NationStates Jolt Archive

"Hero" (directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Jet Li) has been around for a few years and since Quentin Tarantino has arranged for it to be released soon in the US theaters I thought I'd give my lay opinion...

"Hero" is a Chinese martial arts flick with a fictional story set around two thousand years ago in ancient China. (I watched a very decent English subtitled version bought in Canada, I don't know if the American release will have dubbed speech or just subtitles) At that time China was made up of seven warring states and three master assassins have been trying to kill the king of the most powerful state. Jet Li plays a warrior who killed these assassins and comes to the palace to collect his reward and tell his story.

The storytelling is amazing and a series of plot twists will keep you guessing till the end. The martial arts is original and exciting too. "Hero" is one hell of a stylish movie with dramatic use of color, motion, and landscapes. The music is highly memorable, played by the renowned Yitzhak Perlman.

Fascism
"Hero" is entertaining and enjoyable if you just consider the storytelling and the stylishness but I was bothered by its fascist message. The movie's last scene is a perfect, very tragic illustration of the totalitarian State annihilating the individual. No wonder the People's Republic of China (which is fascist, not communist) is happy promoting this movie as propaganda. "Hero" may be compared to Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will" which is the famous Nazi propaganda film. Ive never seen "Triumph" in its entirety but seeing clips of the stormtroopers marching in unison reminds me of parts of "Hero," and both promote totalitarian ideologies, and both pay close attention to stylish artistic conventions like pleasing lines, shapes, movement, etc.

In conclusion I highly recommend "Hero" as a load of fun... however I wholeheartedly reject its blatant fascism. Also if you watch this two hour film I think you will get more understanding about Chinese culture than if you spent a month in China. The themes and trends (both good and bad) in Chinese history and the modern Chinese mindset are brilliantly summed up in "Hero."

The plot definitely has a lot of fine twists. Very, very fine twists. I found that both interesting and a bit annoying because a good portion of the movie where he tells the story is just an elaborate lie.

I believe it'll have subtitles (the Chinese VCD I saw when it came out early 03 I think, had English subtitles). I thought it was a very well done movie and film, better than a fairly similar one whose title escapes me (with an assasin by the name of Jing Ke, dealt with the same time period and the same emperor)

I didn't think it was Fascist at all. I don't see how it promotes totalitarian ideology, I thought it was more of a message for peace - he decided to not cause turmoil and chaos for the sake of 'all under heaven' (which was just two words, although it's subtitled as three because of the translation ;))

And 'Hero' completely P4WNS 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'

And 'Hero' completely P4WNS 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'
I'm both glad to hear it, and unimpressed because I thought 'Crouching Tiger' sucked the big hairy root. That's like saying that it's better than being castrated with a teaspoon. Good to know, but isn't exactly a high compliment. ;)

Heh. Well...Hero pawns 'The Matrix?' Umm...'Harry Potter?'...never mind, I'll stick to saying that it's a great movie. :)

I have never looked at martial arts movies to work out political subtexts. Kung fu is very cool though and Hero is a good example of the genre.

I didn't think it was Fascist at all. I don't see how it promotes totalitarian ideology, I thought it was more of a message for peace - he decided to not cause turmoil and chaos for the sake of 'all under heaven' (which was just two words, although it's subtitled as three because of the translation ;))

Well the Emperor of Qin in history wasn't some high minded benevolent monarch driven by his greed for land and power not for peace or the greater good... "Hero" manages to glorify Qin Shihuang without showing his appalling crimes. Also Mao Zedong has always liked to be compared to Qin Shihuang, so the Chinese communist party is happy that "Hero" in glorifying the Qin Emperor indirectly praises the tyrant Mao. The unquestioning subordination of the individual to "the greater good" invites authoritarianism... I thought the execution at the end was cruel and unnecessary and accurately reflected the barbarous nature of the Qin dynasty and fascism in general.

I have never looked at martial arts movies to work out political subtexts.
I don't think the director is an avowed fascist or is trying to promote tyranny since he has traditionally made a lot of controversial movies that are at odds with the Chinese dictatorship... no matter the political allegory that "Hero" contains it is undoubtedly a beautiful movie and educates about the historical character of China. However I think the director applied many conventions of kung fu movies (such as honor, loyalty, justice, etc.) to the wrong ends, by placing the state before the individual. The director in fact was an enemy of the state in China before this movie but now is like a VIP honored by the communists.