Shi mian mai fu (2004)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Feng Li (writer)
Bin Wang (writer)

Release Date:

14 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Plot Keywords:

China | Police | Dancer | Warrior | Blind

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 16 wins & 36 nominations

Cast

Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Jin
Andy Lau	...	Leo
Ziyi Zhang	...	Xiao Mei (as Zhang Ziyi)
Dandan Song	...	Yee
Hongfei Zhao	...	Performer
Jun Guo	...	Performer
Shu Zhang	...	Performer
Jiusheng Wang	...	Performer
Zhengyong Zhang	...	Performer
Yongxin Wang	...	Performer
Dong Liu	...	Performer
Qi Zi	...	Performer
Xuedong Qu	...	Performer
Liping Tian	...	Performer
Hongwei Zhao	...	Performer

Also Known As:

Attack from Ten Directions (International: English title) (literal title)
House of Flying Daggers (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of stylized martial arts violence, and some sexuality.

Runtime:

119 min | Australia:118 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Iceland:14 | France:U | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15A (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) (cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG-13 | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

Yimou Zhang chose world famous opera diva Kathleen Battle to sing the theme song for this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: At one point during a scene between Jin and Mei, we seen Jins face on the left of the screen with a tree in the background on the right and his hair completely straight. The shot then cuts to Mei and then back to Jin where we see him with a tree on his left and his hair being blown by wind.

Quotes:

Yee: If you had known what the truth of the matter really was, do you think you still would have come here with her?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Beauty Song (Jia Ren Qu)

A feast for the senses, a fully satisfying cinematic experience.

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.