House of Flying Daggers, Zhang Yimou
House of Flying Daggers follows the general forbidden love budding through an adventure formula of the martial arts genre films. In a film like this, one expects dazzling visual effects, stunning fight sequences, but a very simple love story, without any expectation to innovative plot twists. The story is simple: two men love one woman, and neither of them are allowed to love her. While the two rivals are vying for the attentions of Zhang Ziyi’s character, whole armies from the two sides of opposition are chasing after our three characters. Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau play very good looking rivals, in work and in love.
Visually, House of Flying Daggers is a fresh departure from the typical Hollywood film. In fact, the visuals overshadow the formulaic story. The viewer is distracted from the obligatory tragic ending of this film genre by the dazzling colors and the flow of the characters’ movements. The colors themselves seem to help in telling the story, with each set distinctly hued from the next. From the opening scene, where Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau discuss a possible lead in their case, the dark colors of their uniform and natural habitat provide a sharp contrast to the next scene in the Peony Pavilion; where everything is ornately colored, from the ceiling to the gowns to the floor. You can almost use the shift in color with each set to divide the film into DVD chapters. The coloring changes from dusty grey of the office to bright yellow of the Peony Pavillion; and later in the story, director Zhang Yimou takes advantage of the dominant green of the bamboo forest, the orange and red leaves bordering the field, and the white of the snow to continue the spectrum.
Aside from the dazzling colors, viewers should look forward to the many fight scenes, which are on par, if not better, than any action film of late. Each battle is like a dance, incorporating art into violence. No wonder they call it “martial arts.” Even music is an element. During the echo game, after each thump of a bean on a drum, the musicians break out into a cacophony of sound that rivals Zhang Ziyi’s sleeve work in vivacity. Her headdress and the beaded room-dividers provide a high pitched jingle to contrast with the heaviness of the drums. In later fights, every flutter and sniff shows you that the main character is aware of a hidden opponent.
Beyond presentation, the attention to detail in the “House of Flying Daggers” is amazing. The viewer discovers towards the end of the film that the Peony Pavilion Madame is actually a member of the House of Flying Daggers, but at the beginning of the movie, she is shown as clumsy and even drops the money that Kaneshiro throws at her. The parallels between the two male leads are carefully replicated. Each lovemaking scene ends with the male on the top right and Zhang Ziyi turning away from them to look up and towards the camera. Both men ask her if she loves the other. Both are also saved by the cutting of the rope cocoon, either by the two Flying Dagger women. Their similarity extends to the final fighting scene in the snow, where their equal fighting skill seems to indicate that both men feel the same degree of love for Mei. It is Kaneshiro who breaks the triangle, sacrificing himself by running towards Lau. Mei’s self sacrifice of pulling the knife out of her chest, combined with Jin’s sacrifice seem to say that the greatest love is not proven by valiant fighting, but by self-sacrifice.
Overall, I give this film a B+. While the story, acting, and originality receive B’s, the visuals were an A+, as well as the enjoyability of the film. On the DVD, there are breakdowns of the fight scenes, and a featurette introducing you to all the actors. Despite the simplicity of the plot, there really isn’t much Zhang Yimou can do to improve his film. The simplicity goes along well with the simplicity of the outdoor vistas, where most of the film was set.
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