Hero+(NC)

ANALYZE THAT

The wuxia film "Hero" is a story about an assassination attempt on the King of Qin (Qin Shi Huang) by a unnamed prefect, referred to as Nameless. At first, it seems as though Nameless is determined to trick the Qin emperor into allowing him to be within 10 paces of the emperor by claiming that he killed other assassins that were a threat to the emperor. He wants to accomplish this in order to take revenge on the emperor for what he feels were brutal attacks on many people's homes. However, what he and many others fail to understand what is truly necessary for peace and what has been done for the greater good of the country. Nameless had believed that the Qin emperor acted out of greed, but as the story progresses, he realizes that the emperor had actually done what was needed in order to unify China. The themes of the consequences of failing to understand situations from different perspectives as well as the importance and meaning of peace are reflected throughout the film, such as in the scene where Flying Snow confronts Broken Sword and demands a duel with him.

The sound of the scene is used to highlight the tense tone of the scene as well as emphasize the themes of the film. When Flying Snow realizes that Broken Sword must have converted Nameless to his side by telling him his theory of "Tian Xia", there is only the sound of the wind blowing and the two talking. This makes it seem as though the situation is being understood clearly, as their conversation can be heard clearly. However, this covers up the fact that Flying Snow does not yet comprehend what Broken Sword's true intentions and feelings are. She is furious and demands to fight with him despite his pleas for her to be more understanding of his feelings for her and what "Tian Xia" means. While they are fighting, dramatic percussions and Chinese string instruments begin and build up, and grow in intensity as they fight. The clanging of their swords are extremely loud and emphasized as well. This causes the the scene to become more intense. However, after he feigns a defense and allows her to kill him, the percussions fade and the string instruments morph from being intense to sad and slow when she finally realizes what Broken Sword's intentions are. The lighting, or more specifically, the overall tone created by the color of the scene, is extremely important and symbolic to the film. The film relies on color throughout much of the story, and has different color schemes for different scenes. In this scene, the main colors are white and tan. The neutral colors are used in order to highlight the importance of peace in the film, especially in this scene as the two come to the conclusion of a fight that has bothered their relationship for a while. However, having both the characters wear white allows it to be understood that the two of them are actually alike in their intention to have a peaceful China, but one just can't understand the concept from the other's perspective. The tan color is seen throughout the background as they are in a desert in China, and the small traces of tan within their clothing can be seen as symbolic of their devotion to China (as China = mainly tan in this scene). The bright daytime lighting of the scene also adds to the idea that there are no obvious things that cause the two to not understand each other as the lighting exposes the characters' physical attributes clearly.

The cinematography of the scene also highlights the themes of understanding from other perspectives and the interpretations of peace. While Flying Snow and Broken Sword are talking, the camera is slowly pushing towards them as they are both trying to convey their feelings to the other. The camera attempts to expose their inner thoughts by pushing closer and closer to the characters. However, when Broken Sword gives up trying to explain and bares his feelings to Flying Snow, the camera is still and no longer moves. Their true inner feelings are being revealed to the other. When they begin fighting, a long shot is used to convey the distance between them not only physically, but mentally as well. Although the two are in love and in a relationship, there is still an evident distance between them that is caused due to misunderstanding. While they fight, the cinematography breaks its normal eye-level shots by incorporating high-level shots as well as shots from titled angles in order to caution the power of misunderstanding translating into violence as well as highlight the problems being caused due to a lack of understanding. When she kills him accidentally due to Broken Sword giving up the fight, they are closer both physically and mentally as she finally understands how greatly Broken Sword meant what he said and sees things from his perspective. They can finally see "eye-to-eye" at that moment.



There are many editing elements within this scene. By cross cutting from Flying Snow and Broken Sword fighting to Hero leaving the palace after understanding the emperor's actions, it highlights Flying Snow's lack of understanding as she can't see many things that are already happen or need to happen due to her refusal to understand the situation from others' perspectives. Intercutting from wider shots to closer shots of the characters convey the how emotional the characters are during the scene, with Broken Sword feeling desperate to be understood and Flying Snow feeling furious. The scene also incorporates slow-motion during the fighting to not only dramatize the scene, but also emphasize the idea that it's necessary to study and understand how things are before the situation spins out of control.

The mise-en-scene also contributes greatly to the scene. The character's acting are all very expressive as they have to convey hidden and misunderstood emotions. Although many of the shots are very simple, the meaning of the scene can be seen on the actors' faces and reactions, such as when Broken Sword feels burdened and frustrated by how Flying Snow is unable to understand him. There is also an extremely notable moment within this scene when Broken Sword feigns a defensive move but actually throws his sword aside, allowing Flying Snow to kill him in order for her to be able to understand him finally. His sword at first flies out of control before heading towards the ground and piercing it. This is a symbolic representation of how Flying Snow's sword stabs his heart. The sword then teeters and falls to the ground, which foreshadows that Broken Sword has actually been killed by Flying Snow's sword. This can also be seen as symbolic of how all the warring is causing problems for China, but is necessary in order to establish understanding and peace.