Le secret des poignards volants

Shi Mian Mai Fu belongs to a growing body of work that embodies a clearly Asian aesthetic packaged just as clearly for Western consumption. It is no coincidence that, each time I paused the DVD for whatever reason, the still image on the screen was as beautiful as any classic wood block print by Hiroshige or Hokusai. Xiaoding Zhao's elegant cinematography imbues every scene with haunting beauty. Think Tak Fujimoto times ten, with no disrespect meant to Fujimoto, who shoots Western movies and still manages to inject his refined visual sense into such great films as Silence of the Lambs and Sixth Sense.

Director Yimou Zhang's work in Hero was more epic, more heroic, but SMMF has a more refined sense of story. The cast, the scenery, the music, including vocal performances by the legendary Kathleen Battle; all elements conspire brilliantly to convey subtle and nuanced meaning in moments. The story, as do all good stories of this genre, revolves around a delicate interplay of love, betrayal, deception and heroism of many different kinds, and, oh yes, those stunning ballets of combat layered with evocative sounds and effects.

In a nutshell, the plot goes something like this. A beautiful blind showgirl is captured as a spy. Her captors conspire to trick her into leading them to her leader. Along the way, both hunter and quarry become entangled in a web of subterfuge and deception. Add in a beautifully tragic romantic story line, again, as all such movies must have, and never forget that the essence of all truly great tragedy is inevitability.

This movie is also known as Ambush From Ten Sides, and in that more literal translation of its title you will find its essence. A worthy successor to Hero, though not as magnificent as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, in which Ziyi Zhang gives the performance of a lifetime and the one against all her other roles will be judged, and in this case, fall short, House of Flying Daggars is nevertheless a feast for the senses and a fully satisfying cinematic experience.

"House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)" shows they can make movies like that anymore. This is a grand action love story that fully captures the eye and the heart, the pulse and ears. Yes, an action flick can be a date movie!

While building on the Wu-Xia tradition of literature and film that's as much historical fantasy as any rollicking Dumas adventure or the "Lord of the Rings" films, director Yimou Zhang incorporates elements we have seen elsewhere into a freshly thrilling experience.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" had a more sophisticated plot, but this one's twisty enough in the ever more duplicitous spies/hunter and the hunted vein.

It has a lot of plot similarities to another Ziyi Zhang-starrer, the drama of 1930's war intrigue "Purple Butterfly (Zi hudie)," minus the political lessons.

From Japanese films there's borrowing from the "Zatôichi: The Blind Swordsman" legends as well as almost as much from Kurasawa's "Hidden Fortress" that Lucas did for the "Star Wars" saga, and then borrowing forest fighting imagery from Lucas to an open meadow as magical as in "The Wizard of Oz."

"The Matrix" movies may have wowed us more with "bullet time" plus there is a lot of following arrow trajectories as in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," not coincidentally as the titular rebels are stealing from the rich to benefit the poor, but the context of the weapons for Siu-Tung Ching's martial arts choreography are more varied and emotional.

Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" is only a bit more over the top than the beautiful production design and elaborate costumes in this Peony Pavilion, but every inch of the screen and soundtrack is as operatically filled and should be experienced on a large screen.

The director's own "Hero (Ying xiong)" is more beautiful as this is missing cinematographer Christopher Doyle's aesthetics but Xiaoding Zhao's cinematographical debut captures a breathtaking variety of landscapes in straightforward storytelling. The sound design is as important, with lots of heavy breathing from tension and exertion.

While it's a much smaller cast than sweeping epics like "Dr. Zhivago," "Titanic" or "Gone With the Wind," it has that swept away feel of a love story amidst larger forces, even if for much of the movie its the force of nature of the geography of Ukraine and a bamboo forest national park, which forcefully reminded me of an elementary school unit my son's class did on how bamboo is stronger than steel.

"Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tian di ying xiong)" showed that spectacular scenery can be a backdrop for a pedestrian movie. But like "Hero," the enormous canvas is background for zooming in on three enormously charismatic actors in a passionate and unexpectedly tricky love triangle.

Ziyi Zhang needs to watch someone other than Mary Pickford, especially some Susan Sarandon or Jeanne Moreau, to learn that there's more levels in projecting romance than smoldering ratcheting right up to jump his bones, but one has to make some allowances as this is the first as sexy as this Chinese movie and the romance does recall pre-Code Hollywood. Her beautiful shoulders are used quite provocatively.

Takeshi Kaneshiro is ravishingly captivating but Andy Lau gives him a run for your heart in surprises that revolve around the unusual plot point of a woman's willingness being paramount, which is refreshing and adds suspense and emotion to the story.

The closing Kathleen Battle song is a bit over the top, as the music throughout verges on schmaltzy as it shamelessly reinforces what you see and hear, but you are left gasping if not weeping at the end anyway.

Seldom will you find, such beauty unrefined, a multi-coloured canvas, seductive elegance with prowess, that caresses like a breeze, a wind that sails throughout the trees, soaring high, gliding along, the ever changing seasons song.

As visually spectacular a piece of filmmaking that you're ever likely to come across, with some outstanding scenes choreographed to perfection, the acting and performances in perfect tune with the surroundings, all centred around deception, deceit and devotion, leaves a film that perpetually stands the test of time and nails a dagger to your heart each and every time you return.

There may be some unanswered questions at the end of the movie and yet I'd watch this film over and over again just to witness the use of costumes, the martial arts skill and how they blend to make a very palatable story. Those who are trashing this film do so senselessly. The films' lovebirds are throughly attractive but not at all bland and you root for them because they appear to belong together; they have a natural chemistry which can be difficult for two actors to have. As can be the case in Asian films, like the recent hit "Hero", the costumes and the use of color are important characters all by themselves. So many elements come together beautifully that what's also ironic is the that film could easily be a stage play. I enjoyed this immensely. Just awe-inspiring!

From Yimou Zhang, the director of Jet Li's Hero and Raise the Red Lantern, comes a spectacular tale about honor, and love.

House of Flying Daggers is the gripping, touching, and visually spectacular tale of two people, caught in a Romeo and Juliet story, and the nation at war they must fight together.

It is near the end of the Tang Dynasty era, and The Captain Jin (Kaneshiro) and Leo (Lau) tangle with Mei (Zhang), a dancer suspected of having ties to a revolutionary faction known as the House of Flying Daggers. Enraptured by her, the deputies concoct a plan to save her from capture, and Jin leads her north in what becomes a perilous journey into the unknown.

The dialogue, beautifully bright costumes, and landscapes will take you on a wonderful journey. A journey of dance, music, and beautiful words.