I took a break from the gigantic issue I’m working on, and watched Ying Xiong last night (that’s Hero to you roundeyes). My buddy Sang referred to this flick as “a Confucian action movie,” which I consider a recommendation.
It was, hands down, one of the most gorgeous movies I’ve ever seen, with action scenes that are absolutely breathtaking, and it reminded me of the feeling I get when I read the Iliad, that sensation of living in another world. Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon feels straightforwardly western in comparison to this movie.
I’m hoping the director’s followup, Shi Mian Mai Fu (House of Flying Daggers) is in the same ballpark. But I sincerely doubt any filmmaker can pull together a scene to rival the one in Hero where the army from Qin begins its assault on the callligraphy school.