Assumptions...

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2003)

The difficult aspect in critiquing Hero is that no doubt numerous people will make comparisons to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Of course, one realizes that no matter what Hero does, it will be seen as either a rip-off of, or deviates too much from the whole hearted international appeal of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Did Zhang Yimou intend for Hero to garner international appeal? I do not know. But point in case, no matter what, any film can be seen in a negative light depending on one's criteria. And just as a critique is an individual's opinion/evaluation of a body of work based on a set valued criteria, often times the expectations we bring to films can deter us from understanding the filmmaker's vision. Zhang Yimou is a filmmaker originally from China. Ang Lee is a filmmaker originally from Taiwan. Peter Pau's cinematography is distinctly different than Chris Doyle's. They are distinctly different filmmakers and cinematographers.
Viewers often overlook the cultural background of the stories which such films are based upon. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero are based on mythical Chinese characters mixed within historical events. So while Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon's premise dealt with the ideal of being true to one's heart, Hero deals with the motto of how peace means letting go of all surroundings and being at peace with oneself. What did the emperor say towards the end of the film..."a true swordsman is at one with his sword and all that surrounds him." Some might say the dialogue in Hero is cliche'd and repetitive. I would argue that the simplistic dialogue in the film often represents the characters at a loss of words; lack of communication often expresses more than flagrantly used words. Cinema is a visual medium, and the most dramatic context in expressing narrative story and emotion is through action, not words. Therefore, the simplistic dialogue in Hero reveals the inability for the characters to describe their emotions: more than likely a true representation of how men/women in the Qin Dynasty were unable to openly express their feelings. What is the repeated saying in the film? "All Under Heaven" And in three simple words a deeper premise is outlined.