House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Movie Analysis
Written by DJ Hadoken Exlamparaaghis
SPOILER ALERT!
The following movie analysis contains massive spoilers regarding major plot
points in House of Flying Daggers. So do not read any further if you’ve
never seen the movie and don’t want to ruin your enjoyment of it the first
time you watch it.
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House of Flying Daggers is a movie that was released in 2004 and was directed by Zhang Yimou, who directed the critically acclaimed movie Hero (2002) prior to this movie. It stars Ziyi Zhang (as Xiao Mei), Takeshi Kaneshiro (as Jin) and Andy Lau (as Leo). William Kong, who was one of the co-producers of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) was also a co-producer for this movie.
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Film Techniques
The characters’ gestures are utilized as important foreshadowing tools at the beginning of the movie. The camera remains primarily omniscient. Only once does the camera switch to first person, and this is at a key point in which it is used as a foreshadowing tool. Overall, transitions between scenes are smooth, but the movie does suffer from a few jarring transitions at the beginning.
The movie uses a lot of special effects for the fight sequences. There are many dramatic sequences with a mixture of slow motion shots and fast paced sword fighting. The characters are able to seemingly fly and execute fantastic martial arts techniques. CG is used for various weapons and for many of the slow motion sequences.
The sound effects used are typical of a martial arts film, with the traditional metal clanging and whooshing and whisping sounds of swords flying and legs kicking. It features background music that was scored for the movie.
There is also one song called “Jiaren Qu” (which translates to “The Beauty Song”) that is sung at the beginning of the movie by Xiao Mei, and its melody is regularly repeated. At the end of the movie, Jin sings the same song as Xiao Mei dies.
The song “Jiaren Qu” is about a woman who is so beautiful that she is capable of destroying entire nations with her beauty. I believe that the song serves as a metaphor for the conflict between Leo and Jin, who share a relatively healthy friendship, but after their encounter with Xiao Mei, are forced to bitterly destroy one another.
The wardrobe of the characters consists of traditional Chinese clothing and weapons. The environments and buildings equally match the theme of ancient Chinese tradition, though most of the movie takes place in the wilderness.
The colors on the characters’ outfits also blend well with the scenery. Jin is the character that stands out most from the others, he wears blue while all the soldiers’ uniforms are green and the clothing that the Flying Daggers wear is also green.
At key points in the movie, the scenes are composed of heavily saturated colors, primarily green, blue and red. At the final scene, these saturated colors disappear under the pure white of the snow that begins to fall. Similar to director Zhang Yimou’s previous film, Hero (2002), these colors most likely represent different levels of purity within the story, white being the purest of all the colors.
The scenes that are not saturated are usually dull and dark. Towards the end, there is also a scene in which the foreground is left dull, and the background is saturated. This probably represents the final transition the movie is about to take.
Symbolism plays an important role and is most important at the end, where the sky changes from shot to shot from clear, to cloudy, to grey, to clear again, to grey again, and so on until it finally begins to snow, where the audience actually expects it to rain.
The audience is led to believe that because of the cloudy sky, this final battle will represent a great tragedy during a storm. The unexpected snow suggests that this final battle may be an act of purification hidden under the mask of tragedy.
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Story Treatment
Premise: Blind love leads to tragedy.
Logline: Tragedy erupts as an unknowing officer falls in love with his friend’s lover.
Synopsis:
The main character, Jin, is a playboy officer sent on a secret mission to draw out the Tang Dynasty’s bitter rival, a gang by the name of “The House of Flying Daggers.” He pretends to rescue a blind, exotic dancer, Xiao Mei, who is associated with the Flying Daggers in order to win her trust, with the hope that she will lead him to the new leader of the gang.
He soon falls in love with Xiao Mei, but to his dismay, finds out that he was being used in a plot by the Flying Daggers to lure the general of the Tang Dynasty into a trap. The tragedy escalates as it is revealed that Leo, Jin’s friend and the officer that sent him on this secret mission, is actually a member of the Flying Daggers and has been a longtime lover of Xiao Mei.
The story culminates in a final conflict between Leo, Jin and Xiao Mei.
Hero’s Journey:
For this story treatment, I will use Christopher Vogler’s interpretation of the hero’s journey and see how its 12 stages can be applied to House of Flying Daggers.
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
After Xiao Mei has been arrested, when Leo suggests that they trick her into helping them draw out the new leader of the Flying Daggers.
Refusal of the Call
When, during the same conversation, Jin asks Leo if he really wants someone like him to take on such a mission.
Meeting with the Mentor
The conversation ends when Leo warns Jin to not let beauty blind his judgment and they both joke about Jin’s ability to seduce women.
Crossing the First Threshold
The first threshold is crossed when Jin accepts the mission and pretends to rescue Xiao Mei from the jail. They escape into the wilderness where the rest of the movie takes place.
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Along their journey, Jin and Xiao Mei encounter soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who are in pursuit of them. The first conflict with these soldiers is staged- the soldiers know that Jin is an officer on a secret mission, so the focus of the battle is to trick Xiao Mei into believing that Jin is truly trying to protect her.
Jin then secretly meets with Leo who promises that the soldiers will ease off. He also warns Jin to not let this game with Xiao Mei become reality.
The following day, Jin is surprised to confront more soldiers; he is forced to kill them, because they do not believe that he is an officer. Jin again secretly meets with Leo, who says that the general was behind the attack, and that the general does not care if Leo dies, as long as it draws out the Flying Daggers.
Leo expresses his concern for Jin and his regrets of taking on the mission. He warns Jin that more attacks will follow. Jin then says that the mission has become too dangerous, and that he quits.
Approach to the Inmost Cave
After his meeting with Leo, Jin returns to Xiao Mei who says that she does not need him anymore and that she is going to leave on her own. Jin was already upset about his encounter with Leo at this point, and after a short argument, Xiao Mei leaves. Jin rides away in the opposite direction.
Jin soon stops riding, and after a moment of thought, turns around and starts riding back after Xiao Mei.
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The Ordeal
Xiao Mei is soon confronted by more soldiers and nearly killed. Jin saves her and the both of them try to escape but are slowed down by a trap, and then captured by the soldiers. As the soldiers prepare to kill both of them, they are rescued by the Flying Daggers.
However, Jin is soon taken prisoner by them, as the truth is revealed that Xiao Mei was not really blind, and that the Flying Daggers were in fact using him. The audience is made aware of the love affair between Leo and Xiao Mei, and her rejection of Leo after having fallen in love with Jin. Xiao Mei is later ordered to execute Jin.
Reward
As Xiao Mei and Jin arrive at a secluded area, Xiao Mei tells Jin that she had left him before in order to protect him, and that he should not have returned for her. Jin admits he returned because he truly loves her. Xiao Mei frees Jin and they make love.
The Road Back
Jin tries to convince Xiao Mei to run away with him, that they are insignificant pawns in a bigger game. Xiao Mei refuses and Jin begins his journey home.
Resurrection
As Jin is riding away, Xiao Mei pauses for a moment, and then begins to ride after him. She is confronted by Leo, who feels betrayed. He has pierced her lung with a dagger and she seemingly dies. At this point, Jin has once again decided to return for Xiao Mei, but arrives just after Leo has already wounded her.
It is then revealed to Jin that Leo is also a member of the Flying Daggers and that he and Xiao Mei had already been in love. The two then begin a battle-to-the-death which ends when Xiao Mei arises and tells Leo that she will not let him kill Jin. She threatens to pull the dagger from her lung to kill Leo. Jin begs Xiao Mei not to do this, because if she does, her blood will drain and she will bleed to death.
After a moment of tension, what occurs next can be interpreted in multiple ways. My first interpretation is that a furious Leo pretends to throw the dagger at Jin, in order to trick Xiao Mei and test her love and willingness to kill him as she had threatened. My second interpretation is that he does not throw the dagger because at the very last moment he is overcome with emotion and changes his mind to (unsuccessfully) spare her life.
In either case, Xiao Mei does not aim for Leo but instead attempts to only deflect the dagger that she thought had been thrown.
Jin runs to Xiao Mei, and holds her in his arms as she dies. Xiao Mei once again tells Jin that he should not have come back, he again responds that it was because he loves her. He continues to hold her until she dies.
Leo, wounded from his battle with Jin, stumbles away.
With Xiao Mei gone, both Leo and Jin will now undoubtedly live new lives, knowing that Xiao Mei had loved them both.
Return With The Elixir
The elixir in this case, I believe, is the surviving characters’ (and by extension the audience’s) realization of this movie’s underlying message.
Though technically on opposing sides, Leo repeatedly expresses concern for Jin’s well-being throughout the movie, and it is clear that they are both close friends. Leo also expresses his concern of the coming conflict with Jin.
If Jin had only realized that he was being tricked by both Leo and Xiao Mei (who were already lovers), and if he would have only listened to Leo’s warnings about turning the game with Xiao Mei into reality, or not have returned for Xiao Mei when she ran off in an attempt to protect him, he could have avoided the final confrontation. However, Jin’s downfall is his playboy personality, which keeps him close-minded.
In the case of Leo, he volunteered to become a spy for the House of Daggers believing that his achievements would impress Xiao Mei so much that there would be no room in her heart for anybody but him. Despite leaving her for three years, he is insensitive of her feelings after being left alone for so long, which keeps him close-minded as well. This close-mindedness transforms into the jealous rage that leads to his own downfall.
Thus, blind love leads to tragedy. Xiao Mei pretending to be blind is very symbolic when viewed from that perspective.
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Contrasting Character Types
I believe that Jin can be viewed as an example of a “dynamic” character and Xiao Mei can be viewed as an example of a “static” character.
Both Jin and Xiao Mei are similar to a degree. They are both lead characters and by the end of the movie we know that they have a desire for freedom. They were both sent on secret missions by their superiors and thus share many of the same motives. They also share a love for nature. Though, despite sharing these similar qualities, Jin is the only character of the two which we see truly “evolve”.
Jin begins the movie as a flirt who likes to drink and play with women. He is generally disinterested when Leo asks him to conduct an investigation. In the next scene, at the Peony Pavilion, he becomes rowdy and drunk. When Xiao Mei is arrested, Jin suggests to Leo that they should send her to the general so that they can be rid of her. At this early stage, Jin has already shown a dynamic quality- he has moved from being a laid-back officer, to a raving drunk, to a wise partner.
Jin soon changes again as he embarks on the journey, and becomes more and more serious about protecting Xiao Mei. Jin’s most significant flaw is also revealed early on- his playboy behavior for which he is advised to be weary of.
Xiao Mei on the other hand, does not change. Though she is highly skilled at martial arts and belongs to one of the deadliest gangs, for some reason, she always needs a man to step in and save the day. She remains relatively emotionless and never really puts up any resistance both when she is being attacked and when the men attempt to forcefully remove her clothes (she has her clothes torn away on about four different occasions).
She seems as if she is frozen in a state of indifference. She displays no signs of inner conflict, even in regards to her relationships; she never directly admits to loving Jin or Leo. She shows no sign of inherent flaws. Even after it is revealed that Xiao Mei is not blind, this seemingly vital plot twist seems to be dropped within minutes. One would expect that now that the charade is over, her true character would be revealed, yet, she remains ever helpless and indifferent.
The only points that can be used to demonstrate a clear evolution for Xiao Mei are at the very beginning, when she resists Jin with effort, and at the very end, when she sacrifices herself to save him.
Jin and Xiao Mei progress through most of the story together, though there is a sharp contrast between both of their character arcs. We see a desperate, confused expression as Jin is forced to fight his own men, while Xiao Mei does little more than scream when she is overpowered.
There are multiple points where we see Jin clearly change, literally, as he stands next to Xiao Mei. Yet, she remains the helpless woman- her dialogue and her gestures barely change. Her ability to dance and sing, a quality which would possibly allow for growth, becomes irrelevant after the first scenes of the movie.
Where Jin maintains a strong list of inner and outer challenges, flaws, and even commits acts of self-sacrifice, Xiao Mei remains static with only a small list of very meager outer challenges.
Xiao Mei begins as a helpless woman with no apparent inner conflict and ends much the same way. Jin, in contrast, begins as a playboy, determined to seduce Xiao Mei, and ends as a man who has realized his own flaw and finds true love.
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