1.By looking at the explanation of an art movie above, please describe at least three
ways (three sentences) that you think Hero could be considered, at least in part, an art movie.
For a movie to become or to be known as an art movie, it has some characteristics. Hero, would be could be considered as an art for a few reasons. In particular, the movie has a serious plot line, which is one of the characteristics of an art movie. The plot line involves more serious situations such as assassinating the King, or assassinating the assassins that are trying to kill the King. There are also no comedic moments which makes the movie even more serious than other non- art/indie movies. Art movies usually focus on the thoughts and dreams of a character or characters. In Hero, we focused on the thoughts, feelings, dreams of the assassins, Sky, Broken Sword, and Flying Snow. For example, Flying Snows dream was too kill the King she was also angry at Broken Sword for not killing the king when he had the chance.The last characteristic for a movie to be considered as an art film is that, the film is a bit confusing and may be hard to follow because sometimes the director wants the viewers to have a more artistic experience. In my opinion, when I watched Hero, I mostly focused on all the colours and colour pop, also how the director focused more on the artistic parts for example, the scene in the gold forest, when Snow killed the assistant the gold trees turned into red trees marking blood and death.
2. How does the director also make this movie for everyone, so that it's not too artistic or alienating for the average viewer? Please explain in at least three sentence.
The director made this film for everyone by having a plot line that was supposed to be difficult to follow but wasn't because the calming of the colours and artistic structures really distracted the viewers. It was if the director balanced the movie, by having a confusing plot but saved it by having a beautiful movie.
3. Did you like this movie? Why or Why not?
In my opinion, I liked the plot line of the story and also the artistic scenes, but I didn't like how I didn't speak Chinese and I wish I could. I liked the plot of story because it had a lot of not expecting scenes that played with my emotions. For example when Nameless didn't kill the King when he had a chance too made me proud of him, but then the King had him Killed because of peer pressure which made me angry. I really liked all the calming artistic structures, what really stood out in my mind were the green drapes that were hanging in the temple or castle when Snow and Broken Sword attacked the King. I don't know why it stood out for me, I guess it was the way it hanged in a dark place, and how green and lack are really vivid to me. I didn't like how it was in Chinese, it was hard for me to follow but it was still beautiful. The music also made me like the movie. The way the violin was played throughout th
4. Sequences in the film are ' colour coded', enabling Zhang Yimou to offer his audience ravishing and memorable images which enhance his action sequences. Write three sentences about how Zhang Yimou has used colour to emphasize or enhance aspects of the narrative.
Select one of these sequences
- the fight in the rain
- the Golden Forrest
- the attack on the calligraphy school at Zhao
- he Library
- the Combat at the Lake
- Broken Sword and Flying Snow's attack on the King
Zhang Yimou used the colour coding gold and red in the beginning of the Golden Forrest scene. In the beginning of the scene the two girls were wearing bright red in a gold forrest, a gold forrest where it was constant gold colour meaning that the bright red really popped. Bright red is also a colour that is really difficult to forget. The colours really emphasize the way of fighting for the people you love and revenge. We see at the beginning the colour that really out stand was the red, at the end when Snow stabbed the assistant the leaves turned red as her blood dripped on the leaves, the same colour as the robes the girls were wearing. Therefore I think that the Bright Red stood for being hurt. Snow was hurt that she killed the person she loves and the assistant was hurt because her leader she looked up too died, they both were hurt in a sense of way.
