Movie Review on Hero (2002)

The author of this review states that "Yimou has an artist's eye for the screen and treats it as his canvas". It also states that the film has many great features such as the rich imagery consisted of sets and costumes coated in color.

The author also discusses the nationalism of the film. The review mentions that the film is driven by the complexities of the characters who struggle with their own passions. "The film depicts the King as an idealist, when many Chinese historians will tell you the real King of Qin who became China's first Emperor, was very much a tyrant responsible for many deaths. This could lead to concerns over the film's apparent pro-Communist message that sacrificing your life and more importantly, your ideals for a government that only purportedly represents the people is noble".

A lot of what is stated in this review was discusses in class in terms of nationalism. It supports the idea that it is still difficult to determine what exactly Yimou is trying to state in terms of nationalism. Just as we discusses in class, the author also supports our claim as to how we can see why the Chinese government gave Yimou their blessing to direct the film, but the film can be also looked at in a different angle.