| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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Zhan Yimou Dazzles Us Once Again
by Brian (movies profile)
Jul 8, 2006
19
of
22 people found this review helpful
There is virtually nothing better for me than anticipating a film with great expectations to be fulfilled at maximum capacity. House of Flying Daggers proves for the second time this year that Zhang Yimou is a master director in his command of visual storytelling. With the style and grace of a ballet containing every color in Crayola's realm of possibilies, this romantic adventure will draw you in emotionally as well as sensually.
The year is 859 A.D., three years since the previous leader of the underground alliance of rebels known as The House of Flying Daggers was assasinated by a corrupt government, his blind daughter Mei (Zhang Ziyi) has returned to society to avenge her father's death. She is suspected of dancing in the Peony Pavillion Entertainment Plaza as cover. Two county police captains (Andy Lau as Leo, Takishi Kaneshiro as Jin) have a plan to expose the new leader to collect a reward from the general and Mei has everything to do with this plan. After Leo arrests Mei, Jin breaks her out of jail and they flee the city. The plan is for Jin to seduce Mei and have her lead him to Nia, the current leader of The HOFD where they will destoy the entire group. Sounds pretty simple but there is a catch. Jin actually falls for Mei in the process! That's only the beginning of his problems since the general gets involved with the case, sending in formidable soldiers unaware of the scheme. Jin now has to kill his own men, causing him to be conflicted on a personal level. To me, Jin was the most enriched character demonstrating a diverse spectrum of emotion and versatility in his role. To preserve the mystique of the plot, I won't elaborate on any more details (there are a few twists). I will say this, the ending is very moving with an unselfish act of love, the tradgedy amplified by being unnecessary. We realize this the moment a drop of blood intersects the path of a flying dagger; absolutely brilliant. The beauty of this story lies in its simplistic structure yet possessing complex characteristics. The complexity does not come from layers of subplots or multiple characters involved. It comes from the choices and reactions involved in each difficult situation. It's compelling to watch the classic cause and effect of amorous psychology progress the plot to no limit in this forbidden love triangle. All this while still utilizing a linear narrative that is to the point. I've noticed in the few negative reviews out there, critics are having logic issues with this story. Excuse me? This is fantasy, people. This is meant to be approached with both hemispheres of the brain for optimal enjoyment, not just the left side. Besides, every plothole conceived by these cynics that question "why?" have a contrasting solution that clearly explains "why not?".
There is a variety of fresh action sequences that reinvents Yimou's interpretation of the martial art film design. Plenty of skilled swordfighting combined with lightning fast hand to hand technique will satisfy any Soul Caliber and Virtua Fighter fan. There's an enraged brawl, fueled with jealousy that bring out the best of the actors with no lines at all. Powerful emotion is conveyed in facial expressions universal to all languages. Last but not least, The Echo Game: Negotiation results in Mei's traditional dance synchronized with a percussion ensemble penetrating even the most stoic of viewers with excitement to get things underway with authority. I had to fight the urge to give her a standing ovation after that exhibition.
Nothing will ever top the raw talent of Jet Li and Donnie Yen as they battled through their mind's eye in Hero. However, the innovatively fluid fight sequences and special effects in HOFD were just as spectacular and in some cases, even surpassed those in Hero. I was again very pleased in the limited use of wire fu and cgi, but when it was used, it was done with class. The scene where the soldiers were giving chase in the bamboo forests after an intense confrontation with Mei and Jin was one of the highlights of the movie. The huge stalks were used with a catapulting effect to give the viewer a sense of plausibility. Also, never underestimate the power of slow motion. No martial arts film is complete without it and you'll love how Yimou does it above and beyond anything else.
One aspect that impressed me was the progress of visuals in trajectory objects. I remember one scene in particular in Hero when the arrows were heading for the calligraphy temple, how unprofessional that shot was with the arrows dangling on strings (thank God that was it). You won't find that here as the arrows always glide smoothly on a solid path to their destination while the camera follows in bullet time. The same principle is used with the daggers as they inflict serious damage to their victims with sometimes graphicly brutal results (for a PG-13 rating). Yimou gives the daggers personality with enhanced sound effects and unorthodox movement. You know when you hear them approaching while cutting through the air, people are going to die. If you're fascinated with utmost precision, a few of these scenes will absolutely take your breath away.
Zhang Yimou definitely sets the standard with his follow up, House of Flying Daggers. This will go right along side Hero as one of my top 5 films of the year and easily receives the 5 star rating.Do not wait for this to come out on DVD . Do yourself a favor and experience this one in the theater. |
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