Visually dazzling 'Hero' challenges our assumptions

Zhang Yimou ("Huoze," or "To Live," and "Wo De Fu Qin Mu Qin," or "The Road Home") is widely recognized as the great Chinese director of the moment. With the international success and acclaim his latest master work "Ying Xiong," or "Hero," has achieved, he will rightly take his place among the ranks of the finest filmmakers of our — or, perhaps, any — time. Intricately and powerfully shot, richly textured, powerfully mythological, deeply moving and thematically enlightening, "Hero" is the best movie so far this year.

Set in classical China, "Hero" tells the story of a nameless hero (Jet Li of "Kiss of the Dragon" and "Rise to Honor") and his audience in front of the Qin emperor (Daoming Chen of "The Empress Dowager"), whose ambition to unify China has come at enormous human cost. As a reward for deposing the three assassins most dangerous to the king, the nameless hero earns himself riches beyond his desire and the right to approach (within 10 paces) the king, whose security demands reclusion and secrecy. As the meeting proceeds, the nameless hero recounts his conquest of the king's three deadliest enemies: Sky (Donnie Yen of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), Broken Sword (Tony Leun Chiu Wai of "Fa Yeung Nin Wa," or "In the Mood for Love"), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung of "Tian Mi Mi," or "Comrades: Almost a Love Story"). Yet all is not as it seems and it is only in the second half of the movie that we begin to understand the truth and intrigue behind a superficially straightforward kung-fu plot. As the plot twists, so does our understanding of heroism, sacrifice and Chinese society.

Beyond its surprising and well-crafted plot, "Hero" is one of the most beautifully made films of all time. Zhang's incredible understanding of color, mood, contrast and composition coupled with a brilliant choice of cinematographer in Christopher Doyle ("The Quiet American" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence") makes a picture whose every frame is a work of art. Thematically, the film not only gives the audience a profound understanding of the nature of heroism, authority and nationalism in China, but goes even beyond this to evoke universal themes of self-sacrifice, peace and the construction of mythologies of violence. While a slight overabundance of superfluous sword play is likely to appeal more to fans of martial arts than to lovers of romance, this film is the rare one that manages to transcend and criticize its genre by embracing it in the most creative of ways.

Not everything is perfect, of course. The translation and subtitles could have been better, and the acting is somewhat inconsistent. The beginning of the film could do a better job of showing the depths to which the end reaches. However, this is a spectacularly ambitious film and it succeeds overwhelmingly.