For the past two weeks, I have been pining for just one movie: House of Flying Daggers (Shi Mian Mai Fu). The movie opened during my exam week last semester. As I rode the train day after day, I saw the same poster of a stern looking Zhang Ziyi stare at me and I wanted to make a mad dash for the moviehouse.
Upon arriving home, when I learned that "House of Flying Daggers" had yet to hit local theaters in my part of the country, I almost did some Fred Astaire shoe flicking in the middle of the mall. For almost a week now, I have been clamoring like a little girl that I want to see that film...testing my mom's patience and my dad's eardrum tenacity. "What are you excited about this film anyway?" asked my mother. I'd then babble in an endless string but the only constant words heard would definitely have to be Zhang Zi Yi.
My sister and I have been fans of Zhang Zi Yi for a long time. She is the only Asian actress I like more than Zhao Wei. Before "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," I already knew of Zhang thanks to her debut movie, "A Road Home." Of course, I enjoyed watching Rush Hour 2 because of her kicks and punches and I sort of got tight-lipped when she played a less prominent role in Hero...of course after a little contemplation, to star alongside Asian bigwigs like Tony Leung, Maggi Cheung and THE Jet Li (my first Chinese boyfriend) was already a feat rarely seen in someone who has more fingers than movies to her name.
I had seen the trailer of "House of Flying Daggers" by accident. My sister was channel surfing and when she chanced upon AXN, Zhang Zi Yi's face flashed on the screen. She froze and set the remote down. A few seconds later when the trailer showed her dance sequence in the Peony Pavilion, I thought aloud "That can't be Andy Lau, can it?" Moments later, my sister was mumbling "Manang, who's Takeshi Ken-shr-o? He's cute." That pretty much got us hyped up to watch out for the movie.
This actually was not the first time I heard of Takeshi Kenishiro. Last summer, I spent a considerable amount of time strengthening my hyperextended calf muscles by doing some cycling with my friend Sue. I especially enjoyed doing that since she lived near the beach and our bike route always gave us a fair view of the sea. In one of those trips, our friend Dang joined us and while we ate cashew nuts in Sue's house, waiting for the sun to set a bit until it was not too hot to bike, Dang asked us "Have you people heard of Takeshi Kenishiro? He's supposed to be the ultimate Asian hunk." I raised an eyebrow and Sue did the same thing. "Ultimate in what sense?" Dang then went on to explain that Takeshi was touted as the ultimate Asian hunk because he was 1/3 Chinese, 1/3 Japanese and 1/3 Korean. Sue and I looked at each other with puzzled glances. Dang's math made a heck lot of sense but as we racked our brains, we could not figure out exactly how he got that percentage from each race. How much did he get from whom? Come to think of it, I was never really good with fractions or Math even. What I get from Internet sites is that Kenishiro was born in Taiwan but was of Taiwanese-Japanese parentage.
As for Andy Lau, he's pretty much a household name in my side of the world...well, in my opinion, that is.
The cast of "House of Flying Daggers" with Director Zhang Yimou: Takeshi Kenishiro, Zhang Zi Yi and Andy Lau.When the opening credits of the film began to appear on screen, I was almost out of my wits with excitement and my dad was pestering me to buy him popcorn. When the first lines were spoken by a couple of soldiers to Captain Leo (Andy Lau) and his partner Captain Jin (Takeshi Kenishiro), my dad muttered under his breath "You didn't tell me this was not dubbed in English!"
Captains Leo and Jin are members of the police force. Set during the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the present emperor's reign is beset by trouble in the form of renegade groups which aim to destabilize the government. Makes you think that times do not change indeed. One of the most powerful revolutionary groups is the House of Flying Daggers. They believe that the government is insufficient in its attempts to address the needs of society, especially when it comes to the poor. Ala Robin Hood, they "steal from the rich to give to the poor." Again much like the present scenario, though in our time and age, the rich steal from each other to make themselves richer. The poor are forgotten.
Being one of the greatest threats to the present administration, the police concentrate most of their energies on toppling the House of Flying Daggers. They manage to kill the leader of the group but a new one is selected among their ranks as quickly as the former one's life was snuffed out. Leo and Jin believe there could be no more opportune time to strike than this when the House is still reeling from a near fatal blow. Intelligence reports reach their ears that the new showgirl at a brothel called The Peony Pavilion is the daughter of the slain leader of the House of Flying Daggers. This girl named Mei (Zhang Zi Yi) was a dancer who entranced the Peony Pavilion's numerous guests with her exotic dances despite the fact that she was blind. Leo and Jin decide to capture Mei and plan to force her to reveal to them the hideaway of the House of Flying Daggers.
Despite torment, Mei refuses to speak. Leo concocts another plan. He disguises Jin as a wandering warrior called Wind who chances upon the captive Mei and decides to rescue her. Wind has to earn Mei's trust so that she can bring him to the hideout of the House of Flying Daggers. Leo, on the other hand, lies in the shadows and waits for the right moment to strike. On this journey, the fiery Mei and the free-spirited Wind find themselves falling for each other but both are wary that lies lace the growing attraction between them.
Leo warns the younger Jin: "Don't ruin our plan by turning a game into reality." Jin retorts with a sly grin, "Who cares as long as the plan works."Once more, Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" was a perfect work of visual poetry. The storyline in itself is not fantastic nor extraordinary but the execution is breathtakingly flawless. Zhang Yimou created a stunning tableau of elaborate costumes, striking cinematography, precise choreography and of course, intense music.
Having seen and enjoyed "Hero," I naturally embraced "House of Flying Daggers" in the same way. Zhang Yimou particuarly enjoys experimenting with colors and seasons that in the course of watching the movie, I envision him as a painter with artwork similar to the ones created by Jackson Pollock. The camera angles particularly capture breathtaking scenes of wide fields surrounded by forests at the edges which come in shades of green, red and orange. He also adds more movement and dynamism by employing the different seasons from refreshing spring to downright cold winter. Putting the shades of nature and human emotion together results in such awesome imagery which is rarely seen in films nowadays. The movie is filled with movement whether it be in the swaying of a blade of grass, the unfurling of pure silk, the fury of a snowstorm, the flight of an arrow, the bending of bamboo, the clashing of swords and even the slow cascade of a single tear from brimming eyes.
Mei dances for male customers in the Peony Pavillion.As in any of her movies, Zhang has never failed to impress me. I've always thought of her as an iron butterfly. Her swift movements are tempered by grace. Portraying a blind warrior, her blank stares devoid of expression are easily superceded by the intense passion exhibited by the rest of her face and her body movement. The contrasting characters of Kenishiro and Lau complement each other. Lau is quiet and brooding. His movements are sure and refined, contributing to a more mature nature evident in Leo. The much younger Kenishiro is playful and reckless, giving Jin temper and turmoil characterized by youth. In contrast to the serious and controlled Leo, Jin acts much like his bow and arrow, shooting in any direction with ferocity and power. Looks like Legolas has finally found his match.
Andy Lau is the shrewd and cunning Leo.
Takeshi Kenishiro (Jin) tries to figure out how to get out of this mess.The imagery employed so ruthlessly in the film speaks much about the nature of Asian culture - the delicate intertwining of fact and fiction, history and legend. While watching the movie, my parents must have said "Sobra naman 'to" too many times that if they were turned into electoral votes, they could figure prominently in the US election. Exaggeration is a trademark particularly of Chinese films but this is once more a unique representation of the culture of Asia. Watching a movie such as "House of Flying Daggers" brings into life the beauty of storytelling, where not only words are given importance but also imagination. It is evident that Asians have always banked on the amazing expanse of the human imagination and artistry. Our legends speak of this, our structures stand as testament and our art has become the eternal mouthpiece. The intricacies of Asian civilization have resulted to an extricable link between the world we see and the world we want to see. The West might sometimes view this as escapist but Asians always find reasons to take pride in their identity, especially when it has to do with beliefs and traditions deeply ingrained in their way of life.
The way I see it, for us Asians, life is one big epic. Our words are whispered through songs in the wind. Our daily hustle and bustle could be translated into graceful choreography. Passion is fire and water. Grief is ice and stone. Legs become wings and eyes become windows. In the end, life becomes a battle, a new day is eternity and every man, the hero.
My sister and I have been fans of Zhang Zi Yi for a long time. She is the only Asian actress I like more than Zhao Wei. Before "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," I already knew of Zhang thanks to her debut movie, "A Road Home." Of course, I enjoyed watching Rush Hour 2 because of her kicks and punches and I sort of got tight-lipped when she played a less prominent role in Hero...of course after a little contemplation, to star alongside Asian bigwigs like Tony Leung, Maggi Cheung and THE Jet Li (my first Chinese boyfriend) was already a feat rarely seen in someone who has more fingers than movies to her name.
I had seen the trailer of "House of Flying Daggers" by accident. My sister was channel surfing and when she chanced upon AXN, Zhang Zi Yi's face flashed on the screen. She froze and set the remote down. A few seconds later when the trailer showed her dance sequence in the Peony Pavilion, I thought aloud "That can't be Andy Lau, can it?" Moments later, my sister was mumbling "Manang, who's Takeshi Ken-shr-o? He's cute." That pretty much got us hyped up to watch out for the movie.
This actually was not the first time I heard of Takeshi Kenishiro. Last summer, I spent a considerable amount of time strengthening my hyperextended calf muscles by doing some cycling with my friend Sue. I especially enjoyed doing that since she lived near the beach and our bike route always gave us a fair view of the sea. In one of those trips, our friend Dang joined us and while we ate cashew nuts in Sue's house, waiting for the sun to set a bit until it was not too hot to bike, Dang asked us "Have you people heard of Takeshi Kenishiro? He's supposed to be the ultimate Asian hunk." I raised an eyebrow and Sue did the same thing. "Ultimate in what sense?" Dang then went on to explain that Takeshi was touted as the ultimate Asian hunk because he was 1/3 Chinese, 1/3 Japanese and 1/3 Korean. Sue and I looked at each other with puzzled glances. Dang's math made a heck lot of sense but as we racked our brains, we could not figure out exactly how he got that percentage from each race. How much did he get from whom? Come to think of it, I was never really good with fractions or Math even. What I get from Internet sites is that Kenishiro was born in Taiwan but was of Taiwanese-Japanese parentage.
As for Andy Lau, he's pretty much a household name in my side of the world...well, in my opinion, that is.
The cast of "House of Flying Daggers" with Director Zhang Yimou: Takeshi Kenishiro, Zhang Zi Yi and Andy Lau.
Captains Leo and Jin are members of the police force. Set during the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the present emperor's reign is beset by trouble in the form of renegade groups which aim to destabilize the government. Makes you think that times do not change indeed. One of the most powerful revolutionary groups is the House of Flying Daggers. They believe that the government is insufficient in its attempts to address the needs of society, especially when it comes to the poor. Ala Robin Hood, they "steal from the rich to give to the poor." Again much like the present scenario, though in our time and age, the rich steal from each other to make themselves richer. The poor are forgotten.
Being one of the greatest threats to the present administration, the police concentrate most of their energies on toppling the House of Flying Daggers. They manage to kill the leader of the group but a new one is selected among their ranks as quickly as the former one's life was snuffed out. Leo and Jin believe there could be no more opportune time to strike than this when the House is still reeling from a near fatal blow. Intelligence reports reach their ears that the new showgirl at a brothel called The Peony Pavilion is the daughter of the slain leader of the House of Flying Daggers. This girl named Mei (Zhang Zi Yi) was a dancer who entranced the Peony Pavilion's numerous guests with her exotic dances despite the fact that she was blind. Leo and Jin decide to capture Mei and plan to force her to reveal to them the hideaway of the House of Flying Daggers.
Despite torment, Mei refuses to speak. Leo concocts another plan. He disguises Jin as a wandering warrior called Wind who chances upon the captive Mei and decides to rescue her. Wind has to earn Mei's trust so that she can bring him to the hideout of the House of Flying Daggers. Leo, on the other hand, lies in the shadows and waits for the right moment to strike. On this journey, the fiery Mei and the free-spirited Wind find themselves falling for each other but both are wary that lies lace the growing attraction between them.
Leo warns the younger Jin: "Don't ruin our plan by turning a game into reality." Jin retorts with a sly grin, "Who cares as long as the plan works."
Having seen and enjoyed "Hero," I naturally embraced "House of Flying Daggers" in the same way. Zhang Yimou particuarly enjoys experimenting with colors and seasons that in the course of watching the movie, I envision him as a painter with artwork similar to the ones created by Jackson Pollock. The camera angles particularly capture breathtaking scenes of wide fields surrounded by forests at the edges which come in shades of green, red and orange. He also adds more movement and dynamism by employing the different seasons from refreshing spring to downright cold winter. Putting the shades of nature and human emotion together results in such awesome imagery which is rarely seen in films nowadays. The movie is filled with movement whether it be in the swaying of a blade of grass, the unfurling of pure silk, the fury of a snowstorm, the flight of an arrow, the bending of bamboo, the clashing of swords and even the slow cascade of a single tear from brimming eyes.
Mei dances for male customers in the Peony Pavillion.
Andy Lau is the shrewd and cunning Leo.
Takeshi Kenishiro (Jin) tries to figure out how to get out of this mess.
The way I see it, for us Asians, life is one big epic. Our words are whispered through songs in the wind. Our daily hustle and bustle could be translated into graceful choreography. Passion is fire and water. Grief is ice and stone. Legs become wings and eyes become windows. In the end, life becomes a battle, a new day is eternity and every man, the hero.
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