China/HK 2003
Director: Zhang Yimou
Score: ***

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, oddly enough, gets a Christmas distribution just a few months after HERO’s release, though HERO was made in 2002.  Both films were directed by China’s master director Zhang Yimou.  Zhang is no stranger to the Chinese period piece having made RED SORGHUM, RAISE THE RED LANTERN and JU DOU.  FLYING DAGGERS is his second venture into the martial-arts/swordsmanship territory. 

The HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is the underground alliance that steals from the rich and distributes to the poor, earning the admiration of the people. Naturally the government is upset and dispatches two deputies Leo (Andy Lau of the recent INFERNAL AFFAITS) and Jin (Takeshi Kansehiro of Wong Kar-wei’s CHUNG KING EXPRESS) to kill its new leader. The suspect is the new dancer, Mei (Ziyi Zhang) of the local brothel, the Peony Pavilion. Leo is to capture and Jin to free her and thus gain her trust. But as it turns out, both men fall for her and FLYING DAGGERS eventually evolves into a passionate romance.

Viewers expecting a swords epic in the vein of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON or even Tarantino’s KILL BILL VOL. 1 will surely be disappointed. FLYING DAGGERS is not an action flick but a worthy tribute to the genre of the swordsmanship film. Like HERO, the film boasts plenty of well executed Wuxia action sequences by Tony Ching. Most are filmed with glorious colour (cinematography is by Zhao Xiaoding who worked as cameraman in HERO) with the actors decked in elaborate costumes (by award winning costume designer Emi Wada who also did HERO and many of Peter Greenaway’s films). Except for the climatic last fighting sequence where there is some genuine excitement, most (sequences) are done for viewers to admire. Director Yimou must surely be influenced after filming the documentary on Beijing Opera a few years back. Action and excitement are replaced here by movement and grace. The fight scenes are done mostly in slow motion, from extreme attention to detail to broad spectacle like the blood that drips down from the blade of a dagger to the thousands of darts flying through the air, all courtesy of CGI effects. The camerawork is excellent as well, evident in the Peony Pavilion scene, where the camera tracks dancer Mei, then switches to a variation of jump cuts before centering on her dance. The bamboo forest fight where the battle is executed both on the ground and on the bamboo makes a worthy variation.  The three principal actors are as handsome as the film’s cinematography. Zhang Ziyi’s dance during the echo game is exquisitely performed. Her dance background shows. 

Like HERO, FLYING DAGGERS bears identical flaws. Both films share a weak narrative. This is odd as Zhang’s early and best films always shared both a strong narrative and a solid female protagonist. The transition from action to romance is again uneven. The unquestioning loyalty of the Flying Daggers’ members is never fully explained nor the love scenes convincing. In sword epics, baring shoulders constitute nudity. This does not somehow work by today’s movie standards. Zhang Ziyi always looks perfect before or after a fight with full make-up and lipstick. But at least, Zhang does not get preachy as he did at the end of HERO. 

Once again, viewers will either be amazed or disappointed depending on their expectations. But whatever outcome, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is still an astounding feast to the eyes and establishes Zhang Yimou as a director to produce the most beautiful of films. 

Review by Gilbert Seah.