Hey folks, Harry here... I met a great deal of the crew for this film whilst in China on KILL BILL, and heard huge tales of the epic shoot, thousands upon thousands of extras commanded for the film. There had been some screening of the fight scenes that some of the crew had seen and they were raving and discussing the strong points and weak points as per each of their expectations, but this is the first full length review of the film I've seen and I'm dying... DYING to see this film upon the big screen... Unfortunately it seems we'll have to wait till some point next year, but in talking to Hiromi (aka That Miramax Lady), Miramax wants to release this film with the respect it deserves. So far it sounds good so far... Here ya go....
Hi, Harry and Co --
Just wanted to drop a line about Miramax's screening of Zhang Yimou's and Jet Li's epic HERO. Although I like and admire Zhang's and Li's work, I had not heard much about this film before, so when I received a pass to attend tonight's screening, I jumped at the chance to attend. I last wrote in about the Lincoln center Lord of the Rings event; this report occurred just a few blocks away.
The screening was held at the Sony Lincoln Center cinemas in the Upper West Side. This was the same theater where Ian McKellen hosted the first midnight showing of Fellowship last December. The line was populated by a good cross-section of New York demographics -- young and old, black, white and Asian.
We got in about an hour before screening, just before which a Miramax guy (I think) thanked us all for coming, then passed around cards for the audience to sign promising not to reveal what we were about to see to any news outlet or Internet web site. He gave us the usual disclaimer that this was a work in progress, that any imperfections in the film stock would be corrected before the film's release -- so, yes, HERO will be receiving distribution in North America, it seems. After the cards were collected, the movie started.
The guy who had given me my pass mentioned that HERO would be similar to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON in feel and scope, that this was a test to see whether Western audiences would be open to another film of the same type.
It opens with titles explaining that 2000 years ago there were 6 kingdoms in what was later to become unified China, all fighting for supremacy over the other kingdoms, that the King of the Qin kingdom is the most ruthless, powerful and successful of them all, and that there are many legends about him and this time. This is one of those legends...Jet Li's character, "Nameless" or "No Name" arrives at the King's palace (which appears to be the Forbidden City), having completed a feat of such magnitude that the king himself is shocked and summons him to the palace to reward him.
No Name claims to be a prefect of a very small province, but he has the martial arts ability of ten men. The King and he share a drink and discuss what No Name has accomplished, setting the stage for the rest of the film, which is a series of flashbacks detailing No Name's encounters with three of the greatest warriors of the time, Sky (Donnie Yen, whose screen time was unforgivably short but mesmerizing), Broken Sword and Flying Snow (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, last seen together in Wong Kar-Wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE).
The film is absolutely epic in scope, as can be seen in sequences such as when The King sends his formidable forces against the neighboring Zhao kingdom. Thousands of warriors storm through the desert on foot, wagon, and horseback, thundering through the desert until they reach their target city, at which point they mobilize like some vast unfolding war machine.We learn the Qin's devastating power is in its vast array of archers, who unleash volleys of lethal arrows in such punishing force that nothing can withstand them. The skies fill with what looks like millions of arrows whistling through the air and punching into posts, walls, and people with terrifying accuracy. One memorable shot actually has the camera in the midst of one of these arrow clouds as they sail high overhead, focusing in on one arrow in particular in its trajectory into a calligraphy school where 2 of the major characters are hiding out.
HERO will inevitably be compared to CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, and this is its major weakness. It bears the same feeling of melancholy, and its fight scenes could easily be mistaken for each other -- characters soar through the air with silent grace; they skip over water as if it were land, and their fighting combines frenetic action and balletic grace. It even shares a co-star, the luminous Zhang Ziyi who here plays Moon, the maid to Broken Sword who secretly loves him and is a martial artist as well, although nowhere in the league of her character in CTHD or the other characters in HERO.
However, HERO is still unmistakably a Zhang Yimou film, and his use of billowing sheets in one gorgeous scene (one of many in this visually stunning film) is one indication of that. Another is his use of color, particularly in a series of flashbacks, all detailing the same event but differently, RASHOMON-like, where a different color dominates each version (first red, then blue, then white -- you'll see what I mean). The red-dominated scene is more the most passionate recounting of the event, the blue id the most rational, the white the truest, etc. It reminded me a bit of the restaurant in THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, where each room had its own unique color scheme, except that this time, the same scene was presented differently each time according to the mood of its color.
The cast are stand-outs. Maggie Cheung is especially effective as Flying Snow, whore graceful, serene fighting style makes her seem like a supernatural entity, paricularlyin one beautiful forest sequence where she uses golden leaves on the ground as weapons, whipping them into a swirling frenzy, a golden cloud of aggression. Tony Leung is excellent as the tortured Broken Sword, as is Zhang Ziyi as Moon, Jet Li as Nameless, and Cheng Daoming as the king of Qin, an actual historical figure who went on to build the Great Wall of China. There is not a weak performace in the film. I also liked the unexpected complexity of character motivations and emotions. The King has unexpected reasons for doing what he does in the brutal manner he does it, and one of the major characters displays a surprising attitude about the whole affair a well.
Problems...well, bearing in mind that this was a work print, and although loathe to provide Miramax with any reason to mutilate yet another Eastern film, HERO drags a bit in spots, and it does run a risk of being unfairly dismissed as a CTHD ripoff. Wu Xia as a genre will of necessity have similarities in technique and story elements, though, so this is unavoidable, perhaps. However, HERO is well worth watching when it comes out. This is a project by a master of the medium, a grand epic. I will see it again when they release it in the States.
Hope this helps. Take care,
Rob
