True Heroes
After a week of rain, God was very good to JT and I as we headed to the Cricket for a belated Christmas present to ourselves!And man was it a great day!!
Australia won pretty easily in the end, but Sri Lanka fought hard til the last ball - and gave a spectacular display of a few 6's along the way! Oh and I gotta say those Sri Lankan fans certainly know how to party - bongo drums and tamborines and a bit of a dance is definitely a fun way to celebrate a nice catch or hit to the boundary!
In other news, I saw the film Hero on DVD this week, and lets just say it exceeded my expectations!
As expected of any martial arts film, there was a lot of fighting, but I love how fighting in films like that is so much easier to watch as its beautiful and skillful choreography outweighs the violence.
Furthermore, the director is clearly someone who just loves colour and the visual impact colour can have on the meaning of a scene, and therefore, impact its viewers. Throughout this film we are told a story from a couple of different perspectives, and each time the story is told slightly differently we are presented it in a different colour. The result is a beautiful array of reds, yellows, white, blues and greens flooding the screen from costumes to scenery.
Simple concept I supose, but oh so effective.
While it seems the main point of the colours is to distinguish the fabricated stroy from that of the truth, to me it seems the colours go beyond that to represent motives, emotions and concepts central to the theme.
There are beautiful shots of China's vast and varying land, and each time the surroundings are used effectively to add another element to the story, to the motives of the characters. A swirl of bright yellow leaves around two passionate woman fighting over the death of the man they love consumes them just as their anger or sadness does.
Two characters in love but destined to die for a cause are shot in complete isolation in a vast desert, lost in their plan and passion with no way out.
Revenge, avengence, retaliation, and heartbreak are seen in so much more than the plot of this film.
And more than that, it presents a warrior, a true hero, as one who will fight yet with no desire to kill. A swordsman who is about skill rather than a need to draw blood.
Ill leave it there cos you need to see it to see how it unfolds, how this wisdom and realisation is presented, but i will say it is worth seeing!
If you've seen it, or see it, let me know your thoughts!
