Grade: A+ | Genre: Drama/Action Summary: The House of Flying Daggers plays like a sublimely delicate opera that can appeal to both sexes. The visions and the sounds illuminate everything it touches and their beauty hypnotizes you.

For so long, action films have continued to push the limits of brutality with unflinching realism. The line between thrilling and morbidly gruesome is consistently smudged and the movie going audience can only brace themselves for what they are or aren't about to see. Because we've been so conditioned to expect more, we can't even imagine how breathtaking and beautiful an action sequence can be.

The House of Flying Daggers gracefully swoops over the likes of Natural Born Killers and Sin City and has us mesmerized with each perfectly shot frame. It's a visually stunning piece of motion picture art that should be displayed in one's most prized collection.

Set in the time of the Tang Dynasty, The House of Flying Daggers is a rebel group that shuns governmental ideals and oppression. Like Robin Hood, they steal from the rich rulers and give to their poor countrymen. Now, under "The New Leader," they are an illusive bunch evading a government focused on destroying them.

The local military captain for the government, Leo (Lau), carries suspicions that a Dagger member, Mei (Ziyi), is residing at the Peony Pavilion, a flourishing local brothel. Mei is the blind daughter of the assassinated former leader of the Daggers, with abilities that most with the gift of sight could never envision. Sensing an opportunity, Captain Leo devises a plan to infiltrate and finally bring them to destruction. He sends one of his officers, Jin (Kaneshiro), into the Pavilion as a guest to investigate.

As Jin falls to the temptations of the brothel, Mei is sent in to perform an elegant dance that the most celebrated ballets could never touch. Jin, in a drunken stupor sexually attacks Mei and both are arrested for indecency. Admittedly, it does sound very absurd until we realize that it was all a guise to capture and bring her in for questioning.

Imprisoned, Mei is threatened with torture to disclose the whereabouts of the Daggers and "The New Leader." Suddenly, a masked hero, who turns out to be none other than Jin (bitter of government pressures and a secret admirer of the Daggers' philosophies and sensibilities), swoops in to rescues her. Both chart a course together to find their way back to the Daggers.

Buy or Rent House of Flying Daggers Now. You may also like... Hero Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

The House of Flying Daggers plays like a sublimely delicate opera that can appeal to both sexes. The visions and the sounds illuminate everything it touches and their beauty hypnotizes you. Zhang Ziyi makes another appearance as a kick ass vixen, but transcends the role with her stunning and passionate performance. You are instantly under her spell and can't keep your eyes off her.

Director Zhang Zimou, who also crafted the equally superb Hero, brings his usual eye for elegance and symmetry that is deserving of accolades typically smothered onto Tarantino, Scorsese, and Spielberg. That's right, Zimou is rightfully put in the same sentence as these accomplished directors and is a force to be reckoned with. If you thought the The Matrix and Kill Bill were pioneering visions of modern cinema, you can thank Hong Kong directors like Zimou for inspiring them. "Tony Scott of the New York Times is on to something when he says the film's two most accomplished action scenes are likely to be "cherished like favorite numbers from 'Singin' in the Rain' and 'An American in Paris.'" Try making that claim about anything in "Matrix" or "Blade Trinity." (Roger Ebert)

This is a phenomenal work that I kick myself for not catching in the theatres. However, it still translates on the small screen (widescreen format, of course!) and shouldn't be missed.

Email this article to a friend