It has been some time since I have seen a movie that I felt so inspired to write a review for the sake of writing a review. House of Flying Daggers, directed by Zhang Yimou, was one such movie. Not for the great plot, there was none, not for the great love story, there was none. It was for the intoxicating scenery, various personalities of the seasons, which personify raw emotion and the exhilarating Wuxia Martial Arts sequences, all of which are an art form of their own.
The story is a simple one: During the reign of the Tang dynasty in China, a rebellious group, "The House of the Flying Daggers" rises up against the new government. Mei (Ziyi Zhang from Memoirs of a Geisha), a blind showgirl, is to perform in the court of the Peony Pavilion. She sings and dances as she strikes the drums set around the room with the magical art of an armed ballet dancer. Mei is suspected of being the daughter of the previous head of the country who has now been taken over by the rebellious group, the House of Flying Daggers. Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) are two captains who are plotting to unveil Mei’s “true” identity and have an elaborate plan, which includes Jin rescuing Mei from imprisonment. The plan takes a sour turn when they find that each in love with Mei. As the story unfolds, things are more complicated than they appear, as we would expect…
However, the great story is not with the plot, it is the special effects and colorful montages that are displayed before our eyes as I have never seen in any other movie (to date). The Wuxia Martial Art scenes are over the top plausible and accompanied by the vastest and detailed backdrops imaginable.
The first scene is that of the Peony Pavilion, where Mei dances in the midst of a very detailed parquet floor with equally elaborate buttresses and designs that truly have you diverted to see all the art around her, but somehow with great direction from Zhang, we come back to the main entrée-Mei as she dances, playing the “echo game. While Leo sits in judgment and plays the game, he tosses a bean to a drum, then more, until he finally empties his bowl. Mei keeps up with her long streaming garment tagging each drum to echo the sound she hears. While doing this, she appears to be dancing as well in perfect form.
The scenes with the wild wood, tall silver birch trees, gray from the cold air, we see many for acres in each direction, tall and thin; three-dimensional and yet another backdrop for dueling. The most memorable scene though, is the one with the Giant Bamboo, accented by the most lush green hues imaginable. Not only tall and plentiful, but provided depth for the fighting sequences at different levels. Watching, it actually occurred to me that I never thought of this point of view for battle, some soldiers atop and some closer to ground. The effect is absolutely astounding as was the result when the bamboo is cut in swift motions and cast toward Jin and Mei as they try to retaliate and escape. They find themselves actually pinned by the bamboo. If that were not enough, the colors were what really gave the scenes and the actors a whole new platform. So hard to really describe, but I am sure that my chin was on the floor in pure amazement. The scenery was its own character and in my opinion, the best actor of the film. The final amazing effect was that of the trees as they are in Fall Foliage, brown, orange, and yellow to a flurry of the wind motif, white, dark and swirling snow, actually filmed in the Ukraine, yet another amazing scene as Jin and Leo fight to the end for the love of Mei.
Honorable mention must be made about the great complimenting costumes and the soundtrack which went well with the genre but not quite as exquisite as the other movie’s attributes. Still the beautiful costumes complimented each scene quite well, particularly the dance sequences at the Pavilion, Mei’s male clothing (she hardly looked like a man) and the green uniform of the House of Flying Daggers. Also interesting was the costume of Jin and Leo. Trying so hard to make a noticeable difference in appearance as well as costume, this was a difficult feat. Both were so unusually similar that to differentiate between the two, Jin actually ate peanuts through the film so that the two were more discernable.