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Long-time readers  will remember my fondness for East Asian cinema. There was a time when almost every month I'd rave about a movie from China, Japan, or Vietnam. My favorite film of 2000 was from South Korea (Chunhyang), and Yi Yi, from Taiwan, placed highly in my Top10 of 2001. But the economic slowdown of 2000-01 hit Asia particularly hard, and the local film industries had to adapt. Money for thoughtful dramas became scarce. To get a movie made, you had to find an audience, and that audience seemed to want genre films, like martial arts or horror. Fans of those genres have had plenty to enjoy recently, and their impact on Hollywood can be seen in movies like Kill Bill and The Ring.

One clear example of the shift in Asian cinema has been the work of Zhang Yimou. Rightly celebrated for masterpieces like Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, and To Live, he has shifted gears in recent years to directing sword fighting flicks. His latest film, House of Flying Daggers, will be released in the States this winter, and you don't have to see a trailer to know what kind of movie that will be. But that's not his first martial arts film. Hero, starring Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi, was made in 2002 but is only now opening here in the U.S.

Hero is clearly a response to the success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It features beautiful actors, spectacular cinematography, and elegant displays of martial arts. Jet Li stars as a humble bureaucrat, who succeeds in killing three deadly assassins who had been threatening the emperor. He is brought before the emperor to re-tell his daring feats, and the flashbacks fill up most of the tale. The opening duel is especially gorgeous. Set in a building with an open ceiling, it uses a charcoal palette to stunning effect. It is no exaggeration to say that the fight choreography achieves the beauty of ballet, and Zhang's use of water (rain and puddles) is inspired.

The main focus of the film, though, is on how Jet Li defeated the legendary couple of Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). In an artful example of storytelling, Jet Li and the Emperor tell their own versions of the tale, each with multiple fight scenes. Though Zhang Yimou has shifted his thematic focus, his brilliance with color is still on full display. Each scene is dominated by a particular hue--first black, then red, yellow, blue, white, and green. Working with Chris Doyle, one of the finest cinematographers in the world, Zhang achieves a purity of color rarely seen in movies. Doyle also has a way with widescreen compositions that brings out the majesty of space.

Unfortunately, the story of Hero grows somewhat tedious over its relatively short running time. None of the later fight scenes match the intensity of the first one (which must violate some cardinal rule), and the relationship between Broken Sword and Flying Snow is never compelling. It's nice to see Zhang Ziyi in a substantial role, but that can't make up for the bewilderingly bland performance of Maggie Cheung. Maybe my expectations were too high--the film has been the subject of feverish Internet speculation for months--but Hero doesn't quite deliver on its potential.   

On the other end of the Asian film spectrum is a lovely Korean film entitled Oasis. Unlike the gorgeous leads of Hero, Oasis stars Sol Kyung-Gu as a gangly young man named Hong Jong-Du who's just been released from prison. His family is only mildly excited to see him, and it soon becomes clear why. Jong-Du is what we used to call a slacker. He has no ambition, no interest in keeping a job, and only a minimum of social graces. He irritates his two brothers and exasperates his mother.

He reluctantly takes a job delivering food, and in the course of his travels he comes across a young woman (played by Moon So-Ri) afflicted with cerebral palsy. I won't give too much away, as there are some important details you need to experience for yourself. But the two of them strike up an unusual relationship, one that is as gripping as it is uncomfortable to watch. I can't remember another movie that was so honest about such a difficult disability. Moon So-Ri gives a powerful performance, without any hint of sentimentality, as a young woman who can barely communicate. The only exception is a series of short fantasy sequences, but those earn their incredible emotional power. One that takes the idea of karaoke into a subway station brought tears to my eyes, and another involving a small elephant has to be seen to be believed.

Director Lee Chang-dong came to prominence with a movie called Peppermint Candy, but Oasis is a richer, fuller movie. I can imagine Lee thumbing his nose at films (like Hero) which feature beautiful people in fantastic situations. He instead focuses on the people society casts aside and reveals their dreams as well as their difficulties. Oasis opens this Friday  in Chicago for a one-week engagement at the Gene Siskel Film Center. It's well worth your time.  

J. Robert Parks  8/25/2004