HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS

Review by Jennifer Lundin Ritchie

The movie beginsin the Peony Pavilion, a brothelinFeng Tian County, circa 859 CE.One of the dancers is rumoured to be a member ofthe Flying Daggers, an underground alliance rebelling against the corrupt government. Jin (TakeshiKaneshiro) is the local County Captain sent to investigate, in hopes of using her to capture the newleader of thealliance. However there is still no hint of revolutionin this lavish setting. The costumesare decadent, the pavilion’s interior massive and meticulously ornamented. The girls arebeautiful, but none compare to Mei (ZiyiZhang) the ravishing pride of the pavilion. Although blind, she dances with extreme grace, and revealsher “very particular talents” which tip the plot’s hand. Despite the luxuriant setting, you start to sense an undercurrent of unrest, and begin to realize the entire situation is teetering precariously between gracious civility and passionate uprising. The seeds are sown here for the crumbling of both personas and ideals.

Never again do we see echoes of a traditional court. Save afew scenes filmed in small dark shacks, the rest of the movie is filmed outdoors. The seasons have changed and the fall of manyveils ensues. Wrappedin color so vibrant you can almost smell the dew onthe leaves, our protagonists enter a world of brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. And yet, the simple green robes of the House of Flying Daggers manage to outshine the Autumnal scenery. The impossibly rich green fabric was surely meant to match the bamboo, and yet somehow it exceeded nature herself and took on a mesmerizing magical quality. I was saturated.

The action scenes were so exhilarating I was actually exhausted long before the end of the movie. Zhang Zijibrings a new vulnerability and grace to her customary film role asa convincing kickass warrior. My only real complaint was with the pacing. By the time the final scene played, I was so spent I could only muster up a small amount of concern for the protagonists. I think other audience members may have beenin the same boat, since the only response I heard to this relatively weak closing scene were grunts of disbelief and choppy laughter. In spite of problems with the pacing, a few cheesy scenes, and some trite and choppy dialogue, I predict this film will do well. I could not find fault in director Zhang Yimou’s masterful use of color and inspiring action sequences. Zhang Yimou found ways to be innovative within the traditional constraints of the genre. The requisite bamboo forest and duel to the death were each given a new twist. The scenewith the horses had some imaginative stunts I had never seen before (and yes, I havealready acted them out several times for myfriends).

Zhang Yimou claims his movie is just “a love storywrapped inside an actionfilm” but I think he short changed the movie’s potential message. I saw people willing to forsake everything for their respective causes. Whetherfor love, revenge, glory, power or politics, they were willing to sacrifice their dreams, their futures, their very lives. Their passion motivated and sustained their ideals. But ultimately we seein the symbolic climax that causes are nothing without the people who propagate them.