Hero
Ancient China's most powerful warlord invites a minor magistrate (who also happens to be an assassin) to tell how he defeated the warlord's three gravest enemies. Told through flashbacks, three versions of the story emerge: the assassin's, the warlord's, and the truth.
Comparisons to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are inevitable, given the quasi-magical martial arts action, but director Yimou Zhang owes more to Kurosawa than Ang Lee. Indeed, you haven't seen this many arrows since Ran. The film's cinematic techniques are gorgeous, baffling, and quite beyond my power to describe. A serious student of cinematography is needed here.
Suffice to say that Zhang knows how to tell a story, or rather the story of a story being told three different ways, plus the overarching story of the magistrate's shifting intentions toward the warlord, signified wordlessy through the flickering of the hundreds of lanterns interposed between them. The escalating tension in this contest of wills is palapable, even though most of it takes place between two men sitting very still and talking.
Although the film's imperial apologetics might be the last thing America needs at a time like this, still it is one to watch and watch again and, just when you think you've seen it from every angle, again. This is a movie that bears contemplation.
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