A Man Called Hero

A Man Called Hero is a 1999 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Andrew Lau. It is loosely based on the manhua series Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword by Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-shing. It won the 1999 Golden Horse Award for Best Visual Effects.

Plot

The story begins in early Republican China. Hero Hua is given his family heirloom, the Red Sword, and is accepted by Pride, a martial arts master, as a student after passing a test. When he returns home, he is horrified to see that his family have been murdered by Westerners for opposing the opium trade. That night, Hero breaks up the Westerners' party and kills them in revenge. He spends the rest of the night with his lover, Jade. The next morning, he flees from China and sails to America.

16 years later, Hero's childhood friend, Sheng, and Hero's son, Sword Hua, arrive in New York City on the first day of the Chinese New Year. They visit China House, the biggest inn in Chinatown, where they see a lion dance performance led by the Boss of China House. A group of thugs show up and demand that the Boss hand over a monk, Luohan, whom they believe to be hiding in China House. The Boss defeats the thugs in a fight and drives them away. He then shows Sword and Sheng to Luohan, who tells them how he met and befriended Hero on board the ship bound for America, and their experiences as labourers in Steel Bull Canyon. Sword and Sheng later visit Jade's grave, where Sheng tells Sword about how he and Jade travelled to New York City before Sword's birth in search of Hero, and how Sword's parents were reunited in America. While visiting the shop where Sword's parents took their wedding photographs, Sword and Sheng sense someone following them. Sword surprises the stalker and manages to corner her after a brief chase through the streets. She identifies herself as Kate, the daughter of Shadow, Hero's senior.

Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)

The Directorate of Military Intelligence (Hebrew: אגף המודיעין‎, Agaf HaModi'in – lit. "the Intelligence Section"; Arabic: شعبة الاستخبارات العسكرية‎), often abbreviated to Aman (Hebrew: אמ"ן‎; Arabic: آمان‎), is the central, overarching military intelligence body of the Israel Defense Forces. Aman was created in 1950, when the Intelligence Department was spun off from the IDF's General Staff (then, Agam: אג"ם); the Intelligence Department itself was composed largely of former members of the Haganah Intelligence Service (HIS). Aman is an independent service, and not part of the ground forces, navy or the Israeli Air Force.

It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Mossad (national intelligence) and Shin Bet (general security). It is currently headed by Major General Aviv Kochavi. It has a staff of 7,000 personnel (1996 estimate). Its special forces and field-reconnaissance unit is Sayeret Matkal, and its elite training course is Havatzalot Program.

A Man

A Man (1979) (Italian: Un Uomo) (Greek: Ένας Άνδρας, transliteration: Enas Andras) is a novel written by Oriana Fallaci chronicling her relationship with the attempted assassin of Greek dictator George Papadopoulos.

Plot summary

The book is a pseudo-biography about Alexandros Panagoulis written in the form of a novel. Fallaci had an intense romantic relationship with Panagoulis. She uses the novel to put forth her view that Panagoulis was assassinated by a vast conspiracy, a view widely shared by many Greeks.

The work has had mixed reviews. Some will find the harsh polemic repetitive and disturbing. Fallaci is said to have been angry at Ms Magazine for not reviewing the work and this enhanced her reputation as an anti-feminist.

Quotes

"Don't help me then, hand me over to the police, what's the use anyway--"
"Of suffering, fighting? It allows us to live, my boy. A man who gives in doesn't live, he survives."

Footnotes

References