Now that he feels comfortable with wuxia, or martial-arts movies, following Hero (英雄) -- his first foray into the genre, which Miramax has yet to release in North America -- Chinese master Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) creates a gem in House of Flying Daggers (十面埋伏).
While the action sequences are right up there with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(
The film is certain to be a worldwide hit, but whether it will approach the boxoffice figures of the Crouching Tiger phenomenon is an open question. Certainly, Western audiences hungering for more have a great meal headed their way.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX FILMS
Set in the year 859 in the waning days of the now-corrupt Tang Dynasty, the central force in the film is a shadowy revolutionary alliance known as the House of Flying Daggers. Their leader has been assassinated, but a mysterious new leader has already replaced him.
Two local deputies are ordered to capture this leader within 10 days, a virtually impossible task. Captain Leo, played by Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau (
When Mei refuses to talk even under threat of torture, Leo suggests that Jin rescue her while pretending to be a lone warrior who calls himself the Wind. The two flee, and the plan appears to work when, after a couple of spectacular battles between the couple and pursuing troops, Mei accepts Jin's faked identity.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX FILMS
The two head north, presumably toward the headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers. But no one is who he or she appears to be, and danger lurks everywhere. What no one anticipated, however, is that Mei and Jin would fall for each other, which causes everyone's schemes to crumble. When Jin must fight and kill his fellow soldiers for real and Mei finds herself asked to kill Jin, the divided loyalties reach their zenith.
Paying tribute to wuxia master King Hu, whose three-hour epic A Touch of Zen won a technical prize at Cannes in 1969, director Zhang honors all the conventions of the genre, including his own battle in the bamboo forest. The twist here is that the troops occupy the treetops, hurling sharpened bamboo down on the heroes who must fight and run on the ground.
As the title promises, knives and daggers zip through the air with balletic force. Flying daggers twist, plunge, ricochet and change directions. Employing the latest film technology and the most acrobatic suit people in the Chinese and Hong Kong film industries, Zhang has objects and people defy gravity in ways Hu could only dream about.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX FILMS
A dance sequence early in the movie featuring Zhang Ziyi and what appears to be a stunt double in some shots telegraphs viewers that the director means to raise the action bar in all areas. That he does so while keeping the story firmly rooted in the developing love between two people desperately fighting their own instincts is a tribute to his cinematic mastery.
Dashing Kaneshiro and hauntingly beautiful Zhang Ziyi convincingly convey the vulnerability of a couple battling inner emotions so that they will not fall in love. For Mei, the conflict is deepened by the fact that, unknown to Jin, she already has a lover who shadows and protects her. That lover is Lau's wily Leo, a man who will stop at nothing to keep her alive for him and for him alone.
Cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding's (
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