‘Hero’ reborn
The end of August is traditionally reserved for moth-eaten studio misfires, unshelved after months, sometimes years of limbo with minimal box office expectations.
The Chinese import “Hero” has been sitting in the Miramax vault since 2002, despite a marquee star (Jet Li), titanic success in its native country and an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film. It’s been idling for so long that it can be found on DVD in Asian video stores and on the Internet.
No matter. “Hero” is the crown jewel of this season’s blockbusters, a film of such boundless visual imagination and narrative artistry, it sets a new standard for martial arts epics.
Inevitable comparisons will be drawn to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” because of the movie’s period setting and gravity-defying duels. Just as director Ang Lee made his mark in the martial arts genre with “Crouching Tiger,” filmmaker Zhang Yimou is treading new ground with “Hero.” He is best known for his character-driven chamber pieces such as “Raise the Red Lantern” and “Shanghai Triad.”
Thanks to his background crafting adventures of the psyche rather than Hong Kong gun feasts and kick flicks, Zhang creates a film that is more than the sum of its swordplay. He offers a spectacle with thematic significance, musing on notions of revenge, valor and martyrdom, all the while serving up fight scenes that are a slice above anything in “Crouching Tiger,” or “Kill Bill” for that matter.
Even as he tackles big themes and stages doomsday battles, Zhang never loses sight of the small stuff, whether it’s a droplet of water taking slo-mo flight from sword to sword or a character’s silent meditation before engaging in conflict. Wide-angle scope is balanced with intimate glances, drawing viewers in rather than leaving them neutral spectators.
The clock is turned back 2,000 years, a time of perpetual conflict in China, when seven kingdoms fought for dominance over the land. A lone sword-slinger, Nameless (Li) visits the ruler of Qin (Chen Dao Ming) with news that he has slain three of the territory’s deadliest assassins. With a nod to Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon,” several versions of Nameless’ story are told in flashback. Each rendition of the tale is color-coded, providing narrative clarity and eye-widening tableaus of red, green, white and blue.
On Nameless’ death list are Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Sky (Donnie Yen). Actress Zhang Ziyi, who starred in “Crouching Tiger” as a teen girl with metaphysical fight skills, is on hand as Broken Sword’s apprentice, Moon.
The movie is a marriage of primal energy and ethereal grace. The mid-air choreography is at once furious and balletic. Celestial strings are laced over thudding drums on the soundtrack. The rivals speak little, as characterization is rendered mainly through movement rather than words.
Wire-hoisted stunt work has opponents clashing while hovering over lakes or soaring through swirls of autumn leaves. The aerodynamic tussles of “Crouching Tiger” and “The Matrix” have spawned leagues of imitators. “Hero” takes wire work to its outer limits, almost to the point of parody, yet the effects are so organic and the stars are such deft physical performers it’s as if you’re seeing the technique for the first time.
Combat pervades the film, yet beneath it all beats a pacifist’s heart. The story loops and coils its way toward an indictment of self-serving aggression. In its own mythical, elliptical way, “Hero” is as strong an anti-war statement as “Fahrenheit 9/11.”