HERO (2002)

On a quest of revenge, a nameless warrior ventures to kill the king and bring justice to his murdered family. Around this short, focused plot, Quentin Tarantino builds his masterpiece of film: Hero. The beauty of the film is extraordinary, possibly standing alone. Intense coloration is present throughout the film. Bright red traditional Chinese Garments soar in the wind along with a backdrop of pure yellow leaves in one scene, while others contrast soft greens with a range of tranquil purples. As the plot skillfully twists as characters give their takes on events that have previously occurred, the camera captures every angle of the story imaginable. Close ups on faces during concentration, above, below, behind, in front of, moving alongside, next to, and beneath battling warriors, long shots of the Chinese landscape, all work into the film to capture the entirety of a scene. Every aspect of Hero works to produce a level of intricacy similar to the calligraphy central to the story line of the film.

Drawing from its historical past, Hero draws heavily from local aspects of Chinese ideals and culture. Integrity and honor are traditional Chinese themes central to the main plot. Also, the film reveals many characteristically Chinese amusements such as Martial Arts, a form of Chinese Chess, calligraphy, and Chinese instruments and song. Also, in respect to the local nature of the film, a specific scene is worthy of mentioning, where a present day issue of China dealing with language is discussed. When the nameless warrior tells the king of his encounter with Broken Sword, he tells the King that he wanted Broken Sword to scribe the 19th variation of a certain word, in order to find his weaknesses. The king responds saying,” 19 variations of a single word? No wonder no one can communicate.” This issue of communication throughout China is still discussed today with hundreds of dialects of Chinese language found within the country.

Although predominantly local film, global trends work their way in to the film through the use of camera techniques in slow motion fight sequences similar to American films such as the Matrix. The film is not restricted to a local audience, however, due to the action packed fight scenes, beauty of coloration and shot composition, and the film’s enticing narrative twists.