China (2004)
Mandarin title: Shi Mian Mai Fu
Length: 119 minutes
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Genre: Historical drama
Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau and Dandan Song

Near the end of the Tang Dynasty, police deputies Jin and Leo tangle with Mei, a dancer suspected of having ties to a revolutionary faction known as the House of Flying Daggers. Enraptured by her, the deputies concoct a plan to save her from capture, and Jin leads her north in what becomes a perilous journey into the unknown.

OK, let's get straight to the point, shall we? Many people have been waiting for the second Zhang Yimou's kung fu movie. Unlike Hero, the movie House of Flying Daggers is a love story that has a linear evolution. Besides, the story is so easy to follow that you don't need to watch the movie twice to understand it. However, let it be said that House of Flying Daggers, although it is quite good, is not as impressive as Hero for some reasons.

First of all, as usual, Zhang Yimou manages to show us that he's undisputed "Asian Master of Images". He perfectly knows how to use the Chinese landscape as an "actor" to support the psychological evolution of the characters. However, we're still wondering what's the flaw of this movie. As opposed to Hero, I think that Zhang Yimou didn't take enough time to build the links that psychologically unite characters. Seriously, Zhao Mei (Zhang Ziyi) falls too quickly in love with Jin (Takeshi Kaneishiro) after a meeting that seriously needs to be longer, for God's sake. An explanation about the development of the chemistry between those two characters will be very meaningful, because the love story itself bears the movie's whole significance. After all, just like in Hero, Zhang Yimou manages to confuse the movie viewer, speaking about the links that unite the characters and that is, in my opinion, one of the main strength of the movie.

Secondly, in my opinion, House of Flying Daggers is, nonetheless, a quite good movie in which the excellent cinematography supports a storyline that could have been greatly improved, although the final result gives us a movie that is still worth watching, especially because of its gorgeous cinematography and spectacular fight scenes. Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Takeshi Kaneishiro and Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs) deliver a great performance and they will give you the feeling that you're watching a Greek tragedy with a Chinese touch. Besides, Tony Ching Siu-Tung (Hero) does a very good job as a fight scene choregrapher and I think that he's trully as good as Yuen Woo-Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Corey Yuen Kwai (Kiss of the Dragon).

Finally, to be honest with you, I really enjoyed watching House of Flying Daggers, because of its artistic quality and the psychological depth, although the director should have spent more time on it. I should also say that this movie is more about love than fights (well that's the way I like it!). Because of its beauty, I consider House of Flying Daggers as an instant classic that stands beside Hero (2nd) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (the best of all time!).

Users' Average Movie Rating: Not rated yet.
Movie Review Rating: 0 out of 0 members agree with this review.

Do you agree with this review? Yes No

Your rating:	0 - Avoid it all cost
	0.5
	1
	1.5
	2
	2.5
	3 - Acceptable
	3.5
	4
	4.5
	5 - A masterpiece

Please login to add a comment.