Message from kllewellyn

[Anonymous]

I also saw this movie and really enjoyed it. I loved the fact it was four different scenerios with each telling a different story and a different perspective. The love story between Flying Snow and Broken Sword kept changing with each scenerio although it was the relationship and conversation between Nameless and the Qin Emperor that I found the most fascinating. The Emperor comes across as a brutal leader but very smart and his respect for those trying to assassinate him is obvious, including his decision at the end (I don't want to give it away for those who have not seen it!). The film touches on his reasons for unification of the seven major kingdoms (one kingdon, one language, one writing) which is important as it, in some way, legitimizes his brutality. I also wish that more time was spent on this because I would love to be able to use some clips from the conversation in my classroom. I may use some scenes from the caligraphy school when they write in the sand as it shows how important calligraphy was and how long it took to master this skill..... and the respect the pupils had for their teacher!

I found it fascinating that, like Crouching Tiger, the role women played in the movie. Who would have thought that the respected and renowned sword fighter Flying Snow was a woman? It interests me that many of the Chinese movies portray woman in strong fighting roles during this time period. The role of women always comes up in the classroom and this may give students the wrong idea that women were often warriors.

I truly enjoyed this movie and it kept me glued to the T.V. I highly recommend it. However, I agree that it is more for enjoyment and it does not offer much in a way of academic use which is a real shame.

By they way, I also thought it was directed by Tarantino but it was not. He was a producer (not even Executive Producer!) and the director was Zhang Yimou. The movie has Tarantino's name all over it so I can only assume they did this to try and appeal to American audiences. This is movie has a full on Chinese cast and crew.