(2004; Shi mian mai fu, Chinese) A Chinese fantasy of brilliant colors and balletic choreography, from director/co-screenwriter Zhang Yimon, pits two warriors - one who has been in love for three years against the other of three days with an exquisite flower of rare skills and beauty.

In 859 AD, during the decline of the Tang dynasty, the captain of the county (Andy Lau) is assigned by his corrupt government the unenviable task of finding the new leader of the fearsome House of Flying Daggers, a Robin Hood-like guerrilla band, in only ten days. For such a seemingly impossible mission a truly devious plan must be devised.

At the Peony Pavilion, one of the girls in the exclusive brothel is suspected of being a member of the gang. Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), posing as an inebriated patron, is arrested by the captain for outrageous behavior, attempting to ravish the new girl, Xiao Mei (Ziyi Zhang), who is blind.

As well Mei is about to be taken away when the madam pleads with the captain not to remove her means of profit; he offers a reprieve if Mei can perform the incredibly acrobatic Echo dance to his satisfaction. She accomplishes the feat, transforming it into a sword fight, though her opponent proves to be her superior. In custody, facing a torture device, she's threatened: "You'll never dance again after this."

Just then in a gust of action, she's rescued by a master of martial arts and the flying technique, who turns out to be the drunken patron, referring to himself as the Wind. He believes Mei to be the cunning blind daughter of the old leader of the Flying Daggers, determined to avenge her father's death.

Traveling together they encounter soldiers of the government. But a game of love turns into reality for Master Wind. Both are saved from certain death by another who prefers not to reveal himself. The trick to expose the Flying Daggers requires the sacrifice of many lives.

When he asks if she desires to return to the guerrillas, Mei says to the Wind (whom she now believes is for real) that having left them: "Why would I return to them?"

Following the impressive battle in the bamboo forest, more surprises rapidly flash across the screen like flying daggers. Who is playing the game? Who is for real and who is pretending? Leo, the mole in the general's army, comes forward with his claim on Mei's heart. However, "This is not the time for love" with the fate of the Flying Daggers to be decided; yet love cannot be suppressed among the impassioned.

A form of the Echo dance is repeated with daggers. Reversals, rewards, and retribution - each a double-edged blade: the seasons shift like dancers from summery greens and blues to white aspens, rising above orange autumn leaves, ending in snow and blood.

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Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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