House of Flying Daggers

[cron]

Hey the gold trumpet,  are you up for defending this movie¿
no one's has extensively defended it over here and i just saw it's on your top 10,  i'm interested on why did you like it

[Gold Trumpet]

I read through the thread and all the complaints seemed to be about the film failing to have the dramatic impact they expected. I guess I had different expectations. All these films, from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Hero and now House of Flying Daggers, are in the realm of fantasy for me. I think that allowed for me to be engrossed in the story more than others. I never got a vibe at all during the film it would be really dramatic. And comparing this one to Hero, this has a story I believe more emotionally involving. Hero was a spectacle of action sequences begging for a more coherent and satisfying story. Sure, House of Flying Daggers maybe had one too many 'revelations' with the second one, but it didn't hinder my experience. Films that base themselves off such ploys usually have many more plot twists than in this one.

And for those upset this film ended in such a romantic spetacle, thinking integrity and honesty were lost, I think one should be more offended by the ending of Hero. The purpose of giving in to that emperor, the film's antagonist, to unite all of China for a "greater good" purpose I found to be egregious. Its a fantasy film that ends in a history lesson surely more complicated than just the film's one point. House of Flying Daggers is romantic fluff, but its my favorite film this genre has to offer so far. A lot of films on my top 10 list can best explained on just level of enjoyment. The art circuit (of the ones I saw) seemed lacking last year.

[pete]

well, to me it's like arthouse directors who make pretty much subpar kungfu movies with plots stolen from pulp novels and older, superior movies, but because they're more savvy to the current "international arthouse cinema" aesthetic (eg. evoking kurosawa), people new to the genre eat them up and give them undeserved paises, to the point where they forgive all things like bad acting, bad dialogues, and just overall cheesiness/ unoriginality.

[Gold Trumpet]

well, to me it's like arthouse directors who make pretty much subpar kungfu movies with plots stolen from pulp novels and older, superior movies, but because they're more savvy to the current "international arthouse cinema" aesthetic (eg. evoking kurosawa), people new to the genre eat them up and give them undeserved paises, to the point where they forgive all things like bad acting, bad dialogues, and just overall cheesiness/ unoriginality.

That could be true. I definitely fit the part of not really knowing the genre all too well, but I've seen people who do know the genre quite well also praise this film. I'm just saying I really liked this film and don't consider it an art house film. Its just a foreign film. More, an entertainment piece. I don't think that is going overboard on praising it.

[modage]

i watched this tonight.  i was going to see it, but then i wasnt cause i didnt like hero at all, but then the reviews were so good, so i waited till dvd.  i liked it a lot better than Hero.  the action scenes were more varied and mostly, i cared about the characters and story more, which made it hugely more compelling.  so, it was pretty good and i'm glad i gave it a shot.