| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Takeshi Kaneshiro | as Jin |
| Andy Lau | as Leo |
| Ziyi Zhang | as Xiao Mei (as Zhang Ziyi) |
| Dandan Song | as Yee |
| MPAA Rating: | PG-13 |
| Production Companies: | * Beijing New Picture Film Co. * China Film Co-Production Corporation * Edko Films * Elite Group Enterprises * Zhang Yimou Studio |
| Distributors (USA): | * Sony Pictures Classics (theatrical) * Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (DVD & Blu-ray) |
| Release Date (USA): | 1/14/2005 |
| Running Time: | 119 minutes |
| Domestic Box Office: | $11,041,228 (1 April 2005) |
| Foreign Box Office: | $? |
| Production Budget: | CNY 100,000,000 (Est.) |
Once powerful, China's Tang Dynasty has by 859 become corrupt. A rebel group, known as the Flying Daggers, attempts to overthrow the corrupt regime — but powerful forces are arrayed against them.
One such force is the Imperial Police. Its local officers concoct a scheme to draw out the secretive leader of the Flying Daggers. They have heard that Xiao Mei, a young woman recently hired at the Peony Palace, may be a member of the group. Police captain Leo assigns officer Jin to the Peony Palace, where he pretends to be a playboy nobleman. After desporting with some of the women and apparently getting drunk, Jin calls for the new girl. She is brought, and he forces himself on her. The madam calls the police, who arrest their colleague. Police captain Leo intends to arrest the girl, too, because (having had her outer clothes ripped off) she is indecently dressed. But the madam protests, and he agrees to relent if the girl — who is blind — can perform well in the Echo Game.
This involves Leo throwing pebbles at one of the pole-mounted drums arranged in a circle around the room. The girl must identify and sound the same drum by hitting it with the end of her long silken scarf. She does so for several minutes. Finally Leo draws his sword and flings it at her. She captures it in midair with her very versatile scarf and attacks him. They fight for several more minutes. He subdues her and she is taken into custody.
Leo threatens her with disfigurement if she does not reveal the leader of the Flying Daggers. He gives her 24 hours to think it over. That night, Jin the pretend playboy easily defeats twenty or so of the men guarding Mei, frees her and runs off with her — with more police forces in hot pursuit. At intervals, he and Mei must ward off their pursuers in protracted acrobatic skirmishes. At other times, Jin sneaks away to confer with the police captain. Leo grows impatient, for Mei has given up none of her secrets.
Things take a bad turn when "the general," who does not know of the police plan, sends his forces after the fugitives. Jin is wounded.1 This finally convinces Mei, who is no dummy, that he is on the level. A long chase ensues as they continue to flee to the north. They fight off numerous attacks, at times aided by darts of unknown origin that puncture their pursuers. Finally, in a bamboo forest, a group of treetop-treading warriors trap the two in a fence of thrown bamboo shafts. Just when it seems their end is at hand, the Flying Daggers appear.
It seems the Flying Daggers are all women. At their secret headquarters, the woman in charge, Yee, questions Jin closely about Mei. He professes to love her, and Yee promises to marry them tomorrow. But it's a trick; Jin is captured in a net, and then bound by ropes. Leo is brought in, similarly bound. It soon develops that the captain is a member of the Flying Daggers, and has been a mole for them for three years. He is also in love with Mei. So at last we come to the real heart of this movie: It is a story of the eternal triangle.
I had the wrong idea about House of Flying Daggers. I thought it would be a typical "chop-socky" flick in which the climactic fight took place in some random house and involved a great many thrown knives, most of which were deflected thanks to the skill of the heroes. Instead, these flying daggers (which give their name to the only people able to wield them) seem to have minds of their own. They can bounce off the shield of the man attacked, circle around and strike him from behind. Mei uses hers to good advantage in this way at several points.
The film is gorgeous, giving viewers a succession of desperate, stylized battles shot against outdoor backdrops of great beauty. The actors themselves are beautiful, as are their costumes. And the stunningly beautiful actress who plays Mei outshines them all. They give good, convincing performances. The film is very much worth watching, and it deserves its high rating among IMDB users.
All that said, it has major defects. There are too many fight scenes, and too much time devoted to the fugitives' flight between those battles. The police plot is revealed to the audience too early, and the several scenes where Mei and the playboy decide where to put their allegiance are too drawn out. Lastly, the film ends without showing us the major battle it was leading us up to for most of its two hours.
My Rating:
9 out of 10
Capsule review: House of Flying Daggers is a classic of Chinese martial-arts film-making, resembling in some ways the earlier (and better) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Despite its defects, it is not to be missed.
| IMDB Rating: 7.6 | Raters: 95,361 |
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