HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (2004) - Zhang Yimou

Earlier this year, I reviewed the latest film from Zhang Yimou, Curse of the Golden Flower. The film he directed before this was the 2004 martial arts epic, House of Flying Daggers. The film was itself a follow up to Hero, released in 2002. Nominated for an Oscar for best cinematography, the film is similar more to Hero than it is to Curse of the Golden Flower. Set during the Tang Dynasty of 9th Century China, the government is struggling to suppress a rebel group calling themselves the House of Flying Daggers. The group act like Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Two police men, Jin and Leo are tasked with finding the rebels in order to destroy the group. To do this, Jin seduces a blind dancer, believed to be a key member of the House of Flying Daggers. Jin breaks the girl out of prison after she attempts to kill Leo. Together, Jin and the girl, Mei make their way across country to find the rebels. But Jin finds himself developing feelings for the girl, something that will jeopardise his mission.



As with Curse of the Golden Flower, the first thing that is most striking about House of Flying Daggers, is the visuals. The cinematography in this film is stunning. Every frame is rich in colour and detail. There are quite a few battles throughout the film (none of the scale of the last battle in Curse of the Golden Flower), and all of them are filmed in a dream like quality. Yimou does seem to over do it a little with the slow motion and CGI moments, however these don’t really detract from the overall effect. The stunts in the fight sequences are amazing. Western audiences have become accustomed to these types of sequences ever since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon hit the screens. But the effect of them in this film is no less diminished by this fact.

The weakness of this film, however, lies in the screenplay. It’s a pretty basic story, when you boil it down. It tends to get a little melodramatic at times. Yimou wrote a better film in Curse of the Golden Flower. The performances in this film, however are quite good. Actress Ziyi Zhang (who also starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) is brilliant. She handles the transition between vulnerable and deadly quite well. Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jin is also very good. The essential thing between the two actors is chemistry, and there’s plenty of that here.



Overall, I feel that House of Flying Daggers is the weakest of the three Yimou films. While it’s not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, the script is a little bit of a letdown. However, the visuals and the fight sequences are both stunning and brilliantly choreographed, and these factors in themselves are what makes this film worth checking out.


7/10

2046 (2004) - Wong Kar-Wai

2046 is Wong Kar-Wai's follow up to 2000's In The Mood For Love. Having gone through a tumultuous production process of delays, rewrites, recasts, shutdowns and re-edits, the film was finally released in 2005.

Set in 1966, Chow Mo Wan (Tony Leung reprising his role from In The Mood For Love) returns to Hong Kong after spending some time in Singapore to forget the heartbreak he suffered after his affair with Su Li Zhen (Maggie Cheung). He no longer works as a newspaper columnist and has become a writer, creating erotic stories while engaging in affairs with plenty of women. Clearly the trauma of his relationship with Su Li Zhen has taken it's toll.
After escorting a performer back to her hotel room, number 2046, Chow feels drawn to the hotel, and the room in question. It's former occupant is seemingly murdered and Chow demands that he is allowed to occupy the room. However, it needs refurbishing, so the landlord allows Chow to take up residence in the neighboring room. Here, Chow observes and interacts with the occupants of room 2046, a number of women whom Chow becomes infatuated with.
The film centers on Chow's relationship with a hooker named Bai Ling (Ziyi Zhang) and the landlord's daughter (Faye Wong). After suffering a significant amount of emotional damage due to his relationship with Su Li Zhen, Chow treats Bai Ling with indifference, offering her money after sleeping with her and refusing her longing to take their relationship beyond casual sex. When Bai Ling leaves, Chow turns his attentions to the landlord's daughter, heartbroken when her Japanese lover leaves her. Chow takes it upon himself to help the girl through this, keeping his growing feelings for her to himself, a move that seems to torture him.



The most striking thing about 2046 is, as with In The Mood For Love, the amazing style in which it's presented. This is a film about love, loss and regret, and is presented in a dreamy atmosphere which makes it the perfect companion piece for Mood. The cinematography by Christopher Doyle (who has stated 2046 was his last collaboration with Wong Kar-Wai) is stunning, and Wong Kar-Wai's composition is perfectly matched to Doyle's style.
The film is intercut with scenes of the science fiction novel Chow is writing, set in 2046. And while these scenes are set in the future, and shot as such, they are not at all jarring, and compliment the rest of the film perfectly. The acting from Leung and Zhang is excellent while being subdued. Chow is a slick character, a changed man from In The Mood For Love, but Leung still retains the subtlety in his performance he brought to the previous film.


Once again, Wong Kar-Wai has created a fantastic piece of dreamy cinema. His choice of music is perfect to the imagery which is possibly the biggest draw of the film. While I didn't find the film as tightly edited and slick as In The Mood For Love, it is a fantastic sequel to that film. But make sure you see them in order to get the full effect.

8/10