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“Hero”, China’s candidate for an Oscar this year in the foreign film category, is a traditional style Chinese film featuring mind-boggling kung fu blended with Matrix-like effects. Starring international film stars such as Jet Li and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s Zhang Ziyi, as well as some faces unfamiliar to the American public such as those belonging to Hong Kong stars Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Chen Dao Ming, Donnie Yen, the movie truly encapsulates the essence of the modern day martial arts film – an ancient tradition effectively melded with a new art form.

The movie, due for a release in the U.S. in November 2003, is set two thousand years back when China was divided into various factions. It recounts the story of an assassination attempt on one of the major emperors. Though the origins of the legend are fictitious, the epic tale illustrates the very-real concepts of vengeance and self-discovery and improvement as a dynamic hero reaches for the understanding of the “swordsmanship ideals” of spiritual peace and harmony.

The director Zhang Yimou illustrates with detail the beauty and aesthetic appeal underlying martial arts. He uses the slow-motion effect of objects and elements, including fire and water, to capture the intensity and rapidity of martial arts movements. It is through these artfully timed and filmed action sequences that we see the strength of the characters as well. His usage of pastel colors juxtaposed with black helps emphasize the feelings and attitudes of the characters.

The story begins with Nameless (Li) returning to the emperor with the weapons of the emperor’s fallen enemies. For each assassin Nameless kills, the emperor will allow Nameless to sit closer to him. The tale goes on as Nameless narrates the story of how he killed the assassins of the emperor. The shrewd emperor refuses to believe Nameless’s stories and describes his own version of the tale, convicting Nameless of attempting to be an actual assassin. The truth behind the matter unfolds and the true destiny of a hero is eventually revealed.

There are certain stylistic elements that one must grow accustomed to when watching this film. The flying martial artists perform moves that defeat throngs of attackers with each blow, and the costumes Yimou utilizes are elaborately ethnic and at times, a bit curious. For those of you interested, you are in for a bit of a treat when Nameless reveals his ass! Despite what may seem odd, foreign, and surprising to an American audience in this film, the movie is certainly enjoyable for those with an open mind. If you are able to watch a movie and read subtitles, this is not a movie to miss.