Shi mian mai fu (2004)

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 warrior breaks a beautiful member of a rebel army out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Plot Keywords:

Jealousy | Visually Impaired Person | Forest | Blind | Wuxia Fiction

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 16 wins & 33 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:

House of Flying Daggers (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title) (Singapore: English title) (USA)
Attack from Ten Directions (International: English title) (literal 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 | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | Malaysia:U | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | France:U | 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:

The song that Mei sings that begins with, "A Rare Beauty in the North" is actually an ancient poem set to music. It was written by the brother of an Imperial Concubine about his sister. Meant as a cautionary tale to the Emperor about overindulgence in female beauty at the same time it acknowledged the lasting hurt of a powerful love.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Most of the trees are silver birch which is not native to China, but is from Europe (this movie was made in Ukraine).

Quotes:

Mei: If you kill him, I'll kill you with this dagger.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mini (2007)

Meticulously crafted

Treading merrily along the path of Hollywoodization (pardon my expression) started in Ying Xiong, director Zhang Yimou turned out another equally meticulously crafted product, Shi Mian Mai Fu, which was showcased to the world in the 2004 Cannes 'out of competition' category.

Meticulously crafted, SMMF starts by giving the audience an exceptional feast of the ear, putting them in a blind person's POV (or maybe I should say POH, 'H' for hearing). The duel of drums scene is brilliant. As if that is not enough, we are treated to another feast of sounds, this time the thundering hoofs and clashing weapon in the pursuit and attack of the blind girl.

Even more meticulously crafted is the color display. A top-notch cinematographer (Yellow Earth (1984)) before a director, Zhang does not appear to be able to tolerate anything that falls short of atheistic perfection. Although not as blatantly as in Ying Xiong, he exhibits here a color display that is equally dazzling. The landscape in the first couple of scenes is in mellowed brown, yellow and pale green. Then come the lush green hills and the dreamy world of the bamboo forest. Towards the end, we have a white birth forest and, for no apparent reason, are given a frame of only two seconds of a fiery stretch of fall colors. In the finale, the ominous dark clouds eventually produce a winter wonderland, to receive profuse splashes of crimson blood.

Crafted sight and sound is great, but over-crafted script and story is where SMMF falls down. In the show that I attended, the audience burst out in a clearly audible expression of mirth where none was intended by the script. I do recognize that this was due in part to the fact that they know Andy Lau too well. But then, some of the things were thrust at the audience so abruptly that I think their reaction is forgivable.

In a nutshell, Flying Dagger is no Crouching Tiger as Zhang Yimou lacks the heart, soul and sensitivity of Ang Lee. I remember watching a TV interview of Zhang a couple of years ago, when he intimated something to the effect that making movie is a market-driven affair and if the (global) market wants it, he'll make it. Well, he is at least honest about the whole thing and he did make Ying Xiong. But I do miss director Zhang's earlier work: Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, Qiu Ju Goes to Court, Living, Not One Less, My Father and Mother.

One final point of no particular consequence. Shi Mian Mai Fu (literal translation 'Ambushed on Ten Sides') is the best known piece of music for the lute-like pipa. I notice that three or four bars from the piece are featured in the background music, at the point when the blind girl's true identity is revealed.

Thank goodness it didn't get the Golden Globe....would have been SUCH an embarrassment if it did.