Hero 2004

Most people respect and revere someone who acts bravely and does nobly, but how do they respond if the one they admire doesn’t appear to be a winner or a champion? Comprised of several valiant main characters, “Hero” retells a myth of how a small band of people worked and sacrificed to help unite the land we know today as China. Even though they may look like failures, the personal price they pay to lose becomes a victory for everyone else.

A Chinese prefect modestly referred to as “Nameless” (Jet Li) is brought before the King based on the report that he has killed the King’s three most powerful enemies: Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). Coming to receive his reward, Nameless is kept at a secure distance from the King and required to report his achievements. Through repeated flashbacks and various revisions of the past, Nameless and the King each present what they believe actually happened until the truth finally prevails. But their final consensus is just the beginning of an unavoidable confrontation.

The reasonable expectation for a martial arts film like this is that it will be filled with violence. There is an array of sword fighting, arrow shooting, stabbing and death, but it is interesting to note that the violence isn’t a typical assault of the senses. With all of the violent encounters, there is only one instance where we see actual blood shed. There are a few moments where we see someone stabbed, but the moments are brief, and the focus is on the person’s reaction. Considering the background and the culture of these kinds of films, the work is done to appreciate the artistry in how the fighting is done. Where Tarantino uses fighting for violence to be made cool, director Zhang Yimou employs fighting to display something graceful and poetic.

None of the violence is unnecessarily gratuitous or disturbing, and the reason for the fighting is always clear and purposeful. Aside from that, there is no foul language, but there is a brief instance where Jet Li is shown nude from the backside. Also, one short scene depicts two characters in bed together under a sheet. While there is no nudity, some of the sounds while they are together are explicit. Overall, these objectionable moments are very few and far between.

The craftsmanship of the filmmaking is exceptional, and may hearken one back to Ang Lee’s film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (but with less violence). Each flashback is presented with a different color (red, green, blue, and white), which enhances much of the visual entertainment of the film, but also depicts the various themes of the flashbacks. The production design and art direction are outstanding, and while the computer graphics are a little too much at times, the cinematography is still excellent.

The most evocative moment I experienced was one (of several) of the fights between Broken Sword and Flying Snow. Although Broken Sword has sworn to avenge the death of Flying Snow’s father (out of his love for her), he has realized that the best thing he can do is to lay down his sword and not fight. Not understanding why Broken Sword will not take revenge, Flying Snow fights Broken Sword and kills him. Stunned, she asks why he didn’t defend himself, to which he replies, “So you would believe me.” With his death, Snow is broken, and ends up dying with him.

Because Broken Sword and Flying Snow are lovers, there is a metaphor that can be extracted from this scenario of our relationship with Jesus Christ. It wasn’t until Broken Sword dies that Flying Snow finally understands—and believes—what he has been telling her. It’s at that point that she identifies herself with him and dies, too. She dies to her own way of thinking and stubbornness of how she wants things to be. So, too, Christ Jesus has died for us, sacrificing Himself so that we can believe Him and turn from our stubborn ways. When we repent like this (as Flying Snow does), we are dying to ourselves and identifying ourselves with Christ and His death.

But the Gospel doesn’t stop at Christ’s death. There is hope when we turn to Jesus Christ like this. Romans 6:5-8 (NAS) encourages us: For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. That is good news.

This is one of several aspects that can be highly appreciated in this film. It is highly entertaining and rich in beauty and meaning. There is too much good in it for a production like this to be ignored.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: Mild