Alex’s Foreign Foray #17 – Hero (2002) Review (China)

Hey everyone, welcome back to Alex’s Foreign Foray. Today’s segment will focus on the 2002 Chinese action film Hero, starring Jet Li.

This film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film.

If you’re new to the series, you can find out what it’s all about here.

I chose this film from the very, very high recommendation from Rich, who dubbed it a perfect movie on an episode of the Films from the Basement podcast that I cannot remember.

While I definitely do not like Hero as much as Rich and think it could have been done a different way for my tastes, I did enjoy the film a bit and it certainly has merits. Let’s take a look at Hero.

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This is one of my first looks into Asian cinema and, like Hero, it certainly has its own style. While I wasn’t 100% on board with the film’s plot and pacing, I admit the fight scenes are very well done and the colouring is gorgeous. I’ll start first with what I like about the film.

Jet Li plays a defence officer and assassin, Nameless, who seeks an audience with the King. Once there, he tells the king a story of how he’s killed an assassin that was coming to kill the King. Impressed, the King allows him to come closer and tell more tales. Soon after, the King realizes that perhaps Nameless may not be telling the truth… and he may, in fact, be there to assassinate him.

The fight scenes choreography are all very well done, and those fights are always interesting. It’s a delight to see the talent that these performers have, especially Jet Li and Donnie Yen, and how it elevates each fight to a breakneck pace. The duels also seem to be extremely personal, with close-up shots of swords and faces, accompanied by a beautiful score, creating a sense of intimacy.

Conversely, the story itself just didn’t grab me. While I definitely dig the Rashomon-style approach to telling different versions of the same story, none of the versions took hold or mesh with me. Each also varies enough to warrant the confused reactions of the King.

I would have liked to see Hero dive a little more into the unreliable narrator aspect. Perhaps telling wildly different stories and sparking endless debate amongst viewers (as well as tricking the king). For example, don’t ever show Broken Sword and Snow’s relationship outside of Nameless’ stories. Don’t give the audience more subtle hints to the true nature of the events. I think that there is a much better way to execute this style of story. While the way it feels loosely tied together plot solely to get to the next fight. Its only saving grace is the length, as around 100-minutes is just enough to prevent me from losing my mind over my problems with the story.

The colouring of each individual story stuck out like a sore thumb, though. The red in the first story seems to portray anger at betrayal and a fight full of angered passion. Later, green brings life into the backstory of a character. From this, I gathered that the white could mean truth and purity, and you see it in its quick scene halfway through and at the end. I think the colouring is a very unique way to relay the different tones and emotions of the story.

 

Even outside of the fights, the cinematography is quite good. Sprawling shots and gorgeous mise-en-scenes breathe life into the world, while the aforementioned colours make each story and fight feel distinct.

Easily my favourite scene comes between Snow and Nameless as they block incoming arrows. Their graceful spinning, combined with the colours, sound design, and the film’s score, create a sort of majestic dance routine… one that blocks lethality and shows the skill of the two warriors. Another highlight comes in the fight between Nameless and Sky. Here the two master warriors fight within their minds.

Again, the music in this scene is exceptional. It lays the groundwork for one of the most impressive sword-fights I’ve ever seen. The fight crescendos with the music and, when there’s a breather or moment of levity, the music comes to a standstill. The final culmination happens simultaneously with the strings breaking on the performer’s instrument. It’s a masterfully directed scene that does one of my favourite things in movies: using the music much more than background noise. Using it to elevate the scene to something more.

 

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Hero Overall – 7.5 out of 10

While I can see the merits in Hero, there were certainly elements that did not mesh for me. The story simply didn’t work. I thought it could have been executed much better for what it was trying to achieve. I thought the fights and cinematography were excellent, though, and I’m certainly glad I watched it.

Hero is available digitally and on Blu-ray.

NEXT TIME: We travel from China to Japan, where we’ll be watching the anime film Your Name, from 2016.

The Journey So Far