Movie Title: House of Flying Daggers 《十面埋伏》
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro

Nice daggers, House empty
When a concoction of art house and commercial film doesn't mix well, one has House of Flying Daggers, without merits of either genre, while bringing out the worst of filming. When the cinema screen turned dark, names started scrolling up, a lady seated beside me turned to her boyfriend, saying "Is that all? Have I missed something or there's supposed to be a sequel to this?" She was not alone. Nevermind the awesome cinematography, an art for which Zhang Yimou is renowned, the film pathetically lacks a convincing plot, if there's one to begin with, and at the end, not only it fails to touch the audiences, it throws them into nowhere.

Zhang Yimou's second foray into the Wuxia genre (Chinese version of chivalry knighthood), set in the late Tang Dynasty, a period of unrest and rebellion, tells of a rebel group House of Flying Daggers, whose leader had been assassinated, and a mysterious new leader emerged. Two county constables (played by Andy and Takeshi) conceived an elaborate plan to nab the new leader by first gaining the trust of Zhang Ziyi, also a rebel of the House, and then using her to lead them to her leader. The plan involved Takeshi to work undercover to get to Zhang Ziyi. The plot later thickened into a hopeless love triangle. From here, I shall spare myself the agony of saying more, not that I fear leaking the plot, but I'm now still clueless about it because the film failed to gel into one coherent whole.

That's not the end. The weak and muddled plot aside, the film put the audiences through horrendous Mandarin uttered by the casts since dubbing wasn't used. If that is not agonising enough, the style of the dialogues alternated between contemporary and old vernacular, leaving the audiences somewhat bemused. And, don't be surprised that the theme song of this Chinese period film was sang by opera diva Kathleen Battle, not in Mandarin of course, another artistic expression of a creative director who believes arts transcends all cultural and geographical boundaries. Perhaps, in his third Wuxia film, I anticipate Bollywood song and dance to accompany ancient pugilists swinging and rolling in meadows.

Incidentally, going by what the director has to say about his film, the House is supposedly "a love story, but also a martial arts film in the form of a romantic and timeless saga. The film takes the viewer on an emotional journey into the heart of passion. You'll see how three people suffer because of their love for the other and how much they can endure. Love tears us apart, yet we are ready to sacrifice everything for it." Adding to that is Zhang Weiping, producer of the film, who said it would move most people tears.

I'm not so sure about the tears. The only emotive response from me and everyone is bewilderment.

Well, I may have been too critical. When a film that costs nearly US$20 million to make, something must turn up good. True, the cinematography is a visual and aural feast to the senses. Zhang, with his incredible understanding of sound, colour and motion, has woven the film into a dizzying and shimmering tapestry of seamless poetic scenes and rich evocative backdrops.

Particularly memorable is the scene at Peony Pavilion, with its excessively ornamented setting, it offers a glimpse into the extravagance of the Tang dynasty in all its splendour.

Another setting worth mentioning is fight scene shot in a pine forest near Lviv, in Ukraine, a lush country side pasture known for its rustic beauty, as well as the unspoilt bamboo grove in Yong Chuan, southwest of China.

Together with the same level of artistry displayed in the costumes designed by Oscar-winning Emi Wada, lyrical score by onetime Japanese rock musician Shigeru Umebayashi, intricate fight choreorgraphy by action director Tony Ching Siu Tung, the film simply oozes aesthetical delights from every corner.

My verdict? If you switch off your gray cells, don't try making sense out of the plot, treat it as a no brainer, the ticket to the US$20 million production is worth the splurge.

By the way, the Chinese title 《十面埋伏》 literally means "Ambushes From Ten Sides," a pipa sonata, I think. Don't ask me why they used this title for Chinese and another for English. Remember this is supposed to be a no brainer.

Leo Kee Chye

Monday, July 26, 2004