin
Donnie Yen	...	Sky
Liu Zhong Yuan	...	Scholar
Zheng Tia Yong	...	Old Servant
Yan Qin	...	Prime Minister
Chang Xiao Yang	...	General
Yakun Zhang	...	Commander
Ma Wen Hua	...	Head Eunuch
Jin Ming	...	Eunuch
Xu Kuang Hua	...	Pianist
Wang Shou Xin	...	Musician

Also Known As:

Hero (Canada: English title) (literal English title) (UK) (USA)
Jet Li's Hero (USA)
Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero (USA) (promotional title)
Ying hung (China: Cantonese title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

99 min | China:107 min (extended version) | China:93 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

France:U | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Ireland:12 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39290)

Filming Locations:

Dunhuang, Gansu, China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

Quentin Tarantino, being an avid fan of Eastern cinema, was one of the people who enabled the US release of this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nameless shows his accuracy with the sword using the white calligraphy brush among other calligraphy brushes, calligraphy brushes are clearly shown falling beneath the white calligraphy brush. Yet when the camera pulls back, the other calligraphy brushes are shown hitting the ground only after Nameless has split the white calligraphy brush.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nameless: [voiceover] I was orphaned at a young age and was never given a name. People simply called me Nameless. With no family name to live up to, I devoted myself to the sword. I spent ten years perfecting unique skills as a swordsman. The King of Qin has summoned me to court, for what I have accomplished has astonished the kingdom.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2004-08-28)" (2004)

I hate to be the one that spoils the party, but is this really one of the best movies of the year?

First things first - Zhang Yimou is a very, very good director indeed. Let's get past the amazing number of extras for the army scenes, because 'Troy' (2004) could boast the same stuff and that didn't get people in as much of a froth as this film. It's the little things, really. Any old hack can shoot a hundreds-strong army in an interesting way, but finding strong visual interest in a falling raindrop and a slight breeze? That's genius. That's true talent. And it goes without saying that the bigger visual aspects are well-chosen too; the scenery is stunning, the costumes scarcely less so (though the 'white robes' segment oddly put me in mind of the Polyphonic Spree).

What most people don't seem to have mentioned which really impressed me is the use of sound, though. Yimou carefully selects which 'natural' noises he wants to use in amongst the expected chanting, percussive beats, strings etc, creating a weird kind of symphony from the reverberations and clangs of the fighters' swords. In many ways, the action scenes aren't action scenes - they're anti-action scenes, with the water-surface fight in particular creating more of an impression of grace and beauty than excitement. That said, he also drops in a fight between Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi which is so vicious the two fighters create a tornado of leaves around them.

Such is the beauty of Yimou and cinematographer Chris Doyle's work that many reviewers engage in an amazing fan-dance to avoid mentioning the film's problems. For instance, Jeremy Heilman of MovieMartyr.com, says of the conversations between Nameless and the King:

"Zhang almost explicitly acknowledges this framing device's stodginess, opting to shoot all of the duo's conversations in a decidedly non-flashy shot/counter-shot style."

Yes, that is one interpretation. Another is that Yimou has actually significantly overestimated his cast and script's ability to hold the viewer's attention on their own.

My problems with the film aren't the same as other reviewers. The fights are no more unrealistic than a superhero film, and the overall effect is so surpassingly beautiful it overrides all objections. As for the supposed Communist message, taken on its own terms it's nothing more subversive than a call for peace and unity. Certainly the Chinese authorities probably funded this with the idea of improving their country's image, but I couldn't shake the pleasant feeling that Yimou had pulled a fast one on them - the image of the library collapsing, for example, struck me as a slyly witty take on what the Chinese government would like to do to all repositories of learning.

The problem with Hero is that it's so bloody serious, and like so many films which refuse to even countenance the idea of laughter, it becomes frequently unintentionally funny. Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi at one point partake in the most hilariously dreadful sex scene outside the works of Paul Verhoven. There's a crowd of messengers who all shout the same things at exactly the same time, making me briefly wonder whether this was also a musical. The King of Qin is played by Daoming Chen, whose acting ability consists of SHOUTING A LOT!!! There are so many other scenes which enter a nearly-parodic level, but rather than acknowledge the inherent melodrama and silliness that a wuxia can slip into, I felt like I was being scolded for laughing.

Speaking of actors, it's nice to see Jet Li back in a Hong Kong movie, but his Man With No Name proxy crossed the line between 'enigmatic' and 'dull' too many times for me. Zhang Ziyi hints that, if given the right vehicle, she might have the chops to back up the looks - '2046' (2004), perhaps? As usual, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung outclass everyone. Their scenes are so good it drains any remaining interest out of the main story.

Yimou can certainly mount a battle scene - his device of allowing a distant cloud to coalesce into a swarm of arrows is stunning. The scene with the calligraphers should be shown in every English class in the world as a heartbreaking tribute to the power of human intelligence and the written word. And perhaps I'm judging him so harshly because his ambitions are so high - maybe I should just be grateful someone's trying to make a classic out there. But when this film is sold as being superior to 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' (2000), I expect an evolution. Despite producing the best-looking wuxia ever, Yimou's work is a regression on 'CTHD' in so many ways - such as emotional involvement, or allowing actors to actually play characters rather than Expressions Of Important Ideas About Nationhood. As a result, I found this film felt so much longer than its slim 90min running time.

Still, I look forward to 'House of Flying Daggers' (2004), wherein Yimou is said to lash his undeniable brilliance to a sense of humour, a sturdier plot and a greater focus on romance - especially welcome since the Leung/Chung/Ziyi love triangle is easily the best thing about this film, despite that sex scene. Let's see it.