Hero

Man with no name: Hero is a deceptively simple fairy tale steeped in history and belief

By Jeannette Catsoulis

In ancient China, the king of Qin (Chen Dao Ming) is pursuing a ruthless war to unite China's seven feuding provinces under one ruler--himself. The forceful and bloody use of his massive army has placed the king in constant danger from would-be assassins, and his bodyguards allow no one to approach within 100 paces of the royal throne.

When stories reach the king about a mysterious young warrior who claims to have killed the country's three most dangerous assassins--Sky (Donnie Chen), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Broken Sword (Tony Leung)--the king is suspicious and summons the man to his court. Identifying himself as an orphan called Nameless, the man (Jet Li) recounts his ingenious strategy for dispatching the lethal triad, and gradually he's invited to move closer to the throne. But what exactly does Nameless want?

Hero is an unexpected choice for Asian superstar Zhang Yimou, whose previous films (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern) have mined quieter, more modern--and more earthbound--material. It's also the most expensive Chinese movie to date (and one of the few to carry the Chinese government's seal of approval), but every yuan is right up there on the screen. Replayed in Rashomon-style flashbacks from three separate viewpoints, the narrative is a rousing adventure and soulful love triangle combined, a deceptively simple fairy tale steeped in Chinese history and belief. Reuniting Leung and Cheung, the hesitant lovers from Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, the movie creates a mesmerizing chemistry of honor and passion, nobility and pride.

An orgy of color and movement, Hero's balletic but virtually bloodless violence harnesses the forces of nature in a unique way. A woodland swordfight between two women in flame-colored robes becomes a tornado of swirling autumn leaves and flowing black hair; three-dimensional raindrops fall in slow motion onto resting weapons, and a hailstorm of arrows flies upward on a gusting wind. As characters duel on the surface of a silvery lake and make love concealed beneath a sea of fuchsia satin, renowned cinematographer Chris Doyle lavishes as much attention on the painting of a calligraphy symbol as on the infliction of a wound. In Hero, even the scars are beautiful.

After keeping the film under wraps for almost two years, Miramax has decided to release it minus 20 minutes of what may be crucial footage (an omission that will likely be rectified on DVD). The decision may be the result of the studio's recent 13 percent cut in staff, or perhaps executives were hoping for another Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and were disappointed. They needn't have been; Hero is more spiritual, more romantic and, if possible, even more ravishing than Ang Lee's wu xia epic. And though the movie would probably be enhanced by an additional 20 minutes of Sky and his plot segment, the missing footage appears to have minimal effect on either clarity or substance.

As the story plays out, Zhang assigns a different primary color to each version of events as a marker of its position on the continuum from imagination (red) to enlightenment (green). Fortunately, you don't need to appreciate the significance of his dazzling visuals to enjoy them; Hero is primarily an opulent, operatic fable about trust, respect and sacrificing oneself for a common goal. Not the worst film to see in an election year.