Photo : Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0
Synopsis
In 859, with the Tang dynasty in decline, two police captains, Leo and Jin, are ordered to destroy the secret Flying Daggers society. They suspect Mei, a blind dancer in a brothel. Jin breaks her out of jail posing as a drifter, hoping she will lead him to the group's new leader.
Why watch it
Zhang Yimou's second wuxia
Two years after Hero, Zhang Yimou returned to the Chinese swordplay film with a more intimate story: a love triangle between two policemen and a rebel as the Tang dynasty crumbles. It premiered out of competition at Cannes in May 2004 and grossed about $93 million worldwide.
Fights staged like ballets
Action director Ching Siu-tung, a key figure of Hong Kong cinema, mixes wirework, digital effects and thrown weapons: curved daggers that swerve around obstacles, bows and bamboo staffs. The film does not try to show a codified kung fu style. It builds set pieces instead: the Echo Game, in which a blindfolded Mei strikes drums following the beans Leo flicks at them, and the ambush in the bamboo forest. To play a blind woman, Zhang Ziyi spent two months with a girl who had lost her sight at 12.
Shooting in Ukraine
Most exteriors were shot in Ukraine's Hutsul National Park over 70 days in 2003. Early snow forced a rewrite of the ending. Anita Mui was cast in a major role but fell ill before filming her scenes; after her death, Zhang cut the character rather than recast it and dedicated the film to her.
Reception
Critics praised the visuals above the story (87% on Rotten Tomatoes), and cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding earned an Oscar nomination.
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