The Measure of a Hero

It’s a film that says country comes first, then city, then family. Celebrated director Zhang Yimou crafts a martial arts movie that goes way beyond violence and action in Hero, a true story of the first emperor of China and three legendary assassins.

To bring to life this epic tale of love, loyalty, jealousy and intrigue, Hero assembled an unprecedented collection of Asia’s hottest talents. International martial arts superstar Jet Li heads the stellar cast as Nameless, the enigmatic county sheriff. Hong Kong megastars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, fresh from their award-winning performances in In the Mood for Love, reunite to play the assassins Broken Sword and Flying Snow. Zhang Ziyi, who has attained stardom since her critically acclaimed turn in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, plays Broken Sword’s devoted servant, Moon, whilst distinguished veteran Chen Daoming plays the powerful King of Qin. Rising star and martial artist Donnie Yen plays the third assassin, Sky.

In the film, at the height of China’s Warring States period, the country was divided into seven kingdoms: Qin, Zhao, Han, Wei, Yan, Chu and Qi. For years, the separate kingdoms fought ruthlessly for supremacy. As a result, the populace endured decades of death and suffering.

The Kingdom of Qin was the most determined of all. The Qin King was obsessed with conquering all of China and becoming her first Emperor. He had long been the target of assassins throughout the other six states. Of all the would-be killers, none inspired as much fear as the three three legendary assassins, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Sky.

To anyone who defeated the three assassins, the King of Qin promised great power, mountains of gold and a private audience with the King himself. But defeating the killers is a near impossible task. For ten years no one came close to claiming the prize. So when the enigmatic county sheriff, Nameless, came to the palace bearing the legendary weapons of the slain assassins, the King was impatient to hear Nameless’ extraordinary tale.

For ten years, Nameless studied the way of the sword and resolved to challenge the three assassins. Using the secrets of swordsmanship, Nameless defeated the mighty Sky in a furious showdown. Following this initial victory, he destroyed the famed duo of Flying Snow and Broken Sword, this time using a weapon far more devastating than his sword–their extraordinary love for each other.

The King hung on every detail of this curious story. But then something most unexpected happened–the King had a different story to tell of how Nameless really came to sit there, face to face with the King!

It appears that everything was not so simple. In the center of the intrigue sits Nameless, a solitary ranger, and the King of Qin, the ruler of the Kingdom, with only ten steps between them. Within those ten steps lie an earth-shattering tale of love, honor and duty, a story that moves beyond the reaches of history. A story about what it means to be a hero.

Hero’s path to the screen began with the film’s director, Zhang Yimou. World-famous for his brilliant storytelling and incisive portraits of China, Zhang had always wanted to make a martial arts film. He devoured wuxia (martial arts literature) novels as a child, but rejected the idea of adapting something from literature and instead spent three years developing the story of Hero, which he describes as "Not only a martial arts film, but also a legend [of what] happened in ancient China."

Says Li of Zhang’s movies: "He’s always tried to challenge and change culture through his films. He’s always wanted to break the rules. But now, it’s different. With this film he’s trying to set new rules, to win rules back. to put them in place."

Zhang continues to explain his reasoning: "If you look at the history of Chinese martial arts literature, the plot always hinges on revenge... For years, this has been the only theme in Chinese martial arts films whether it’s Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. I wanted to take the genre in a new direction. In my story, the goal is to downplay violence. The characters are motivated by their desire to end the war. For real martial arts heroes, the heart is far more important than the sword."

For the actors, Hero presented a unique opportunity: a martial arts film that placed equal importance on the plot and the action. "Hero is my dream movie," enthuses Li. "When I read the script, I cried twice. In my 22-year career of making movies, this is the first script that made me weep. It is an incredible story, and an important question about what kind of person we can call a hero."

Zhang Ziyi, too, is excited by her part in Hero: "Most projects offered to me contain many fight scenes. But I really hoped to experience playing with my heart and not my fists. There are some fight scenes in Hero too, but my role is rich, multi-layered and has distinct personality".

Distributed by Warner Bros., "Hero" is a Twentieth Century Fox film opening Feb. 5 in Metro Manila.