House of Flying Daggers Article Questions
How might you describe Zhang Yimou’s visual style or aesthetic?
Zhang Yimou likes the have colour combination. He matches the character’s costumes to the scenery for aesthetically pleasing films. Like del Toro, he also uses colours to symbolise meaning like how red is used to symbolise the passion Jin and Mei have.
What is significant about Zhang as a Chinese filmmaker, the themes of House of Flying Daggers and its production context (contemporary Chinese Film Industry)?
Zhang is a household name in China because of how he directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics. This is why he is significant in Chinese culture. His 2004 film ‘House of Flying Daggers’ explores themes of defeating authority. The house are rebels, going against the government. This shows how the communist propaganda found in Chinese films as it shows the Communists were in the right to overthrow the government as people had been doing it for ages apparently. There is also a motif of deceptions present in the film as majority of the characters lie about who they were – nothing is as it appears initially.
What commons criticisms are there of the film? What are seen as it’s strengths?
A criticism of the film is that it is communist propaganda. The film tells the story of rebels taking from the rich and giving back to the poor. They are distributing the wealth, which is one of the principles of Communism. People could complain that Zhang has “sold out”, especially since his earlier films were censored by China. This is similar to his previous film ‘Hero’ which had a final speech talking about how the ‘One China’ policy is good. But the film itself had some great scenes. The echo game scene was beautifully shot due to the mix of dance of wuxia and the silence is really tense.
How are men and woman represented in the film?
In ‘House of Flying Daggers’, the first half of the film shows men as superior. Only men are seen in the military, which happened in China, hence why Mulan was a big deal. The Peony Pavilion is a brothel and where we first see woman. This shows issues with culture and how in the past, woman were treated like sex objects, which is bad. But Zhang challenges these ideas with the House of Flying Daggers, who is made up of both men and women, showing how the house wants equal rights for everything, including gender politics as well as wealth.
House of Flying Daggers can be seen as a love triangle film in a wuxia genre set in a specific political/historical context. What is peculiar about how this plot and setting is explored in the film?
Setting a wuxia film in the past is not unusual. Even though the usual time setting is un-definable, the use of swords shows how it is before the invention of guns. But the idea of involving a love triangle into the story may be strange in 2004, but due to Twilight, released in 2005, love triangles became a huge cliché and trope in YA novels, which covers many genres, so today, it doesn’t seem odd. Zhang described it as a “love story inserted into an action movie”.
How accurate are the depictions of life in the Tang Dynasty? Why might we question the authenticity of these representations? Provide examples and evaluate.
The film is set during a period of when the Tang Dynasty was filled with unrest after a time of it being prosperous. This is a great backdrop for a story containing a rebel group who wants to share the wealth as many people would be struggling, similarly to the great depression. This time period is accurate as the “equal-field system” was abandoned so the poor fell into debt. The year before the film was set, there was a huge flood where a lot of people drowned, damaging the economy. But it is also considered the “golden age” of China because the flourish of culture. But due to the poor economy, everything during the Tang Dynasty could be seen as a conflicting time.
Why might the depiction of a heroic rebellion against the Tang Dynasty be a surprising production from one of China’s largest film producers?
The Chinese government is always trying to crush rebellions. Hong Kong being a key example right now. So a story of a rebellion is surprising as it could be seen that the rebellion may inspire people to rethink the government and rebel. But when you look at what the rebels are talking about, it is clear that they support the policies of the Communist government.
How might domestic, East Asian and audiences from around the world respond differently ‘House of Flying Daggers’?
The film is highly regarded. It is ranked #77 on Empire’s Top 100 World Cinema films of all time and #93 of The Best 100 Films of the Aughts by Slant Magazine. Even though it is highly regarded, the film is not as good as ‘Hero’, Zhangs’ previous film.
Film Studies 