Film critique of zhang yimou’s house of flying daggers assignment

The story concludes by the final climactic battle between Leo and Jin. In the end, Mei sacrifices her life for Jin’s welfare. The film is of the particularly distinct Chinese Wuxia (literal translation from Mandarin is “ martial arts chivalry”) genre. Wuxia is a combination of Wushu fighting style (especially swordfights) and the Xia philosophy (martial arts philosophy that emphasizes the act of chivalry and heroism), ergo the term Wuxia. [i] Wuxia stories are often rooted in adventure and mystery set in ancient China, such as that of House of Flying Daggers.

These stories highlight the heroism and chivalry of characters through superhuman martial arts abilities, such as flying, scaling walls, and using everyday objects as weapons. Obviously, there is a “ suspension of disbelief”, where it becomes hard to differentiate between reality and fantasy, feasibility and improbability. [ii] The central characters are Jin, Leo, and Mei. Jin is a police officer ordered to infiltrate the House of Flying Daggers by befriending and gaining the trust of Mei, who is suspected of being the daughter of the old rebel leader.

It might be surmised that if Yimou did not live in the post-Cultural Revolution generation, he may not have been able to experiment with his auteristic style of experimenting with abundant mise-en-scene and cinematography. When asked about the Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers, critic Mark Pollard comments, “ It possesses elements of traditional martial arts films and at its best, gives the genre a much needed facelift. ” [vi] The film was shot in two main locations: China and Ukraine. The final battle scene was shot in Ukraine, where it snowed earlier than expected. The script was then changed to accommodate to the sudden seasonal change.

In the final version of the movie, Yimou lets his audience believe that the story begins in autumn and ends in winter. This proved to be a blessing in disguise, as Yimou was pleased with how the whiteness of the snow set the dramatic tone and highlighted the color of blood. [vii] Yimou is known for deviating from filmic conventions, but there are a few scenes in the movie that show that he nevertheless appreciates tradition. The bamboo forest fight scene is a predominant motif in Chinese martial arts movies. In keeping with that tradition, he suddenly decided to insert an additional bamboo scene.

Color can also be used for visual movement, as shown in the Peony Pavilion scene when Mei dances and sings. The pink fabric keeps on swaying as she dances and sings. Eventually, the color pink stands out the most in this scene and almost seems to move freely, on its own. The graceful and fluid movement of the pink makes this scene highly memorable. This is done deliberately to show the significance of the last scene, when the same song that Mei sings at the Peony Pavilion is sung again in the last scene. The use of this same song heightens the dramatic weight of the last scene, when Mei dies.

To further stress the dramatic force of the last scene, Yimou employs the gradual use from near to total white. Since Yimou generously applies many colors to the rest of the film, using only white for the last few shots in the last scene makes it outstanding and memorable. Also, the spill of blood against the white snow becomes more disturbing as it is in its reddest and richest saturation. The fact that Yimou uses extremely long shots to show as much of the backdrop as possible makes this last battle scene stand out and convey the message that the battle has a much greater weight than the two characters, who are shown extremely small.

This is a sharp contrast to the barrenness of the headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers, where they only have one wooden table and few chairs. The shameless desire for luxury and pleasure in the brothel is juxtaposed against the pragmatic ideologies of the Flying Daggers. Props also become a motif. Many props, such as the circular posts used in the Echo game between Mei and Leo at the brothel, share the parallelism of having circular forms. (In fact, the circular form can also be seen, not just as props, but also as the form resulting from fight scenes. This shot shows circular relationship between the shields, the logo on the backs of the soldiers’ uniforms, and even the fighting arrangement, where the soldiers form a circle to trap Jin and Mei. In addition, some props also use linear form, such as weapons, wooden posts (in the jail scene when Mei is imprisoned), and bamboo poles (in bamboo forest scenes). It should also be mentioned that setting could play an active role in the plot. Yimou proves, in this film, that setting has the ability to overwhelm the actors. viii] Throughout the film, large-scale establishing shots of the beautiful landscapes, such as of tree-lined mountains and sloping valleys, are shown. These shots do not necessarily contribute to the narrative development, but they do stay loyal to Wuxia conventions. In Wuxia, there exists a parallel universe (“ Jiang Hu”) where fantastical and superhuman actions can be achieved. It is an alternate world where the aesthetic of nature is appreciated. In House of Flying Daggers, there are no montage sequences or long takes at all.

It is no surprise that there are no auteristic montage sequences because of the particular genre of this movie, and because Yimou is not known for montage at all. There are no long takes as well. Again, this is no surprise since this movie prides itself on its fast-paced action sequences that require fast editing. The predominant elements of cinematography present in this film are angles and levels of framing, long and medium-long shots (complemented at times with crane shots), and heavy use of pans and tilts in fight sequences. Using these techniques showcase the highly stylized and artistic Wuxia martial arts.

Particular elements of mise-en-scene and cinematography contribute to characterization and story development, but precisely because Yimou is dependent on appealing to the senses, House of Flying Daggers lacks thematic reinforcement (that could have been done traditionally, with intimate dialogue for example). But Yimou’s appreciation to Wuxia, with its sense of fantasy, martial arts, and a refreshing diegesis, easily shows through. Appendix Original (Mandarin) Title: Shi Mian Mai Fu (Ambushed in Ten Directions)

Main Cast: Zhang Ziyi (Mei), Takeshi Kaneshiro (Jin), Andy Lau (Jin), and Dandan Song (Yee) Director: Zhang Yimou Scriptwriters: Feng Li, Bin Wang, and Zhang Yimou Producers: William Kong, Weiping Zhang, Zhang Yimou, and Zhenyan Zhang Production Year: 2004 Production Companies: Beijing New Picture Film Company, China Film Co-Production Corporation, EDKO Film Ltd. , Elite Group Enterprises, and Zhang Yimou Studio Endnotes ———————– [i] Wikipedia, 10 Mar 2006. Wuxia [Online], Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Wuxia [20 March 2006]. [ii] Ibid. iii] Ibid. [iv] Ibid. [v] Wikipedia, 15 March 2006. Cinema of China [Online], Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Chinese_film_history#The_rise_of_the_Fifth_Generation [20 March 2006]. [vi] Mark Pollard, (No date) Reviews: House of Flying Daggers [Online], Available: http://www. kungfucinema. com/reviews/houseofflyingdaggers_121804. htm [20 March 2006]. [vii] IMDb, (No date) Shi mian mai fu (2004) [Online], Available: http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0385004/maindetails [19 March 2006]. [viii] David Bordwell, Film Art: An Introduction (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004), 179