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Review: 十面埋伏 (House of Flying Daggers) (2004)
I realize I'm about 4000 years late to watching this movie lmao. This was a very simple movie, but the main focus was definitely the visuals. I liked this movie, but I recognize that it's not a comprehensive one.
Spoilers.
Story
The movie started out as sort of an espionage movie, but it ended up as a tragic romance. Part way through the movie, I realized I had to redirect my expectations becuase I realized I wasn't going to get strategic plots and overthrowing political factions. Instead, what we got was individuals juggling their duties and their personal wants. Again, it was a very very simple story, but I think it served the needs of the movie.
Production
Obviously the main selling point of this movie was the AESTHETICS. The costumes are terrific, even the actions scenes were fun, and most importantly, the direction style was amazing. What I noticed was that there was very little dialogue in this movie, and a lot of it was mindless chatter, meant more to define a relationship for the audience than to advance the plot (except for a few occasions). So most of the story was advanced through visual storytelling which I LOVED.
There was CGI and crazy unrealistic fight scenes, but I've learned to suspend my disbelief for wuxia stories.
As for the fighting, the way it was filmed was more old fashioned, in which the camera and direction focused more on the bodies than the faces during the actual fighting.
Characters
Xiaomei
I thought that Zhang Ziyi's acting was very interesting, particularly when she was still acting as a blind girl. Her actions might've seemed exaggerated a tad, but I think it worked well in the movie where the characters were doing not-so-ordinary things (such as fighting and dancing) and visual storytelling was the main medium.
In terms of the character, Xiaomei was in love with Liu Butou when they were still both within the FLying Dagger sect. During her three day journey with Jin Butou, she fell in love with him instead, to the point that she decided to elope with him.
At the final standoff, Xiaomei realized that she wasn't getting out of this one alive, so she might as well do what she could to save Jin Butou.
Jin Butou/Suifeng
I've always been a fan of Takeshi Kaneshiro's acting, and he was able to project his charm onto the character of Suifeng. He was very casually charming near the beginning of the movie when he was playing a role.
In the middle of the movie, we could see that Jin Butou was growing distant with Xiaomei, but it wasn't clear whether it was because he didn't want Xiaomei's affections, or whether he liked her and felt terrible for lying to her. In any case, it was eventually clarified that his feelings for her were true, despite her tricking him the whole time. By the end, I think he also realized that Xiaomei could only help him in her own way, once by trying to drive him away before they returned to the Flying Dagger Sect, and the second, by sacrificing her life to save his. At the end of the movie, he was left heartbroken as Xiaomei died.
Liu Butou
I don't know if I'm biased, but I felt that Andy Lau was the weakest actor of the three. He didn't seem as into his character as the other two felt.
Anyway, Liu Butou became a more important character after the three arrived at the Flying Dagger Sect. It was revealed that he was also a member, and not only that, he had a past relationship with Xiaomei.
However, Liu Butou was revealed to be a jealous and possessive man, and he'd rather that she died than follow her love. Though Liu Butou didn't kill Jin Butou, he was responsible for the injury that Xiaomei succumbed to.
Themes
Truth
The espionage in the movie gave way to a lot of wondering about what was real and what was fake. In terms of political alliances, Jin Butou first posed as a Flying Dagger sympathizer, only to be later revealed as working in conjunction with Liu Butou. Then it was later revealed that Xiaomei was not the leader's daughter but just another minion. And while Jin Butou was not a Flying Dagger sympathizer, his partner Liu Butou was revealed to be an actual member.
The other discussion about truth would be related to love. Jin Butou and Xiaomei both had to pretend that they were falling in love with each other. Jin Butou needed Xiaomei to want him with her so that she'd take him to the Flying Dagger sect, and Xiaomei needed Jin Butou to fall in love with her so that he'd be lured into their trap. Both were acting, but both actually fell in love.
For a moment, it seemed like Xiaomei had truly been indifferent to Jin Butou, as she did seem happy when she first saw Liu Butou as she returned to being a member of the Flying Dagger sect. However, it soon became apparent that Xiaomei had fallen out of love with Liu Butou.
I think for these characters, there is no way they can survive without living a lie. Xiaomei and Jin Butou wanted to run off into the sunset but that was not possible. Liu Butou and Xiaomei originated from a profession of espionage, and Jin Butou himself made a living by being great at acting.
Revenge
No wuxia story is complete without revenge. During the final standoff, Jin Butou wanted to kill Liu Butou for killing Xiaomei. Obviously this makes perfect sense, but for a moment I wondered whether Jin Butou instead would've wanted to kill himsef to be with Xiaomei.
In addition, Xiaomei told Liu Butou that if he killed Jin Butou, she would kill him. However, that situation was a bit different as Xiaomei probably figured that she was going to die anyway.
Overall
This was a very engaging movie despite its extremely simple story (some might even say a corny story). The direction style is absolutely beautiful, as well as other aspects of the visuals including costumes and fight scenes. The acting was pretty good (though it only needed to be good for such a simple story in my opinion). In any case, I really enjoyed it.
Spoilers.
Story
The movie started out as sort of an espionage movie, but it ended up as a tragic romance. Part way through the movie, I realized I had to redirect my expectations becuase I realized I wasn't going to get strategic plots and overthrowing political factions. Instead, what we got was individuals juggling their duties and their personal wants. Again, it was a very very simple story, but I think it served the needs of the movie.
Production
Obviously the main selling point of this movie was the AESTHETICS. The costumes are terrific, even the actions scenes were fun, and most importantly, the direction style was amazing. What I noticed was that there was very little dialogue in this movie, and a lot of it was mindless chatter, meant more to define a relationship for the audience than to advance the plot (except for a few occasions). So most of the story was advanced through visual storytelling which I LOVED.
There was CGI and crazy unrealistic fight scenes, but I've learned to suspend my disbelief for wuxia stories.
As for the fighting, the way it was filmed was more old fashioned, in which the camera and direction focused more on the bodies than the faces during the actual fighting.
Characters
Xiaomei
I thought that Zhang Ziyi's acting was very interesting, particularly when she was still acting as a blind girl. Her actions might've seemed exaggerated a tad, but I think it worked well in the movie where the characters were doing not-so-ordinary things (such as fighting and dancing) and visual storytelling was the main medium.
In terms of the character, Xiaomei was in love with Liu Butou when they were still both within the FLying Dagger sect. During her three day journey with Jin Butou, she fell in love with him instead, to the point that she decided to elope with him.
At the final standoff, Xiaomei realized that she wasn't getting out of this one alive, so she might as well do what she could to save Jin Butou.
Jin Butou/Suifeng
I've always been a fan of Takeshi Kaneshiro's acting, and he was able to project his charm onto the character of Suifeng. He was very casually charming near the beginning of the movie when he was playing a role.
In the middle of the movie, we could see that Jin Butou was growing distant with Xiaomei, but it wasn't clear whether it was because he didn't want Xiaomei's affections, or whether he liked her and felt terrible for lying to her. In any case, it was eventually clarified that his feelings for her were true, despite her tricking him the whole time. By the end, I think he also realized that Xiaomei could only help him in her own way, once by trying to drive him away before they returned to the Flying Dagger Sect, and the second, by sacrificing her life to save his. At the end of the movie, he was left heartbroken as Xiaomei died.
Liu Butou
I don't know if I'm biased, but I felt that Andy Lau was the weakest actor of the three. He didn't seem as into his character as the other two felt.
Anyway, Liu Butou became a more important character after the three arrived at the Flying Dagger Sect. It was revealed that he was also a member, and not only that, he had a past relationship with Xiaomei.
However, Liu Butou was revealed to be a jealous and possessive man, and he'd rather that she died than follow her love. Though Liu Butou didn't kill Jin Butou, he was responsible for the injury that Xiaomei succumbed to.
Themes
Truth
The espionage in the movie gave way to a lot of wondering about what was real and what was fake. In terms of political alliances, Jin Butou first posed as a Flying Dagger sympathizer, only to be later revealed as working in conjunction with Liu Butou. Then it was later revealed that Xiaomei was not the leader's daughter but just another minion. And while Jin Butou was not a Flying Dagger sympathizer, his partner Liu Butou was revealed to be an actual member.
The other discussion about truth would be related to love. Jin Butou and Xiaomei both had to pretend that they were falling in love with each other. Jin Butou needed Xiaomei to want him with her so that she'd take him to the Flying Dagger sect, and Xiaomei needed Jin Butou to fall in love with her so that he'd be lured into their trap. Both were acting, but both actually fell in love.
For a moment, it seemed like Xiaomei had truly been indifferent to Jin Butou, as she did seem happy when she first saw Liu Butou as she returned to being a member of the Flying Dagger sect. However, it soon became apparent that Xiaomei had fallen out of love with Liu Butou.
I think for these characters, there is no way they can survive without living a lie. Xiaomei and Jin Butou wanted to run off into the sunset but that was not possible. Liu Butou and Xiaomei originated from a profession of espionage, and Jin Butou himself made a living by being great at acting.
Revenge
No wuxia story is complete without revenge. During the final standoff, Jin Butou wanted to kill Liu Butou for killing Xiaomei. Obviously this makes perfect sense, but for a moment I wondered whether Jin Butou instead would've wanted to kill himsef to be with Xiaomei.
In addition, Xiaomei told Liu Butou that if he killed Jin Butou, she would kill him. However, that situation was a bit different as Xiaomei probably figured that she was going to die anyway.
Overall
This was a very engaging movie despite its extremely simple story (some might even say a corny story). The direction style is absolutely beautiful, as well as other aspects of the visuals including costumes and fight scenes. The acting was pretty good (though it only needed to be good for such a simple story in my opinion). In any case, I really enjoyed it.