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House of Flying Daggers

A woman so beautiful, One glance and the city walls fall, Another glance and the entire 

Year: 2004 
Running Time:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Scope) 
Certificate: BBFC 15 Cert – Not suitable for under 15s 
Subtitles: It is expected that this film is fully subtitled. 
Directed by Unknown 
Starring: Unknown  
An image from House of Flying Daggers
Review:

Zhang Yimou has gone Hollywood. All his life he's been making intensely emotional art house films like Raise The Red Lantern. Suddenly, around the turn of the millennium he decided to engage in an experiment that was Hero. Confident that the experiment was a success, his next film was the remarkably titled House of Flying Daggers (the Chinese title Shi Mian Mai Fu means 'Ambushed From Ten Directions').

China was rarely as prosperous as during the colourful Tang Dynasty (one of the Renaissance periods of Chinese history). But around mid-9th century the Tang Dynasty was coming to an end, and at this point uprisings against the emperor was commonplace. The House Of Flying Daggers was the most successful and elusive of the troublemakers. Into this background comes the story of the playboy officer Jin (Kaneshiro) and the blind dancer Mei (Ziyi), who are both double-crossing each other yet find that their feelings may be more powerful than their motives.

The film is visually spectacular, with every frame being painted by vivid, contrasting colours, whether by the costumes of the period or the surreal scenery (some in China, most of it in Ukraine). The martial arts sequences are everything we ask for and more, including a dance sequence by Zhang Ziyi that is worth the admission price alone (really), and an almost operatic scene of the lovers desperately trying to escape an ambush in the plains.

What makes the experience even more intense are the sound effects. Every sword swing, dagger twist, stride of a horse or struck bamboo is amplified whenever the director wants us to pay them attention.

The music by Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi is beautiful, and wholesomely compliments the emotions of the characters; many times we find the characters faced with choices, and as they hesitate, the music swells up and becomes the narrative itself. Sounds pretentious, but it isn't - you'll see.

Mark my words, this is not a film you forget easily.

Sebastian Ng

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