Review of House of Flying Daggers (2004) by Krishna S — 11 Feb 2009

"House of Flying Daggers" is a beautiful, serene and yet highly powerful film. Taking a simple tale told innumerable times on screens in different cultural settings across the world, it's redeeming feature is its visual style.

Told on an epic scale, the story is of Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), an ambitious and charming government official who seeks to bring down the rebel group, the "Flying Daggers" by seducing Mei (Ziyi Zhang), who is the blind daughter of the old leader of the group.

Of course, as all such stories go, he actually falls in love with her. But what sets the movie apart from most other movies with similar stories is its emotional depth. There is a resonance in the romance of Jin and Mei which is lacking today in most modern films.

Their love story is told in a poignant and believable manner. Credit for this must also be given to the two leads: Ziyi Zhang who looks gorgeous as the calm, delicate but strong Mei and Takeshi Kaneshiro who is charming and heroic as Jin.

Also, there are some interesting plot twists thrown in to keep the viewer engrossed. The martial arts sequences are well choreographed. However, apart from the romance, what is most striking about the film are its visuals! Each scene is spectacular.

Each location is an artist's delight. The costumes are beautiful. The camerawork is simply superb and captures all the beauty in its lens to create one magnificent visual treat after another. Many scenes, especially the finale, leave the viewer in shock an awe for their sheer beauty.

The visuals also set the mood for the film which is serene and calm even in the most urgent action sequences keeping the emotions at its core rather than entertaining action. Hollywood could learn a thing or two about emotional depth in epic films from filmmakers like Yimou Zhang.

It is the combination of visuals and powerful romance that make "House of Flying Daggers" in the true sense of the term, an epic motion picture. It succeeds despite its week story in enchanting the audiences for precisely these reasons.

Overall, it is a magnificent motion picture that is so beautiful to look at and listen to that you enjoy it thoroughly despite knowing how the story will play itself out from the very first scene. Super solid recommendation!