Classic Movies
5/5
Since
his debut in 1987 with “Red Sorghum” Yimou has made more controlled films about
intimate oppressions but never one as large as “Hero”, the most expensive film
in the history of Chinese cinema, a forthright attempt to surpass Ang Lee's
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," a wuxia film that transcended the
genre and would become the influence for most contemporary wuxia films
following its release in 2000. Similar to ‘Crouching Tiger’, the sets, costumes
and special effects are of astonishing beauty. Compared to his other films
which center on characters of humble social status in twentieth century China,
Hero is set in ancient China during the Warring States period. The film’s title
“Hero” declares that this is a story about an exceptional warrior who
symbolizes the virtues of ancient China’s expansive developments.
The
story actually differs greatly from what is documented. No other protagonist in
the film is a real figure in historical records except for King of Qin—as a
powerful leader, his political wisdom may well be reflected by the color blue,
which often symbolizes profundity.
We
truly encounter Yimou’s signature color in the fight between Moon and Flying Snow.
The environment consists of falling leaves of yellow hue until Moon shouts “It
was foolish what you did.” She collapses and the yellow leaves transitions to
red, symbolizing a significant change in the story. Red is something we have
encountered before, especially in Yimou’s earlier work and it has become a defining
element in this particular scene.
Image Source: http://evanerichards.com/wp-content/gallery/hero_sd/hero12.jpg
The last shot of the fight between Moon and Flying Snow
What
makes the kinetic aesthetics so striking
is, in part, the dynamism of its lines: the intense interplay between vertical
and horizontal that shapes Yimou’s disposition of power. This dynamism of line
manages to convey the sense that authority is both preordained and precariously
mobile, as the relationship between the king and his anonymous vassals. I compare this technique to that of the great
Japanese aueteur Akira Kurosawa, whose films are strikingly informed by his
paintings. Late in his career, Kurosawa transitioned into color with his most
memorable color film, “Ran” (1985). In this film, he uses a similar color
pallete seen in “Hero” to distinguish each army and define who they are.
Comparison to
Kurosawa’s “Ran” proves the similar palette of colors used to distinguish the armies. Both films are very large in technical scale.
Image Source: http://photos1.blogger.com/img/119/3426/640/hero02.jpg
At
the end of “Hero”, there is a subtitle that tells us that the king
had accomplished the unification of China: In 221 B.C., the King
of Qin unified China and became the first emperor in Chinese history. After the
warfare came to an end, he ordered the Great Wall constructed to protect his
subjects from being harassed by Northern tribes. The rising sun, similar to the
sun in “Red Sorghum”, clearly announces the beginning of a new era—the founding
of the Chinese empire, a triumph over the chaos of the past. But the camera instantly
moves away from the sun; the promising moment does not last long. With this
camera movement, the image of the Great Wall symbolically projects China’s history
on the screen. For most in carefully reviewing the history of China since her
unification by the first emperor—we must recognize that such incongruity indeed
marks almost its entire history. While Zhang’s previous works focus on
examining the history of China over the past century or so, “Hero” is a period
action film, greatly widening our vision of history.[1] The
revelation of the film is the frustration that lies in the failure to find a real
hero.
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