Empty Spaces

Rating: Null/10 (13 November 2004)

Hero revels in wide open spaces; for the most part these are empty spaces, upon which the director can paint his vision. Or, rather, I should say his visions. In that way, Hero acts visually as those sand-boxes upon which calligraphy students practice their art. On a narrative level, calligraphy also serves as a useful point of reference - the 19 ways to write sword paralleling the Rashomon-like story.
Unfortunately, despite the glut of ideas concerning politics (conquest as a unifying force), love (its sublime nature), and art (its ephemerality) among others the film lacks a center. It is un-focused and much like the landscapes depicted herein empty.
Hero has no soul.
Soul is, of course, intangible; yet the audience, if trained, can perceive it or the lack thereof. With its gorgeously composed and thematically colored shots, Hero lulls us with its beauty.
Unfortunately, after a half hour we realize that, really, despite its ideological ramifications, there is nothing more to this film than surface.
A beautiful and stylish surface can work, as it does in the work of De Palma, on its own to give the movie its soul. De Palma understands that (and so do other directors like Kurosawa, Tarantino to an extent, and Hitchcock). These directors understand that it is not what a movie is about, but rather how it is about it.
Style is important, then.
Yimou Zhang fails in that respect. Hero is not about style; it is about visuals. These are two distinct entities. Style encompasses mood, visuals, atmosphere, acting, direction, etc. Style is the whole package. Hero has the visuals, but lacks in every other category. The performances are wooden; the direction is static.
The imaging of this world is beautiful, but, on its own, that cannot carry the film.
Look at Kurosawa, who stylizes his pictures to perfection. Look at Kobayashi and Shinoda. These men meld a painterly visual sense with appropriate atmosphere, stylized acting, and impeccable direction. Watch Kwaidan, Ran, Hara-kiri, or Double Suicide and then watch Hero. The lack of soul will be apparent in the latter and so will the lack of skill.
**Note: I saw the extended Chinese version of this film, thanks to a brother with an exuberant love of all things Asian; that film, at almost and hour and fifty minutes was tedious. The American version, cut to almost an hour and a half is probably a better movie but my criticisms would still stand, I think. Slimming the film down will not give it a center and focus it.