I saw House of Flying Daggers, directed by Zhang Zimou, a couple weeks back. Some reviewers see it as a companion piece to Hero, which, though finished a couple years ago, was released in the U.S. only a couple months ago. I saw more differences than similarities between the two films. House was much more realistic in its fight sequences than Hero, for one thing. House also does not have a Rashomon narrative structure like Hero, though there are certainly twists and turns and surprises. Both films deal thematically with deception, but in different ways.
Quick summary. Two soldiers in 9th century China are charged with infiltrating an secretive society of assassins called the House of Flying Daggers. Through a ruse, one of the soldiers, Jin, a playboy, insinuates himself into the trust of Mei, a suspected assassin who is also blind, and goes on the run with her, chased by governent soldiers, led by the second soldier, Leo.
Mei, the blind assassin, soon proves herself to be a top-notch fighter, but only after first proving herself an amazing dancer in the "Echo Game" scene. This is one of the best drum-centered scenes I've seen in a long time--worth the price of admission for me.
I can't say much more about the story-line because it would spoil it for those who haven't seen it. Needless to say, there are a number of twists. In the end, though, the two soldiers end up fighting over Mei, in a scene that is remarkably bloody and realistic, compared to similar scenes in Hero. In that film, wounds were represented by red ribbons, and similar gestures, but in House blood is represented by blood, and we see clearly how un-romantic their methods of fighting were.
The effects in the film are amazing, the cinematography, like in Hero, is breath-taking, as is the fight-choreography. The directing, writing, acting--particularly the lovely Ziyi Zhang, who also appeared in Hero--top-notch. I would say the willowy young Zhang is one of the best martial arts artist in film today.
A few more specific observations. I'm surprised that a film coming out of China would portray a mostly-female revolutionary organization so sympathetically (though their own brand of real politik reveals itself by the end). But then they were fighting against an ancient, declining, corrupt regime, so the Communist governent I imagine would approve of that much.
I also thought, while watching the film, that I might not even mention it to friends, let alone review it on my blog, because it seemed misogynistic. But once the twists come into play it seems to go beyond that. And the mostly-female House of Flying Daggers, as I said, or portrayed with quite a lot of sympathy.
I also thought the film was interesting in thematizing gaming as a way of life, in terms of personal relationships, and as the way of the universe, in terms of contingency and chance. The film itself--like any narrative, I suppose--is a kind of game as well, with the viewers as players. It is all about PLAY, as both game and performance, as, it might be argued, life itself.
So, in short, I recommend the film and count us lucky that two Zhang Zimou films have been released in such quick succession.
Posted by jeb at January 5, 2005 7:50 PM | TrackBack