A rare beauty from the north

Review by Vives Anunciacion

Shi Mian Mai Fu/ House of Flying Daggers
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Written by Feng Li, Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang
Starring Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lao Tak Wah, Song Dandan
PG13 / 119 minutes
Edko Films/ Zhang Yimou Studio/ Beijing New Picture Film
Opens October 13
Sneak previews Oct 4 & 5

There's a beauty from land of north,
She stands alone in her sole beauty
With one look she can turn over a city
With another look she can turn over a country
Even with the knowledge about the city and states,
because true beauty is so hard to find.
- Ancient Chinese Poem

In the declining years of the Tang Dynasty, the largest and most secretive alliance of rebel forces known as the House of Flying Daggers plots to overthrow the corrupt empire. Two local police captains of the Feng Tian County (Captain Leo, played by Andy Lau and Captain Jin, played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) are ordered to capture the new leader of the rebel force. Suspecting that the new dancer at the Peony Pavilion brothel (Mei, played by Zhang Ziyi) is the daughter of the old leader, the two captains device a plan to capture Mei and bring the House out into the open. Complications arise when Captain Jin, disguised as the infidel Wind, finds himself falling for the beautiful blind dancer.

Director Zhang Yimou (Hero, Not One Less, Raise the Red Lantern) firmly establishes himself as the quintessential cinematic stylist with the visually resplendent and sonorous House of Flying Daggers. The film also boasts of the latest megastars of Asian cinema (Crouching Tiger’s Zhang Ziyi; the multitalented Andy Lau, and Taiwanese-Japanese superstar Takeshi Kaneshiro of Lavender and Chungking Express). Middle-earth may have its Legolas, but the Middle Kingdom has Wind.

Improving on the color themes of the Oscar-nominated Hero, Yimou composes painterly sequences of the Chinese countryside while also raising the bar in coordinating action choreography, camera movement and editing. His best improvement yet is the masterful sound design from effects to ambients to the musical scoring.

Yimou repeats a few themes from Hero that signify that Flying Daggers is a conceptual sequel to his first wuxia film. Both Hero and Flying Daggers operate on plot twists near the end, both have “curtain” scenes. Hero’s calligraphy theme is used in Flying Daggers’ title sequence. And while Crouching Tiger has Li Mu Bai and Jiao Long in a bamboo forest, Flying Daggers multiplies the excitement with its own ambush in a bamboo forest. Best of all is the prevalent theme of love caught in the midst of war, though this time the fight is political.

Which unfortunately underline a small but glaring weakness – Flying Daggers may be overwhelming for the eyes and ears, but the narrative fluctuates from poetic to pop and back. At some point, Mei’s fate borders on the comical. While the film soars two-thirds of the time, it nosedives needlessly in the final chapter.

Regardless of the narrative’s lack of sophistication unlike Crouching Tiger’s, everything else glides in sheer detail and splendor. Just watch those daggers fly and listen carefully as they sing through the air.

This film is a rare beauty from the north indeed.