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What Does The House Of Flying Daggers Mean

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House of Flying Daggers – Film Analysis House of Flying Daggers is a Chinese wuxia film released in 2004. Wuxia is a Chinese film genre incorporating ancient warriors who usually display superhuman feats of martial arts. Set in 859 AD during the end of the Tang dynasty in China, the film tells the tale of the House of Flying Daggers; a Robin Hood-esque insurgent group rebelling against the corrupt government by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Members of the local police, Captain Leo and Officer Jin, conspire to locate the whereabouts of the headquarters for the rebel groups by using Mei, a supposedly blind dancer from the Peony Pavilion who is suspected to be the daughter of the leader of the House of Flying Daggers. This largely-successful …show more content…

After Jin causes a commotion by assaulting Mei, the blind dancer who he suspects is affiliated with the Daggers. Leo arrives under the pretence to settle the conflict, and requests that Mei perform the Echo Game successfully if she is to be set free. At the start of the Game, interchanging close-ups between Mei and Leo builds tension and suspense. Slow-motion tracking is used a lot throughout this scene to follow the path of the beans as they hit the drums and bounce back and forth. As the scene progresses and more beans are thrown at the echo drums, the camera shots that focus on the drum each time a bean ricocheted of an echo drum builds more tension as it seems that it seems impossible that Mei, a blind girl, would be able to strike all the targets. The camera focuses on Mei’s flowing fabric sleeves as they consistently hit all the echo drums with accuracy. The circular arrangement of the echo drums around Mei gives the appearance of her being trap in a circle of shields with her only escape being completing the Echo Game. At the beginning of the fight scene in the bamboo forest, Mei is drinking from her water canteen when she notices falling leaves from the forest above. This shot is shown twice, giving a brief foreshadowing of the events about to befall Mei. In Chinese culture, bamboo symbolises perseverance and …show more content…

Jin and Leo’s fight signifies their battle for Mei’s love. At one point, they both stab each other in the back; this is their betrayal of each other. Jin betrayed Leo by Mei now loving him instead of Leo, and Leo betrayed Jin by pretending to be a police captain and then stabbing Mei. Extreme close-ups are shown of the two combatants faces whenever one wounds the other. This emphasises the pain of each of the wounds and makes the audience more involved in the film as the pain is very clearly seen. This scene takes place in the snow during winter, when everything is covered in a blanket of white. In Chinese culture, white symbolises mourning and was white clothing was worn in ancient times at funerals. This is very relevant to the very end of the film, when Mei lies dying in Jin’s arms. The falling snow also becomes a raging snowstorm that worsens when Mei dies; this shows the torment that Jin is feeling inside as his loved one dies. House of Flying Daggers is a highly-popular Chinese wuxia film filled with betrayal, love, drama and deception. Cinematic techniques are used brilliantly to depict the story in the best possible way to the audience. The intricacy of the props and film locations demonstrates the beauty of Chinese culture and emphasises the plot of the movie. I would recommend this film to anyone to likes to experience

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