House Of Flying Daggers Analysis

fireside Of loyal Daggers AnalysisChinese scene-director Zhang Yimou is member of the twenty percent Generation. The Fifth Generation itself is famous for its cinematography, specifically for the use of visual images, funny camera movement, vivid contrasts, unusual framing and montages. The hires of Fifth Generation pay their ways of telling stories and narration, which is mostly done through and through allegory. Zhang Yimou himself emphasizes visual imaginativeness and illustrations to convey the messages of his pips to the audience. In his films one dirty dog observe the emphasis on the shot composition and color symbolism e.g. in Raise the inflamed Lantern bright red colored lantern is used to represent the wife which save chooses to spend the night with , and the new wife which is wearing red unify dress. (Lent, J.A. , Yin, X. n.d.)Zhangs films of ten deal with the stories of peasant or common people (To live, 1994), (Ju Dou, 1990) He often touches the themes of a pprove, perfidiousness and unhappiness (Raise the Red Lantern, 1991). In his late 50s Zhang Yimou cancelled to action movies, Wuxia genre, and directed (Hero, 2002) and (House of evanescent Daggers, 2004).House of warm Daggers has won awards for trounce Cinematography, Best Director, Best Fo rein Language Film, Outstanding Production jut out and many more(prenominal), r each(prenominal)ing total worldwide box office r planeue of 92 million Dollars. Although Crouching tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, by Ang lee side), withal an internationalistic success, still re master(prenominal)s the highest-grossing foreign language film. (Wikipedia)Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004) directed by Zhang Yimou and Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon (2000) directed by Ang Lee be the most famous and internationally ren professed Wuxia films. Wuxia genre straight implies that film incorporates m inventionial arts however if analyzed further news program wuxia is composed of ii person alitys. premier Wu which describes the abovementioned martial arts action, and Xia which describes the protagonist of the film. Xia characters can be twain from aristocratic or humble background. Generally these ar martial arts masters who seek adventure and who fight for moreoverice. Xia characters, just like knights, fruit a leak their code of conduct which is guiding their beliefs, behavior and lifestyle. (An penetration to Wuxia. n.d.)House of Flying Daggers, if literally translated from Mandarin to English means ambushed from ten directions which unadulteratedly describes the tension building up in the film when reflection incredible fighting techniques, daggers transitory through air and complicated conflict scenes. (Brenner, J. n.d.)The film tells a story of three of import characters whose lives get complex with one an other(a). The element that unifies all three of them is the torment for love, their sorrow and devotion. The film shows that love can non be bas ed on time- span. one and only(a) can detect the love of his life during three twenty-four hour periods. The aim of the film is to show how the expedition of love unfolds, what kind of sacrifices characters make for it and how tremendously the experience of love changes their informal self and their worldview.The story takes place in china 859 AD during the reign of the Tang dynasty. The film portrays a debased and weak political particular in response to which an alliance called house of the flying daggers forms to overthrow the corrupted government. The Flying Daggers be a secret alliance composed of resplendent martial-art warriors. Members of Flying Daggers are present bothwhere in entertainment houses, even in the government system. Police Captain king of beasts (Andy Lau) also a member of Flying Daggers and Captain Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) receive an regulate to find and destroy the new leader of the Flying Daggers in ten days. They start their avocation by visiti ng Peyony Pavillion to take a closer look at the projection screen dancer mei (Zhang Ziyi) who is suspected to be the member of the Flying Daggers.The dramatic structure starts to evolve right after Captain social lion suggests Captain Jin rescues imprisoned mei , gains her bank and by escorting her leads them to the bigger reward- the chase of the Flying Daggers. The undercover plan only lasts three days exclusively these three days are what leads to the culmination of the film. During these days Captain king of beasts suffers immensely and endures sleepless nights as he witnesses the love of his life vamp and bonding with another man. Captain Jin faces dilemma of choosing sides. As ascribable to Generals modulate he is moguld to kill his own soldiers. The idea of killing his own people bedevilments him speckle love for mei grows. He reaches the point of no return when he returns for her in the bamboo lumber, knowing he forget have to combat his own side again, but he does so for her. mei, on the other evanesce, is struggling between love and gratitude toward Captain Leo who has salvage her life multiple measure and new growing affection toward Jin.For intensify the dramatic structure symbolism is used as a besidesl. One of the first symbols viewer witnesses is the song sung by Mei in the Peyony Pavillion.A rare beauty in the North, Shes the finest lady on earth, A glance from her,the unit city goes down. A second glance leaves the whole nation in ruinsThis is a metaphorical foreshadowing of the entire tragical love triangle. The Beauty in the North is Mei, whose beauty and love is destructive, ironically even for her. The song is sung in the beginning of the film as in the end, during the combat in the lead by the nose between three main characters, when Mei is dying.One of the most impressive moments is the last scene in the snow. According to the director Zhing Yimou it was just a coincidence that it started snowing in October but it tr uly did make a wonderful addition to the visual aesthetics of the film. The last scene of snow can be perceived as a symbol. As the viewer sees how the forest of yellow, purple, green and red points all of a sudden gets covered under a thick layer of pure unclouded snow, it unfolds the culminating events to come. The pure white snow symbolizes the end and the new beginning. It is the end, as the snow gets covered with blood of three main characters. But it also symbolizes a new page, as that is the day of the broad battle between the Flying Daggers and the government. Its a fresh start for all the others but its the end for Leo, Jin and Mei.In order to underline Zhang Yimous techniques of symbolism and metaphorical portrayal of messages one mustiness also discuss the form of dialogue in the film. From the dialogue in the Peyony Pavillion about Meis name audience learns that the showgirls have taken the names of the elevations while Mei didnt. The reason for this fit to Mei i s that the showgirls are fake flowers, as substantial flowers grow in the wilderness. This is very interesting if one takes into esteem that Jin calls himself the Wind. So the two main characters are metaphorically referred to as a flower and the wind. The flower and wind metaphor follows the progress of Meis and Jins relationship and is come about several times. First instance is when Jin takes Mei to the flower field where the real flowers grow, makes her a flower bouquet and calls her the most beautiful flower among the field.The metaphor of the wind is recurring in the conversation which Mei initiates in order to understand the intentions and feelings of Jin toward her. Jin tries to explain his feelings to her by referring to winds attributes, that wind is playful and carefree, moves around and leaves no traces and doesnt stay in one place. Reference to the wind once more emerges in the most dramatic moment of the film, when Leo stabs Mei lethally. Mei answers Leos question a nd says that she wanted to be free as a wind, metaphorically referring to Jin and freedom of being with him.The symbolism for Mei and Jin, as a flower and a wind, helps to communicate the traits of the characters to the audience.Mei, a flower that grows in the wilderness portrays that her beauty, as her excellent martial arts skills are a deadly gun for seduction and destruction. The fact that she is portrayed as sightless person elevates her greatness and uniqueness. The best example of this is the scene of the echo game. When Captain Leo tosses ace beans she flawlessly repeats the echoes of the drums by banging the sleeves of her dress onto the drums. After Captain Leo tosses entire bowl of beans onto the drums she demonstrates her exceptional skills in martial arts, and at that placefore is revealed to be a lot more than just a talented blind dancer.Jin is the playful or carefree wind. He moves around and leaves no trace. His character is portrayed as a ladies men , who likes drinking, is playful, enjoys going to entertainment houses and is thence unable or not willing to commit. His character progresses as he settles, the wind will stop at his will and transforms into a disposed lover.Leo is an undercover character who has endured much of the suffering. In his speech to Mei he reveals his feelings and sufferings saying he has been surviving day by day by the thought of Mei. He is a reliable and cautious character, who looks after Mei and saves her during the combat in the flower field. When his character progresses he turns upset with jealousy, partially blaming himself but the feeling of betrayal is so strong and nuisance so deep he just loses his mind, leading him to aggressively force Mei into make love to him, and later taking her life.These three characters are unified by one more trait. whole three of them are full of deceit. None of them appear to be what they have led the audience or each other to be.When analyzing the characters themselv es there is a certain setting that these characters should be put into to fully understand the reasoning behind their behavior. All the three main characters are Xia warriors. Eight common attributes of Xia warriors are altruism, justice, individualism, loyalty, courage, truthfulness, inadvertence for wealth and desire for glory. These elements are very all-important(prenominal) to take into favor as the characters of the Wuxia movies often display these traits. (An Introduction to Wuxia. n.d.)The example of loyalty and betrayal in the warrior world is portrayed by the relationship of Mei and Leo. Mei could not allow herself to love Jin as she felt she would betray Leo, and ascribable to high respect and gratitude for what he has done for her she rejects Jin in the forest. But as it becomes obvious that she fell in love with Jin , Leo becomes coldhearted and Mei has to pay the cost of her betrayal, her life.Also what seems to be very interesting is according to what values and attributes do warriors establish trust among each other. When did Mei in reality feels trust toward Jin and starts truly falling in love with him? Was it after he saved her life in the forest, or rescued her from the prison? The trust and love come to may after the fighting scene on the flower field, when Generals soldiers attack Mei and Jin. This being a true, unforeseen and deform combat of dozen soldiers against two, Jin gets stabbed and this seems to be the point of him gaining Meis trust and love. A perfect explanation of this situation is given by Shu-lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The experiences and the laboured times partners face together brings them closer. Shu-lien fell in love with Li-Mu Bai as they have gone through many different hard times and fought together, apparently this is what warriors value and what brings them closer being there for each other through hard times and surviving them together as one. In addition to that Shu-liens and Li-Mu bais lo ve story can also serve as a perfect example of warriors code of conduct . Shu-lien and Li-Mu Bai are in love but they didnt have a chance to be together and be happy. The reason for this is revealed by Shu-lien who states that the men she loved , who was also Li-Mu bais brother, died and not to disrespect him and betray him they cannot allow themselves to be together. This is one of the examples of deep loyalty, association and self-control that warriors display as they deeply believe and let their principles exact them.When mentioning these two films together, one should discuss two particular scenes which are of great importance and interest. The first scene is the fighting scene in the bamboo forest. First of all when seeing a bamboo forest in the martial art movie, it is like a foreshadowing of the upcoming battle. Bamboo forest has been used in House of the Flying Daggers where Mei and Jin are attacked by the Generals troops, and also in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where Li-Mu bai and Jen are fighting. There is an obvious similarity in these two scenes. Characters fight with their armor but also use the bamboo forest as tool to jump, walk on the thin branches, escape each other by bending the tree tops, flying from one tree to another or standing on / between two bamboo trees preserving indifference and balance. In spite of the fact that audience anticipates the fighting style and techniques to be used, these scenes are still breathtaking due to the mastery of the actors, also due to the amazing colors and the lighting of the forest.Another scene which will also be discussed is the bathing scene of Mei. Jin, while in the forest, constructs a teeny pond of fresh water, gathers leaves and suggests Mei take a bath. Mei decides to take a bath, and to make her let her guard down Jin proposes that he will let Mei keep track of where he is by making sounds by his sword. And in the end he offers her fresh men clothing.In Crouching Tiger there is also a ba thing scene where Lo burglar from the desert suggests Jen to take a bath and to assure her of his good intentions he tells her he will sing so that she knows where he is. He too in the end offers her his fresh clothing.Of course the two scenes unfold in different directions but still there are several elements deserving mentioning which unite the two except for the basic similarities mentioned above. In these two movies twain bathing scenes suggest and lead to a new kind of liberty level and lead to a romantic affection between two characters Jin and Mei, and Jen and Lo. The beginning of new emotions and affection is seen right away in the Crouching Tiger as the characters make love and reveal their feelings soon after. In the House of Flying Daggers there is an attempt of intimacy though in this type Mei is faced with the burden of loyalty that she has toward Leo and therefore rejects Jin by being cold as water. But beginning of the upcoming love between the two characters is starting from the bathing scene in both of the films.Except for the beautiful landscapes and nature, setting in House of Flying Daggers is also one of the elements contributing to the visual aesthetics of the film. As the time sort of the film is during antediluvian times, Tang dynasty, every detail in the film is meticulously chosen to match the replica of the old times. The swords, the lather hand bracelets male characters wore, the pottery, the instruments played in the entertainment house and even the torture devices gave the impression of being make exactly during the ancient Tang dynasty by a handy craftsman.The scene at the Payony Pavillion perfectly illustrated and set the clime of ancient China. There are interiors of elaborate richness, beautiful costumes, landscapes of mountain ranges, meadows and palm of snow. SpectacularCostumes designed by Emi Wada depicted women of Tang dynasty very well. pastime House is filled with high-class courtesans who are great singers, p erformers, know the rules of socialize games and have respectable table manners. The costumes are fashionable, colorful, with beautiful ornaments. Courtesans have their sensory hair brushed up with an edifice above the forehead, hair decorated with lush head combs and jewelry.In addition to visual aesthetics of the film there are different sounds used in the movie to achieve the offspring of tension, excitement and make the viewer listen and watch the film in absolute silence. The example of this is the sounds of water droplets and crystalline curtains in the Peyony Pavillion. Also sounds of flying bamboos, falling leaves, sound of sword cutting the air all these elements are mostly used when Mei is in the epicenter of the fight. As during the half(prenominal) of the film she is perceived and portrayed as a sightless warrior every above mentioned sound is perceived as a clue of what she listens to and notices in order to coordinate, and how she perceives the environment in ord er to defend herself against the enemy.Zhang Yimou has his way of storytelling through visual imagery, which can be also observed in his primal works. He uses de-centered compositions, sometimes also obscure angles, utilizes little details such as lighting, sound, strong and beautiful scenery to portray minimal diagram and strengthen the dramatic effect. His stories can be perceived as fables which are in a sense enigmatic and have ambiguous endings. He uses color and composition to bring out the oriental mood of ancient china.His intention with House of Flying Daggers was to show the fate of three main characters who sacrificed everything beginning with their loyalty to their duties, their roles in society, their beliefs, and in the end their lives for love. He showed how the sexual world of these characters changed and crashed in bereavement. As he says People in misery have deep meanings, People in misery is what is most important in art (Zhang Yimou Interview, 2002). Their misery is depicted in very correctly way which brings out empathy in audience.After the analysis of various elements I can say that Zhang Yimou successfully conveyed his films message and anguish of the characters very skilfully and in a very touching manner. The actors excellent performance made it very authentic to feel empathy and sorrow. And the overall aesthetical part of the film made a striking and long lasting and impression.