Hero
I saw Hero in Union Square on Saturday night with K and her boyfriend S. midnight show.
We did a big walgreens run and got Cokes and chips and cookies. So much food in the backpack.
it's a beautiful movie.
there are themes here that probably resonate better in Asia, especially China. loyalty, and sacrifice of self or even one's ideals for the sake of the country.
the plot is a bit tough to follow, with so many reiterations of the same basic action.The strong use of color helps you keep things straight. Even so I had trouble in the green section--comatose from too much sugar, I drifted asleep for a bit.
there was some laughter from the crowd, who came for a martial arts epic and couldn't quite sort out the more introspective philosophical take on life and love.
it's a great cast--tony leung and maggie cheung are a great pairing. zhang ziyi is of course, beautiful, but has such great facial control... no need for words with her. and i'm a big donnie chen fan. jet li is overshadowed but holds up well enough.
Miramax added a short explanatory prologue, and maybe a bit extra on thr subtitles at the end. not too invasive. Of course they sat on this film for so long. Most chinese in the usa have already seen it, on dvd or vcd.
We had a nice chat about the film on the way home.
overall though, this film did not have the same emotional punch as crouching tiger.