2002
Zhang Yimou (director, writer), Feng Li, Wang Bin (writers)
Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi
An ostensibly simple story of how a simple man defeats three would-be assassins of the first Emperor of China, which unfolds slowly and gracefully as the newly celebrated hero tells his story to the Emperor himself.
The extended combat scenes use the surreal fighting style with lots of wire-work first popularized in the West with Hidden Tiger, Crouching Dragon: very balletic, not terribly reliant on physics. The pace is slow - too slow for some - but I feel that as long as you let yourself be absorbed into it, it serves to draw you in, with long lingering strokes that draw out the tension, the secrets, the questions. Visually, the movie is breathtakingly beautiful. One of Zhang Yimou's greatest strengths as a cinematographer is his use of color and textures, in my opinion, and it is nowhere shown off as strongly as in this film.
Do be warned that if you cry easily at movies, bring a tissue. Or a box. In Chinese with subtitles.
IMDB Link: Hero
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