A visual masterpiece and a powerful message

Rating: 10/10 (30 November 2003)

This film is bound to be compared to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. You can tell by reading the other comments. Its visual style is similar. However "Hero" takes it even further with an astonishing colour palette that is not there for visuals alone, it serves as a metaphor for the mood and the events of any given scene. The cinematography is astounding, far beyond anything that Hollywood has ever produced. My sincere opinion is that this film dwarfs pretty much ANY Hollywood production that ever was, and it is with great joy I realize that somewhere in the world people are still into making good films, not run-of-the-mill cashcows.
I register that many people feel the storyline is weak and that the message is bad - that it is a pro-imperial piece of propaganda. This saddens me. One has to have an understanding of the profound philosophical and spiritual schools that are actually the real protagonists of this film. The film of the hero and the assassins is nothing but a subplot. I'm only a little familiar with Taoism, which I'm sure is well represented in this film, but what I read into it is the Buddhadharma. I am a Buddhist and this film struck me on so many levels that it left me in awe.
Essentially this film is an epic masterpiece and the teachings of the Buddha combined. It represents an understanding of life that is very alien to us in the west. Its message being that the suffering of one ("Me") is insignificant to the suffering of the many and that the only thing with the potential to conquer the eternal threat of evil is the practice of universal compassion. The film (specifically the character "Broken Sword") describes egolessness and that by loving your enemy, he becomes your friend. True, people may feel that the actual conclusion of the film may invalidate this notion, but then you need to look deeper. To me this selfless message is Truth and I struggle every day to overcome the ignorance that this film attacks.
However, I can understand how many people find this very notion offensive, and see it as immoral. We are after all human beings and we are all victims of the extreme ignorance and folly of our own minds. One has only to turn on the television to see this - we do indeed live in a Dark Age.
This film, seen in the right frame of mind, has the capacity to open your heart and inspire you. On a more superficial level, it's just a damn good 90 minutes. Don't let it pass you by.