the much anticipated movie by zhang yimou finally hit the shelves the other day…so um, since i had already broken my no dvd rule before, i was gonna lump this “mistake” as a part of the last one. its jus one long mistake! id actually been following this film for some time now, primarily because my friend ags is the personal assistant of zhang ziyi, so i got coo little field reports occasionally. hi ags!
so where to begin with this. jet li is “nameless”, a lowly lawman who at the beginning of the film has already killed sky, flying snow, and broken sword, 3 assassins who have been after the emperor of china for 10 years. he is granted audience with emperor qin, the first emperor of china, who asks nameless to tell him how he took down 3 assassins that 3000 of his own troops couldnt. the story goes thru a series of flashbacks to nameless taking on each of the assassins. each of the “vignettes” is represented by a dominant color, visually marking each one as distinct. and as each story unfolds, differing interpretations are revealed.
to the people who call this a crouching tiger rip-off….you need to pull your head out of your ass. it should be known that hero is nothing like crouching tiger. besides zhang ziyi and trivial similarities…”look, they fight…and stuff!” there is little to nothing that ties the two movies together. at this point in my little review, i wouldve gone into an exposition of the themes and ideas blah blah blah. but that requires alot of typing. (and this film shouldnt even be one to warrant such heavy dialogue) ill instead jus go directly into what i found most enthralling. namely…its fight scenes and cinematography. that is why we watched it, right? dur. the whole movie is one long fight scene, with 5 minute bathroom breaks between each one. they are amazing. actually, they’re fucking amazing. they duel with their swords, their bodies, and their minds. flying thru the air as their blades hum, they know that they need only one strike to kill their opponent. what makes each fight scene become so engaging tho is the exquisite cinematography of the always amazing, always drunk, chris doyle. each frame composites the fighters amongst the details of their surroundings, whether it be swirling leaves, subtle rain drops, or a quiet lake. with each dominant color of the vignettes, its as if the setting itself washes its colors over the fighters, bathing them in its hues. there are times when english just does not contain appropriate adjectives to convey a meaning, and this is one of them. just watch the film and let your eyes talk to your mind. itll whisper “holy shit.”
