This film was released in 2002 in China and was nominated for the 2003 Academy award for best foreign film. It has since sat on the shelves at Miramax waiting for a theatrical release. If you like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON or KILL BILL than you should love this film. If you love beautifully shot films that jump off the screen with vibrant color than you will fall in lust with this film.
Director Yimou Zhang is best known for his film RAISE THE RED LANTERN, which also had a wonderful use of color. HERO begins with a nameless warrior (Jet Li, THE ONE) traveling to meet the King of Qin (Daoming Chen, INFERNAL AFFAIRS III) after he has killed the top assassins Long Sky (Donnie Yen, BLADE II), Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wai, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung, POLICE STORY). Aiding Broken Sword is his dutiful pupil Moon (Ziyi Zhang, SHANGHAI KNIGHTS).
The film works as a play on RASHOMON were the story starts out one way and changes as different points of view come into play. This structure makes the story ever so more intriguing. You just want to find out the truth to what has happened and what will happen.
Then you get the fight scenes, which are as beautiful as ballet. The cinematography is some of the best I've seen in years. The fight between Flying Snow and Moon in the leaves is breathtaking as well as the fight between Nameless and Broken Sword on the lake. The fight choreography is so fast and precise that it makes U.S. action films look boring. Fast cuts and pumped up violence does not a thrilling action sequence make. There is a power, respect and grace to the violence in this film that honors training and skill over who has the bigger weapons.
The only chip in the armor is the subtle justification of oppression. As an import from China, one can view the film as a pro-Chinese government piece in terms of its occupation of Tibet. Wars used to force the "uniting" of various cultures into one "peaceful" motherland are hard to support.
As a truly epic adventure, the film is flawless. I loved this world and loved the characters. The hidden message muddles things a bit. Still, this is one of the coolest movies of the year and one of the most beautiful.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
