It's hard to believe that there's a martial arts film with heart, but this was it.  The story is filled with emotional drama that moves like a meditation on screen and like a powerful wave in your soul as you watch it unfold. 

            It took two years to shape the screenplay, rewrite after rewrite, but the result is a perfection of integration for the drama, action, scene and sound with stunning cinematography.  The martial arts choreography is a step above what we saw in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).  And the scenery from takes in remote parts of China is fabulous.  The director in the Special Features on the DVD claims that when you remember this film, you will recall specific scenes and he is absolutely correct.  I will never forget the yellow leaves of the Mongolian forest that were part of the confrontation between Flying Snow and Moon, or Broken Sword racing across the West China desert on horseback or the amazing clash between Broken Sword and 'nameless' at the lake, which was a perfect mirror to the surrounding beauty.

            The story is a fantasy, loosely woven around the period of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), reference http://www.chinavoc.com/history/qin/qinshh.htm.     The screenplay focuses on the King of Qin and four martial arts experts: Sky, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and 'nameless'.  A young calligraphy and martial arts student, Moon, also plays a key role in the plot line.  The storyline is complex in that there are multiple threads like parables and these have both a surface and a deeper allegorical component.  The fact that the protagonist is called 'nameless' is significant since he represents the hero in all of us.  But there are other heroes to discover as you watch the film.  And the dramas that play out for all the characters paint an allegorical theme, a theme that might be called 'the lesser of evils'. 

            So much of this story has metaphorical value that I feel comfortable calling it an art film prose poem.  This concept is reinforced by the use of colors, scenery and ballet like martial arts action.  Even the clothing worn by the primary characters provides a flowing ethereal quality to scenes.  It's truly a unique film.

            Reviewed February 28, 2005

            MPAA: Rated PG-13 for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality.