I would argue that 'Ying Xiong' seeks a synthesis of individual determination and national power.
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Before I begin reviewing "Ying Xiong" (2002), I want to clarify two things.
One, comparisons to "Rashomon" are mis-guided because in "Rashomon", several characters tell different versions of the truth. In "Ying Xiong", ONE character tells different lies. This makes "Ying Xiong" similar to "The Usual Suspects", NOT "Rashomon". Yes, there's a flashback structure, but unless one claims that all movies with flashbacks are the same, then a differentiation between "Ying Xiong" and "Rashomon" must be made.
Also, a lot of viewers with knowledge of the Chinese language have complained about translating Broken Sword's "Tian Xia" message to Nameless as "Our Land". As a purist, I'm going to defend the "Our Land" translation. While "Our Land" is not a literal translation of "Tian Xia", which literally means "Under the Heavens", it is more accurate than the literal translation because literally "Under the Heavens" doesn't mean anything in either Chinese or English. "Tian Xia" is an expression that refers to the state of affairs in the whole world. Since Chinese culture has traditionally been ethnocentric in nature, "Tian Xia" in this instance should be understood as pertaining to a pan-Chinese view of territories inhabited by people living in the area known as China today. The only way to explicate "Under the Heavens" would be to give someone extensive lessons on history, culture, linguistics, and semiotics. "Our Land" is a concise, accurate translation of what "Tian Xia" "means" in the Chinese language.
To give you another example, take John Woo's "Zong Heng Si Hai" ("Once a Thief"). "Zong Heng Si Hai" is an expression that refers to seeking adventure, fortune, and glory wherever one may be in the world. Literally, the words "zong heng si hai" mean "roaming the four seas", but the phrase does not mean what it literally describes. "Si hai" literally means "four seas", but the Chinese use "si hai" to refer to the whole world. Therefore, the best translation of "zong heng si hai" is "Fortune favors the bold".
There are three kinds of cinemas: cinema of narrative, cinema of art, and cinema of ideas. A lot of Americans went to see Zhang Yimou's "Ying Xiong" ("Hero") expecting another "Wo Hu Cang Long" ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), and they left theatres whining about how the story wasn't anything special. They missed the point. "Ying Xiong" is cinema of art and cinema of ideas; the narrative is only a framework for conveying a heightened expression of certain aspects of Chinese culture and Chinese politics. It's true that the story in "Ying Xiong" is a piffle, but if you watch movies only to be told stories, then you have a narrow-minded view of what cinema can accomplish.
My colleague John Puccio has given a warm appraisal of the movie's visual style. The only thing that I would like to add to John's discussion of the movie as cinema of art is that "Ying Xiong" isn't really about fighting. Rather, it's about dancing--swirling bodies, fabrics, colors. The movie is poetry of movement, if you will.
"Ying Xiong" informs viewers that, during the Period of Warring States, six kingdoms in East Asia tried to resist the King of Qin. Various assassins were sent to kill the King of Qin, but he eventually conquered his neighbors and became Qin Shi Huang Di, the first emperor of China and the architect of the Great Wall of China. Chen Kaige, another great Fifth Generation director, covered similar territory with 1999's "Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang" ("The Emperor and the Assassin").
Really, there's not much more to the plot. There aren't any crazy twists, and any subterfuge is quickly unveiled. What remains, then, are how the movie relates its plot and what ideas the movie offers.
I admit that I had a dim view of "Ying Xiong" after my first viewing. I thought that it was just a bunch of fight scenes in varying colors strung together to capitalize on the success of "Wo Hu Cang Long". However, since my first viewing of "Ying Xiong", there has been much thoughtful criticism written about it. My second viewing of "Ying Xiong" was enlightening, indeed. In fact, I was moved to tears by the philosophical implications of the internal tensions that propelled the narrative and its ideas.
In "Ying Xiong", an assassin (Nameless, played by Jet Li) who originally wants to kill the King of Qin (played by Chen Daoming) changes his mind after agreeing with an adversary that the King of Qin's goal of unifying the various Chinese kingdoms is a cause that will bring peace to the Chinese people. At the end of the movie, the hegemonic King of Qin remains in power, and some epilogic text lionizes his historical achievements. The movie's main theme--that of acquiescing to an authority with a national vision--has been described as fascistic and blindly nationalistic by some movie reviewers and scholars (www.filmint.nu/netonly/eng/
heroevanschan.htm). Some viewers have even read the movie as a justification of China's aggressive military policies towards its western provinces as well as Taiwan.
Understandably, some people are incensed by Zhang Yimou's apparent submission to the totalitarian rulers in mainland China. What's more, a member of the cast, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, was rumored to have said that the Chinese government was right in cracking down on the student protestors in Tiananmen Square. However, while the main theme supports the "One China Under One Rule" concept, the movie also laments the high cost of "national" unification (almost all of the noble protagonists die).
Martial-arts movies--of both the wuxia (swordfighting) and gongfu (fistfighting) varieties--have long been used as signifiers of a "national" Chinese cinema. Jet Li starred in Tsui Hark's "Huang Feihong" ("Once Upon a Time in China") series, in which folk hero Huang Feihong beat the crap out of foreign devils who had guns. For "Wo Hu Cang Long", director Ang Lee drew upon the resources of Chinese people from all over the world in order to make a movie that calls for a pan-Chinese view of "The Dragon's Descendents".
I felt sad seeing so many good characters die in the movie. Yet, their deaths are necessary. In order for the King of Qin to establish a strong China, the rule of law must be maintained. Chinese rule of law--not Zhao or Wei or Han or even Qin--understandably marginalizes people who want to remain divided (and by extension, weak). In "Ying Xiong", the King of Qin realizes this cruel dichotomy and sheds tears for the high costs of his vision.
Yes, I am American, but I am also Chinese. I agree with the ideas that "Ying Xiong" espouses. Understand that "Ying Xiong" does not advocate the suppression of individualism in favor of nationalism. Indeed, individuals are exalted--from each of the skilled warriors who opposed Qin aggression to the King of Qin himself. I would argue that "Ying Xiong" seeks a synthesis of individual determination and national power.
This might sound like troubling news to you, and it should trouble you to some extent. The greatest movies challenge us to perceive the world in philosophical terms. Only pandering, clichéd, routine pap comforts viewers with straight-forward narratives that smart viewers can anticipate.
Video:
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture is a disgrace. Widely hailed as one of the most beautiful movies of the past ten years (and possibly of all time), the image is excessively grainy on DVD. I saw "Ying Xiong" in a movie theatre with a large screen, and I sat fairly close to the screen. If I did not see a lot of grain sitting close to a blown-up version of the image, then I should not see as much grain as I do with the DVD. The grain is so bad that it could actually be video noise arising from poor authoring rather than actual film grain. There were times when it felt like I was watching the movie through a mosquito net.
Moreover, the transfer is also dull and lacking in contrast. Zhang Yimou and his team used strong primary colors. On DVD, the reds are not red enough, and the blacks are not black enough. Therefore, you get red-orange and very dark grey, which makes the movie rather ugly.
The film print that was used for the DVD is not free of scratches or other blemishes, and no one bothered fixing those problems when mastering the disc. What's more, the transfer is often too soft. When you consider that the DVD has two useless audio tracks (English and French dubs), it's actually infuriating that the Buena Vista didn't give the video all the care that it requires.
Audio:
The quality of the primary Dolby Digital 5.1 Mandarin Chinese track is much better than the quality of the video. The audio is very active, giving each speaker plenty of things to shoot into the viewing space. Dialogue is always crisp and clear--key to giving audiences the pleasure of hearing the actors' excellent line deliveries.
However, all is not well. A lot of low-frequency effects (LFEs) sound muddled and messy. Also, for all the hustle and bustle in the rear speakers, the sound design is simply too apparent to be "natural". You can tell exactly which speaker is doing what, so you don't get a 360-degree experience. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the sound engineering or the DVD mastering, but I can tell you that the audio is very good but not great.
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[release]13119[/release]