(I suspect she was to play the brothel owner, but I may never know; the IMDB tells us her death forced revisions to the script.)
I suspect she was to play the head of the Flying Daggers (who I will continue to call Nia until that controversy is settled). I did feel there was something more to that story that they weren't telling. Of course, that could also be part of the choppy editing.
It's probably unfair to compare HoFD to Hero, but they came out within a year of each other (at least in the US) with the same director and some of the same cast (apparently the WTO has decided Zhang ZiYi needs to be in every Chinese film that makes it to the US, much like their Gerard Depardieu rule). I agree that Hero has the better continuity, and better cinematography in general. What bothered me about Hero's politics was not the 'one China' message per se but how the protagonists were willing to submit to a tyrant to ensure peace. I can't help but strongly disagree with that point of view.
no subject
I suspect she was to play the head of the Flying Daggers (who I will continue to call Nia until that controversy is settled). I did feel there was something more to that story that they weren't telling. Of course, that could also be part of the choppy editing.
It's probably unfair to compare HoFD to Hero, but they came out within a year of each other (at least in the US) with the same director and some of the same cast (apparently the WTO has decided Zhang ZiYi needs to be in every Chinese film that makes it to the US, much like their Gerard Depardieu rule). I agree that Hero has the better continuity, and better cinematography in general. What bothered me about Hero's politics was not the 'one China' message per se but how the protagonists were willing to submit to a tyrant to ensure peace. I can't help but strongly disagree with that point of view.