Hero, China

Hero, a film once again by Zhang Yimou, was significantly more enjoyable than the previous film viewed. The story, which features long, choreographed kung-fu fight scenes, centers on an assassin name Nameless and his exploits with the three other assassins (Snow, Sky, and Broken Sword) who have been hired to kill the King of Qin. Although at times there seem to be more fight scenes than dialogue or story, the fight scenes and many other portions of the film are mainly highlighted by color.

Color is used for tonal purposes in the film. The main character, Nameless, always is scene dressed in black (outside of when he appears at the Calligraphy school decked out in traditional red garb). Other characters, mainly Snow and Broken Sword’s are scene in many different colors based off the situation around them. For instance, in Nameless’s initial telling of his story all the characters appear in red. The connotations of this red are two fold- one is anger and one is passion. The anger and the vision of blood it brings with it is highlighted by the onslaught of arrows brought on by the Qin army. The passion comes in the form of Broken Sword’s love making to Moon, his servant, and his love of Snow. Throughout the film, bright red reappears (especially during fight scenes) in connotations of blood and anger. Blue, when it appears, seems to indicate a more subservient status of the characters that wear it. Green, when it appears in the scene recounting Broken Sword’s fight with the King of Qin, seem to indicate (as it often does) an amorphous dream- one of the uniting of China.

Hero presents an interesting, yet still artistic view of a Chinese legend. Through its impeccable use of color and non-linear story line, the film engages the audience in a vivid cinematic experience.