Zhang Yimou's HERO Comes to America

by Gary W. Shockley

In the opening scenes of HERO, as Jet Li appears with long hair, dressed in Qin Dynasty garb, surrounded by thousands of soldiers, one feels a surge of anticipation and excitement. Not only is this a big-budgeted epic but a dream come true, Jet Li returning to his roots, his "real" horse stance, back in Mainland China in the role he was meant to play -- a martial arts master of old.

Of course, the movie was made over two years ago, and one must wonder why it has taken so long for it to appear in the US. That will be touched on later. For starters, let's just discuss the movie.

HERO is a remarkable motion picture on almost every level. In terms of cast, you'd be hard-pressed to improve on Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, and Chen Daoming. The cinematography by Christopher Doyle (THE QUIET AMERICAN, RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, and CHUNGKING EXPRESS) is exquisite, the action choreography by Tony Ching (A BETTER TOMORROW II, STREET FIGHTER, SHAOLIN SOCCER) breathtaking, the costumes by Emi Wada (Akira Kurosawa's DREAMS and RAN) sumptuous, and the music by Tan Dun (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) haunting. Put all of this in the capable hands of director Zhang Yimou (RAISE THE RED LANTERN, SHANGHAI TRIAD, THE STORY OF QUI JU), and you're bound to come up with something exceptional.

Everyone knows Jet Li by now. You probably know Tony Leung from John Woo's BULLET IN THE HEAD and HARD-BOILED, though more recently he has become an accomplished all-around actor. Maggie Cheung appeared in Jackie Chan's POLICE STORY and Johnny To's THE HEROIC TRIO and has likewise branched out into more serious acting roles. Zhang Ziyi you will know as the young and temperamental Jen from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (CTHD). Donnie Yen has appeared in such vehicles as ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA II, IRON MONKEY, and SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, as well as doing fight choreography for several major motion pictures. Chen Daoming is an accomplished actor who has won several Best Actor awards in his native China.

Comparisons to CTHD are inevitable. The main characters at times seem blessed with invisible wings and take to the air with ease. Zhang Ziyi - so mesmerizing in CTHD - is even present. Her role as Moon is secondary to the four main characters of Nameless, Broken Sword, Flying Snow, and Sky; yet one gets the feeling that the director expanded it during the making of the movie, for she is worked into many of the dramatic scenes, participates in a surprising number of fights, and is given ample opportunity to show once again her impressive dramatic range.

But beyond these things, HERO becomes its own animal. While CTHD had some wildly over-the-top scenes (one in which Jade Fox - Cheng Pei Pei - brutally disposes of several opponents, another in which Jen - Zhang Ziyi - demolishes an eatery), as well as moments of humor (the desert bandit's playful courtship of Jen), HERO is a carefully modulated tale. There is a quiet dignity to the fight scenes in HERO, a Zen-like quality where the sword seems secondary to the mind.

The director captures this mood through the use of water droplets, autumn leaves, bamboo slats, flights of arrows, often shown in slow motion and always timed to the haunting music. Part of one fight even plays out in the minds of the meditating combatants.

And that's the great beauty of HERO, its quiet philosophical tone. These are mature martial artists, full of reflection, well past their impulsive years. They've had difficult lives, have suffered terrible tragedies, and they'd rather not put their martial talents to use. But above all else they understand the importance of sacrifice. Each in his or her own way is prepared to give up all for a greater cause. The problem is, disagreement arises over what that greater cause should be.

While CTHD was a fairly simple tale of good versus evil, that is not the case here. In HERO, every character is good, and determined to do good deeds. The conflict is one of having to choose among several flavors of good. The plot unfolds in flashback (shades of RASHOMON), each story thread subject to reinterpretation, each character's merits and weaknesses continuously reevaluated. And though there is plenty of fighting - much of it breathtaking (highlighted by Donnie Yen's battle with Jet Li) - this is a cerebral tale, which ultimately delivers a profound philosophical message.

HERO is set during the Warring States period. The King of Qin has resorted to ruthless tactics in his attempt to unite all of the States. As a result, he has made many enemies, among them three martial artists of considerable renown: Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Sky (Donnie Yen). Jet Li plays Nameless, a low-ranking Qin officer who goes after these enemies of the King. Of course, all is not as it seems, as the story is deeply layered, the plot revealing itself in stages; and just when all seems revealed, there are additional layers, additional surprises.

This is a very Chinese tale, not only in its Zen sensibilities but its Taoist principles and Confucianist ideals. The names of the characters speak of nature: Snow, Sky, Moon. The settings are astonishing in their beauty -- autumn leaves, a quiet lake, a calligraphy school, a chess match in a courtyard. Even the audience with the King of Qin, which serves as the centerpiece of the movie, is deeply reflective. Four colors -- red, green, blue, and white -- are used symbolically. As for Confucianism, that is the basis of the conflict. One must honor one's parents, and one must honor the King. But if the King's soldiers kill one's parents (actually the entire village), what is one to do?

Will American audiences, so accustomed to the mind-candy of Rocky, Rambo, and the Rock, be able to appreciate HERO's subtleties? That is the specter haunting Miramax, who is attempting to market HERO in the States.

Perhaps someday someone will make a movie about the marketing of HERO. There's certainly been enough VCD and DVD releases of the movie itself, with different director's cuts ranging from 96 minutes to 107 minutes, and perhaps a longer one. Then there's "The Making of" DVDs, and let's not forget that the soundtrack is also available. HERO is a marketing bonanza gone to seed. It's hard to know who's making money on it anymore, though it seems unlikely it's the ones most deserving. If you've followed its faltering steps towards release in US theaters (originally scheduled for November 2002, pushed back repeatedly and now slated for late August 2004), you get the feeling that it is a hot potato that no one knows quite how to handle -- with the possible exception of Mad Magazine, always adept at recognizing grist for its parodic mill.

There is no question that HERO has an audience. It has played to sell-out crowds in China and other countries. It was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 2002 Academy Awards. It has garnered other awards, including cinematography.

But Miramax is in charge of bringing it to America. And Miramax has balked time and again in releasing Asian movies in the States, most notably SHAOLIN SOCCER, alienating Hong Kong's hottest star - Stephen Chow - in the process. I've heard that Miramax butchered the SWORDSMAN II DVD (starring Jet Li), but have not confirmed this myself.

Rumors about Miramax abound. A new and very bizarre theory holds that Miramax has been purposely mishandling its properties in an attempt to gain independence from Disney. Miramax does seem to be accident-prone of late. Still, the rumor has a tabloid reek to it, and I just can't believe Miramax would stoop so low for its own self-interests.

In defense of Miramax, they have a monumental task ahead of them. They must sell HERO to Americans. Americans are the prissiest crybabies on the face of the Earth. They insist on bathing every day, demand that their women shave, they deodorize and perfume themselves to high heaven, and heaven forbid if Janet Jackson flashes a boob on the telly. Americans live in fear of change; they demand to be spoon-fed their own culture, and should there be the slightest discrepancy in the color, taste or texture of this bland diet, they'll get all cranky and refuse to eat.

I speak of Americans in general, of course. But this is precisely the market that Miramax must pitch HERO to. And they know better than to try a change-up or a curve.

What they've decided upon, apparently, is a fastball. While the original release of HERO was nearly 2 hours long, Miramax will release a 96-minute version. Or so I've heard. (A recent press release suggests that they have decided to go with the original version.) Who knows? Their strategy seems to change day by day. But by the time most of you read this, the decision will have been made, and something will be in the theaters.

As for these different versions of HERO floating around, I've seen the 96-minute and 107-minute versions on DVD. Whether there is a still longer version, I don't know. Of the two I saw, what was the difference? I couldn't tell. I honestly couldn't tell. Director Zhang Yimou did the edits himself, tightening the movie to satisfy Miramax. And he is a master. So if you are agonizing over which version to get or see, my advice would be not to sweat it, it doesn't really matter. Zhang Yimou did both, maintaining their integrity and magnificence.

I recently read a Donnie Yen interview wherein he defends some cuts made to his fight scenes. They were very minor cuts, and he believes it helped the pacing. As a renowned fight choreographer, he should know about timing. Then again, with HERO about to hit the theaters, would he dare say anything negative?

Miramax's trailer for HERO differs considerably from the Hong Kong one, and it's worth contemplating. It gives the impression that Jet Li is pitted from the very start against the King of Qin and all his men, and that the King sends out three master assassins to kill him. This is a more familiar and popular formula for American audiences -- one against all. By contrast, the Hong Kong trailer makes clear that Jet Li is the King's henchman, who has been sent out to kill three would-be assassins (though, as the movie proceeds, the story grows increasingly convoluted).

What's important for us to keep in mind is that Miramax doesn't really care about martial artists. If they did, they'd lose their shirts. Martial artists are an insignificant part of the American box office, just an irksome whine in Miramax's ear. What Miramax wants to ensure is that HERO appeals to the general audience. And you can trust that Zhang Yimou was all ears when he met the Miramax honchos to discuss how to tweak HERO for American audiences. Because you don't keep working in this field if your box office fails. Jackie Chan knows that. Jet Li knows that. They've known it from the beginning, ever trying to second-guess what the audience wants. In Miramax's case, they bought a finished product, and now they're trying to tweak it after the fact. This is not a good strategy, to my mind.

My advice to them would be to stop over-analyzing the product. Get it out there. If nothing else, HERO is amazing eye candy. The music is infectious. Let word of mouth do the work. HERO has legs. Let it walk!

Written by Gary W. Shockley for KUNGFUMAGAZINE.COM

Print Friendly Version of This Article