Let me start by saying that this is simply a superb film. I'm getting the obvious out of the way, even though the review you are about to read is probably going to point this out several times along the way. House of Flying Daggers, Zhang Yimou's follow up to the equally superb Hero, follows similar lines along that film. There are fight sequences, some of which are the most thrilling and most exciting ever put to celluloid, there is a lot of melodrama, although his being from the Far East, is done much more cleverly and with more emotion than anything from Hollywood and Ziyi Zhang stars, but most of the similarities end there as House is more of a melodramatic film about a love triangle, rather than a Roshomon style political diatribe. There are no flashbacks, re-told versions of said flashbacks and a political message here, instead Yimou is simply telling a story that is essentially a love story, one involving three people and one that corners many twists and turns as it goes on and which ends on a note that William Shakespeare would have been proud of. The film is sumptuous and gorgeous to look at with the fight sequences not merely being scenes of violence put in for good measure, but works of abstract beauty, featuring wire work and stunts that really take the breath away. Every shot in the movie is like a beautiful painting, Yimou proving he has a great eye. He reminds me very much of Kubrick in a way. When it comes to scenes of dialogue between two characters, the film is very much shot simply, one-two shots mostly, but when it comes to the action sequences and establishing shots of the Chinese setting, he is a master of the camera, his compositions, camera angles and lighting really taking the breath away from the viewer. Like Hero, one comes away from the film thinking that they have never seen anything so beautiful in your life on the screen.
While I admit to loving Hero too, my heart lies more with House. Hero is very much a story driven film, although in that movie we have the love story between Broken Sword and Sky to carry the emotions forward, here it is all emotions nearly all of the time, the love story being the central, dominant force of the film rather than the political message. The action sequences are stunning as I have said, but, and this is the clever part of Yimou's handling of such material, they never dominate the film like they would in a Hollywood blockbuster. The second half of the movie features little in the way of action, save for the climactic fight between the two male characters. Even the structure of this movie is unique. It starts of as a martial arts thriller of sorts, before becoming a love story/triangle/tragedy in the second half. I cannot say enough about how much I love this movie. This is one of those once in a lifetime movies that should change the face of cinema, one that makes you thankful that the medium was invented. The last time I saw a film that left me this way was back in 1999 when as a fifteen year I staggered back into the afternoon daylight after leaving the cinema watching The Matrix. House is an astonishing piece of modern cinema and deserves to be regarded as such.
Hero may have been the one that got all the attention, thanks to Mr Tarantino, but in my heart, I truly believe that House of Flying Daggers is the better movie.
While I admit to loving Hero too, my heart lies more with House. Hero is very much a story driven film, although in that movie we have the love story between Broken Sword and Sky to carry the emotions forward, here it is all emotions nearly all of the time, the love story being the central, dominant force of the film rather than the political message. The action sequences are stunning as I have said, but, and this is the clever part of Yimou's handling of such material, they never dominate the film like they would in a Hollywood blockbuster. The second half of the movie features little in the way of action, save for the climactic fight between the two male characters. Even the structure of this movie is unique. It starts of as a martial arts thriller of sorts, before becoming a love story/triangle/tragedy in the second half. I cannot say enough about how much I love this movie. This is one of those once in a lifetime movies that should change the face of cinema, one that makes you thankful that the medium was invented. The last time I saw a film that left me this way was back in 1999 when as a fifteen year I staggered back into the afternoon daylight after leaving the cinema watching The Matrix. House is an astonishing piece of modern cinema and deserves to be regarded as such.
Hero may have been the one that got all the attention, thanks to Mr Tarantino, but in my heart, I truly believe that House of Flying Daggers is the better movie.