House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)

A Wuxia film that was supposed to be different from the others that have come before it, "House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)" was a film that director Zhang Yimou presented  more as a love story/ soap opera than a martial arts film. 

Set in 859 A.D. 2 police captains Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Leo (Andy Lau) have been given orders to kill the new leader of "The Flying Daggers", a rebel group trying to overthrow the current ruling Tang Dynasty. Jin goes undercover and gets himself arrested for indecency in a brothel, this is a strategic move because they also arrest the blind dancer Mei (Zhang Ziyi) who was reported to be the daughter of the old leader of the resistance. 

Jin in the guise of a bandit frees Mei from jail hoping that she will lead him to the new leader and finally destroy The Flying Daggers" but he underestimates his feelings for Mei and they both fall in love. 

Leo in the meantime sends wave after wave of his men after the 2 fugitives and even warns Jin in the forest of the implications of falling for Mei but he ignores Leo's warning. 

The story eventually unfolds as the film's plot goes deeper and the true identities of all the characters are revealed. Director Zhang Yimou does not force the grand scale in this film but instead focuses on the 3 main characters, all we see are the beautiful set pieces and the forests and plains where Jin and Mei run to. 

The battle scenes were choreographed to perfection making it look like dances and not actual fighting scenes, the vibrant colors and the beautiful cinematography are entrancing and breathtaking especially the scene where Jin and Mei are forced to defend themselves against the Bamboo wielding soldiers flying above the trees. 

Although the cinematography is superb I couldn't help but feel that something is missing in the film, I thought Andy Lau wasn't used quite effectively as he was forced to stand in the background while Kaneshiro and Zhang Ziyi became the focus of the story. I also felt that it was still too formulaic given the fact that Yimou tried to make it more than a Wuxia film, the ending was too over the top and it did not give enough closure to each of the characters story making the film incomplete rather than having the shocking climax that the director might have wanted.

Nevertheless it is still better than the average Wuxia film that you normally see (Red Cliff) that tries to combine artistry with box office appeal but it's really not for everybody's taste.

Grade: B-