A Stunning Visual Poetry...

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2003)

Zhang Yimou was quoted to have said that "Hero" was his most commercial work to date. I am happy to say that the director of such great classics like "Raise the Red Lantern", "Judou", "Not One Less" has not let his artistic touch play second fiddle to the lavish and majestic settings where this movie takes place.
I won't be commenting much about the story. Anyone who enjoyed Kurusawa's "Rashamon" will find this movie to be a little more than a deja-vu. But then what makes this movie great is the treatment of the story in itself. Told and retold in different narative viewpoints, audiences get to see a story that slowly unravels itself. The investment in time and attention will be greatly paid off at the end when the "hero" has to make a choice between staying true to his beliefs or abandoning them for a greater good.
This movie itself is filled with dramatic and fantastic fight sequences that had never quite been captured on film before. Christopher Doyle, known for his work with Wong Kar-Wai, has shown great restraint in the camerawork- making each frame of the movie tight and beautiful, almost good enough to be framed as an art work in a museum. One dissatisfaction that I had was that the score by Tan Dun is reminiscent of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Zhang Yimou's touch can clearly be seen in the acting. Some of the character's face, though revealing no apparent emotion, can convey their thoughts. And that is the beauty of this movie. It seizes you from the very begining and makes you think every step of the way. Production quality was exceptional with generous but not overtly whimsical shots of Chinese mountains, lakes and desserts.
The version that I saw was 90 minutes long, though I did read reports that a 3 hour version is being shown in some parts of China.