House of Flying Daggers (2004) (AKA
Shi mian mai fu)
The House of Flying Daggers must
be right next door to The River of the Ridiculous.
This film's marketing may suggest that it is a slam-bash,
full throttle, chop sockey, Hong Kong action flick
with lots of fighting and cool special effects, but
ultimately it becomes a love triangle based, romantic
drama that is so boring and so ridiculous that it
becomes nearly impossible to sit still for it. At
least the unintentional laughs relieve the tedium
at times.
Sure, this film is gorgeous. Those
who fell in love with director Yimou Zhang after his
lush and vibrant "Hero" (the one with Jet Li, natch)
finally came to America will find much beautiful imagery
here to coat the pupils of their eyes. This film is
beautiful. But ultimately it is only the visuals here
that allow us to enjoy the film. The plot, acting
and dialogue here is often laughable and ridiculous.
The film begins in a brothel with
the prostitutes here referred to in the English translated
dialogue as "Showgirls." What follows is a plot of
double identities and political intrigue that will
intrigue no one. The film's script tries to be clever
and twisty-turvey but these revelations give us a
headache more than make out heads spin.
There is some really cool scenes
to be sure, however. A sequence in a bamboo forest
is quite awesome. And there's the advent of CGI images
here, giving the film a real sense of the titular
"flying" blades. But ultimately it is only the visuals
that engage here. The love triangle portion of the
story, and it is a big chunk, includes the last minute
resurrection of a female that will leave the audience
tittering with unintentional laughter. Maybe this
is romantic and dramatic in Asia but in the states
it simply does not translate. It's disappointing that
such a beautiful film has such an overwrought tone
and so many silly, ridiculous incidents.
Notes:
In Mandarin with subtitles.
The literal translation of the title
"Shi mian mai fu" is "Ambush from 10 Directions."
The final fight scene was not intended
to be shot in the snow, but when it snowed for ten
days in the Ukraine where Zhang was shooting, he decided
to just go ahead and do the scene. The effect is visually
stunning.
Anita Mui was cast and was to be
filmed in early 2004 for the film but died of cancer
before that happened. Zhang rewrote the script and
edited out her character rather than recast it. She
is honored in the film's end credits with the English
credits reading "In Memory of Anita Mui."
The film has been nominated for
an won a few awards. It is nominated for a Golden
Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. This is also
China's official entry for the Academy Awards for
Best Foreign Film consideration.
The film premiered at Cannes in
May 2004 and began a U.S. arthouse run in December
2004.
Viewed at a press sneak at the Dobie
in December 2004 with my friend Jan. I talked to Corey
from "The Reel Deal" for a bit before the movie. There
is some female critic for some rag in Oak Hills or
some place who keeps bringing a crying baby to the
press screenings. What a stupid bitch.
