Bendy Demon Posted May 23, 2020 #1 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Ok..I just got done watching a film that was completely in the chinese language. The movie is called "Hero" and it starts off with some young-ish man being transported, by cart, to..a palace or someplace where he sits in front of -what I surmise is- a daimyo where he is explaining a series of events (a battle maybe) What gets confusing is there are many scenes of a battle taking place between a certain set of people and at one point the ones fighting are wearing these thin, silky robes and with each battle the robes are changing colors' from white to yellow to green..and while one of the battlers dies they return and are fighting again. There are battles between characters taking place in different places such as a desert-like place surrounded by foot soldiers, a lake, some strange room where the walls are comprised of bundles of wooden slats. In the last part, this 'daimyo' tosses his sword to the young man and then turns his back, apparently prepared to be struck down but the young man, instead of killing this..daimyo strikes him in the back with the hilt of his sword and says something then leaves, he is surrounded by the daimyo's warriors and when the young man reaches the gate of this palace he (the young man) turns and is apparently preparing to be killed in which the daimyo seems pained as he authorizes his soldiers to fire their arrows and the young man is killed but is then carried away on a funeral platform seemingly by the same warriors who struck him down. The movie had no english subtitles so I don't understand the movie or what was going on but I assume that the characters robes kept changing to represent, perhaps, different paths that could have been taken..maybe. At any rate, does anyone know what I am referring to? Since there was no english descriptions that means it was originally and perhaps solely made in china (I bough it at a thrift store so it obviously belonged to someone of asian descent) Thanks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretSanta Posted May 23, 2020 #2 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Maybe this one? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_(2002_film) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter B Posted May 23, 2020 #3 Share Posted May 23, 2020 (edited) This movie? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_(2002_film) ETA: missed it by that much! Edited May 23, 2020 by Peter B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted May 23, 2020 #4 Share Posted May 23, 2020 You both beat me to it. I was looking on Google and found this. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted May 23, 2020 #5 Share Posted May 23, 2020 An English dubbed version was released, as well as a subtitled one. It's unfortunate that you weren't able to find either as it's a really good film. At least you were able to see how visually spectacular it is. The basic plot is fairly straightforward, but can get confusing as the story's told using flashbacks from different points of view. So, sometimes you'll see the same event more than once, each time with a different outcome. The following is a detailed narrative analysis of the film. It also covers the significance of the colours you mentioned. https://itpworld.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/hero-chinahong-kong-2002-–-narrative-analysis/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted May 23, 2020 Author #6 Share Posted May 23, 2020 12 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: An English dubbed version was released, as well as a subtitled one. It's unfortunate that you weren't able to find either as it's a really good film. At least you were able to see how visually spectacular it is. The basic plot is fairly straightforward, but can get confusing as the story's told using flashbacks from different points of view. So, sometimes you'll see the same event more than once, each time with a different outcome. The following is a detailed narrative analysis of the film. It also covers the significance of the colours you mentioned. https://itpworld.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/hero-chinahong-kong-2002-–-narrative-analysis/ YES!!! That's the one! Even though I didn't understand it, I still enjoyed it. Thanks for the links..it does help me to understand what was happening though I still don't know why the young man was 'executed' by the footsoldiers but if the man was tricked into admitting something that he didn't do then the daimyo should be ashamed of himself as it would seem he had something to hide. Either way I liked the movie and hope to find one with English subtitles..the voices are fine though. Thank you!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted May 23, 2020 #7 Share Posted May 23, 2020 27 minutes ago, Bendy Demon said: YES!!! That's the one! Even though I didn't understand it, I still enjoyed it. Thanks for the links..it does help me to understand what was happening though I still don't know why the young man was 'executed' by the footsoldiers but if the man was tricked into admitting something that he didn't do then the daimyo should be ashamed of himself as it would seem he had something to hide. Either way I liked the movie and hope to find one with English subtitles..the voices are fine though. Thank you!!! Jet Li's character (Nameless) wasn't tricked. The king simply saw through his deception, and when challenged, Nameless admitted his true purpose. Nameless hadn't, as he initially claimed, killed the three assassins (Broken Sword, Flying Snow, and Long Sky) who had vowed to murder the king. In reality, he and two of those assassins were co-conspirators in the assassination plot, and once close enough to the king, Nameless intended to kill him. At the end, however, Nameless has a change of heart but, as a way of keeping his promise to his friends, had to appear as though he had killed the king. That's why he lunges towards the king and pretends to stab him before dropping his sword. If I recall correctly, the king wavered when it came to executing Nameless, but eventually bowed to pressure from the guards. It's a tragic ending, but what happened between Flying Snow and Broken Sword was even more tragic in my opinion. She challenged him to a duel (as she blamed him for the failure of the assassination plot) but he refuses to fend off her sword and is killed. In despair, Flying Snow kills herself with the same sword. It was a heart-wrenching scene. And now you've got me wanting to see it again. It's such a good film. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted May 23, 2020 Author #8 Share Posted May 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: And now you've got me wanting to see it again. It's such a good film. So this Nameless Guy was really an assassin, eh? Hmm..I was wondering why he was being transported in a prison cart but..in the end after Nameless was killed, why was he given such a grand funeral, being carried and surrounded by the soldiers who killed him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted May 23, 2020 #9 Share Posted May 23, 2020 21 minutes ago, Bendy Demon said: So this Nameless Guy was really an assassin, eh? Hmm..I was wondering why he was being transported in a prison cart but..in the end after Nameless was killed, why was he given such a grand funeral, being carried and surrounded by the soldiers who killed him? It's a bit complex to explain without the following context. This is the scene where the king is examining the scroll drawn by Broken Sword and is enlightened by it (specifically, he comes to understand that the ideal warrior is one with no desire to kill). Nameless chose not to kill the king (after discovering the king's wish to unify and bring peace to China) and in doing so, sacrificed his life. It was the act of an ideal warrior. That is why he was given a hero's funeral. One great irony in the film is that those who wanted to assassinate the king achieved enlightenment before he did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted May 23, 2020 Author #10 Share Posted May 23, 2020 4 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: It's a bit complex to explain without the following context. This is the scene where the king is examining the scroll drawn by Broken Sword and is enlightened by it (specifically, he comes to understand that the ideal warrior is one with no desire to kill). Nameless chose not to kill the king (after discovering the king's wish to unify and bring peace to China) and in doing so, sacrificed his life. It was the act of an ideal warrior. That is why he was given a hero's funeral. One great irony in the film is that those who wanted to assassinate the king achieved enlightenment before he did. Ahh..I see. The very title of the movie then would be the irony itself since Nameless was originally, as you said, to assassinate the emperor/king. I guess peace meant something to him as well. However I am going to see if I can get the movie with the english subtitles so I can better understand what is going on. Still a great movie and to think I simply picked it up 'cause it seemed interesting. Glad I finally watched it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted May 24, 2020 #11 Share Posted May 24, 2020 1 minute ago, Bendy Demon said: Ahh..I see. The very title of the movie then would be the irony itself since Nameless was originally, as you said, to assassinate the emperor/king. I guess peace meant something to him as well. Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted May 24, 2020 #12 Share Posted May 24, 2020 It's a very famous story based on historical records on the first emperor... It's like China's "sword in the stone" or "Trojan horse" tale... This one is my favorite take on the story... Quote The Emperor and the Assassin, also known as The First Emperor, is a 1998 - 1999 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. Wikipedia Initial release: October 8, 1998 (China) Director: Chen Kaige Cinematography: Zhao Fei Screenplay: Chen Kaige, Peigong Wang Awards: Golden Rooster Award for Best Cinematography, more ~ The simplified background on the assassin... Quote [00.04:02] ~ 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piney Posted May 24, 2020 #13 Share Posted May 24, 2020 49 minutes ago, third_eye said: It's a very famous story based on historical records on the first emperor... It's like China's "sword in the stone" or "Trojan horse" tale... I love how the movie kept the whole motif in the Shang historical perspective. The dagger-axes, dings, armor, buildings, clothes, everything a reconstructed Shang item. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted May 24, 2020 #14 Share Posted May 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Piney said: I love how the movie kept the whole motif in the Shang historical perspective. The dagger-axes, dings, armor, buildings, clothes, everything a reconstructed Shang item. It was during the period of movie authenticity before the present cgi "reality" nonsense... ~ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piney Posted May 24, 2020 #15 Share Posted May 24, 2020 52 minutes ago, third_eye said: It was during the period of movie authenticity before the present cgi "reality" nonsense... I would of liked to see hard blade jianshu though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted May 24, 2020 #16 Share Posted May 24, 2020 3 hours ago, Piney said: I would of liked to see hard blade jianshu though. That's a weapon of the "nobility" not military... Crouching tiger hidden dragon ? ~ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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