Australian freecard by Art Cards, no. 646, 2004. Zhang Ziyi as Mei in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
Australian freecard by Art Cards, no. 647, 2004. Andy Lau as Leo in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
Australian freecard by Art Cards, no. 648, 2004. Andy Lau as Leo, Zhang Ziyi as Mei, and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jin in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
A beautiful woman who brings woe to two men
Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004) takes place in 859 AD. The once-mighty Tang Dynasty in China is in decline. The emperor is weak and incompetent. His corrupt government no longer controls the land.
Unrest sweeps the country. A secret organisation called 'The House of the Flying Daggers' rises and opposes the government. Two police officers, Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) are ordered to kill the group leader within ten days, an impossible task given no one even knows the leader's identity.
When government soldiers raid a brothel, they find the blind dancer Mei (Zhang Ziyi). She initially appears to be the daughter of the assassinated leader of the 'Flying Daggers'.
Leo sends Jin to investigate the beautiful Mei. Leo arrests Mei, only to have Jin break her free in a plot to gain her trust and lead the police to the new leader of the secret organisation. But soon it seems Mei and Jin start to feel more for each other. However, they are from different camps.
Zhang Yimou borrowed the theme of a beautiful woman who brings woe to two men from a famous poem written by the Han Dynasty poet Li Yannian.
Australian freecard by Avant Cards, no. 9671, 2005. Zhang Ziyi as Mei in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
Australian freecard by AvantCard, no. 9673. Photo: Universal / Focus Features. Zhang Ziyi as Mei in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
Focus just on the visuals - the film is so good to look at
Most of Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004) was shot in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains (the Hutsul Region National Park), such as the scenes in the snow or birch forests.
The bamboo forest sequences were filmed in China at Yongchuan, Sichuan Province, in the bamboo forests of Tea Mountain and Bamboo Sea Scenery Park, near the city of Chongqing. The cast and production team spent 70 days on location from September to October 2003 and were largely based in Kosiv.
The climactic fight scene was filmed in Ukraine in October. It snowed so early that it caught the filmmakers by surprise. They decided to change the script and the film so that it would appear almost as if this epic battle began during the fall and ended during winter.
Director Yimou Zhang or Zhang Yimou later said that despite the unpredictable weather forcing the alterations, he had achieved the desired effect and was very happy with the final result. The early snowfall set the perfect tone and highlighted the blood spilt on the snow.
The film reportedly received a 20-minute standing ovation when it debuted in May at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival to enthusiastic receptions. Roger Ebert: "Forget about the plot, the characters, the intrigue, which are all splendid in House of Flying Daggers, and focus just on the visuals. The film is so good to look at and listen to that, as with some operas, the story is almost beside the point, serving primarily to get us from one spectacular scene to another."
Australian freecard by Avant Cards, no. 9674, 2005. Andy Lau as Leo and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jin in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
British freecard by Picturehouse Cinemas. Zhang Ziyi as Mei in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
Australian freecard by Avant Cards, no. 9676, 2005. Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jin in Shi mian mai fu/House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004).
Sources: Roger Ebert (Roger Ebert.com), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
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