so today Gus & I watched Hero (Ying Xiong). Bert told me they study this for literature, which I found odd, but after watching it I'm jealuzzz. So I've never really watched a movie that so beautifully and so captivatingly uses such colour, and so effectively takes advantage of landscape and natural surroundings. Just look at the pictures! And I assure you, the pictures pale in comparison to having a panoramic sweep of the scene. And I don't think I've ever seen such breathtaking landscapes of China used in a film before! One is at a lake in Hangzhou (watching the behind the scenes, they said that they had a window of opportunity, 2 hours everyday where the water in the lake is COMPLETELY still. a three, four minute scene filmed over 20 days), another is a barren desert in a Du Huang, a wind tunnel! The use of costumes, everything is so captivating. So, so nice to watch.

Best scenes (in terms of setting, colour, etc):

1. Zhang Ziyi & Maggie Cheung in the forest 

2. Tony Leung & Jet Li at the lake 

3. Maggie Cheung & Tony Leung in the desert 

I realize many Singaporeans in my generation might be averse to watching films like these (epic chinese war films). I was too, before. But I started and I really, really enjoy them. I think if a person just embarked on one film (HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS!!!) you'd realize that they are an entirely different dimension, different environment, different method of delivery than your typical Hollywood movies. They can be equally emotional, if not more sometimes! And they can be as brilliantly filmed as some of the best movies you know. Even if you're a more "ang moh pai" kinda person, there is really no harm in giving it a try. Everybody should be exposed to different kinds of films. 

I watched it since I completed my reading on path dependence theory & increasing returns. So now, I'm going to watch Departures by Yojiro Takita. It's highly recommended, won the academy award for best foreign film :)