Appeal, depth of ‘Hero’ not so hidden

TRICIA BEHLE

“Hero” is set in ancient China before it was one country, when it was

still several warring kingdoms. The King of Qin sought to conquer the

other kingdoms and unify them into an empire, with himself as the

first emperor of China. Not surprisingly, he was the target of

constant assassination attempts by the other kingdoms.

The king lived in fear of the three most dangerous assassins: Sky

(Donnie Yen), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Broken Sword (Tony

Leung). When a nameless minor official (Jet Li) kills all three, the

king (Chen Dao Ming) summons the official to the palace to reward him

and hear the story of his victories. The tale is not as simple as it

first appears, however, and the film keeps reworking the story.

Each time the tale is told with a different twist, a different

color dominates visually. Director Zhang Yimou has thought a lot

about the use of color and has created a film that is extraordinarily

beautiful to watch. Yimou makes water, fire, leaves, arrows and wind

into pivotal aspects of important scenes. There are wonderful moments

and even bits of whimsy in the fight scenes. Historical pageants can

be tricky to film, since there is a fine line between epic and silly.

A few times, “Hero” teeters perilously on the edge, but Yimou stays

on the epic side of the divide.

“Hero” shares many similarities with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden

Dragon,” especially in the wire effects used in the fight scenes and

the use of actress Zhang Ziyi, so it is hard not to make comparisons.

The characters and their relationships in “Hero” are not as involving

as those in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” But “Hero” is the more

sophisticated of the two films, incorporating deeper themes of what

it means to be a hero and what the most important ideals in war and

the greater good are.

Some of the film’s conclusions are a little troubling, when

compared to Western ideas. They might play better and on more levels

to a Chinese audience that understands the history, symbolism and

culture in the movie. However, if you enjoyed “Crouching Tiger,

Hidden Dragon,” “Hero” will also delight you.

* TRICIA BEHLE lives in Newport Beach and works as a software

validator.

Challenging everything you bleeping know

This weird and wonderful film is like no other you’ve ever seen.

Combining comedy, drama, fantasy and documentary, it romps across the

screen, challenging your basic assumptions of life. It addresses the

great questions of science, philosophy and religion as a unifying

interrogation into the nature of reality. But it’s done as though

Einstein teamed up with Robin Williams and Deepak Chopra to write the

screenplay.

“What the #$*! Do We Know?” is the unlikely title of a film

storming indie art movie theaters. Employing real life and fictional

stories, great animation and computer graphics, it uses the

underlying principles of quantum physics to explain the workings of

the real world that our senses perceive. And it’s all done with

humor, intelligence and emotional spikes that surprise and delight.

Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin plays a simple woman trying to

understand why her personal reality is what it is. Standing in for

all of us, the plot propels her down the rabbit hole of modern

scientific theory into the subatomic reality that forms the basis of

every thought, feeling and sensory perception. Renowned scientists

and psychologists offer astute comments on the unfolding mysteries

she experiences. The result is a kaleidoscope of revelations about

how we come to know and what we think we know but never understood

before.

Defying all Hollywood formulas, this movie manages to be

thought-provoking and educational, yet wild and crazy all at the same

time. What is reality? This intriguing film offers some perplexing

answers while raising even more compelling questions about the core

issues of our existence.

The nearly sold-out audience at Regal’s UCI Art Cinemas gave this

film a rousing applause at the end and stayed to watch the credits.

Go see why.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.