From Yimou Zhang, the director of Jet Li's Hero and Raise the Red Lantern, comes a spectacular tale about honor, and love.

House of Flying Daggers is the gripping, touching, and visually spectacular tale of two people, caught in a Romeo and Juliet story, and the nation at war they must fight together.

It is near the end of the Tang Dynasty era, and The Captain Jin (Kaneshiro) and Leo (Lau) tangle with Mei (Zhang), a dancer suspected of having ties to a revolutionary faction known as the House of Flying Daggers. Enraptured by her, the deputies concoct a plan to save her from capture, and Jin leads her north in what becomes a perilous journey into the unknown.

I think Hero was meant to have that moral and philosophical dimension, and this was not. They are different films. And in that, they both are masterpieces in my mind, for different reasons. I would hate to consider all movies have to be the same to be considered masterpieces, this film in my mind was a masterpiece because what it strived for, what it accomplished, was nothing less then beautiful.

Let's look at it another way. If a song you love which is built up of sonnets is a masterpiece, that doesn't make the song you love that is built of haikus any less of a masterpiece. Nor does it imply that any songs from thence on must be sonnets, or that the sonnet become the standard. There are so many sephiroth to pull from, the medium changes, the joy no less, and I loved both films.

In my mind, HoFD was simply not as tied up nicely, like Hero. Hero had a brilliant, uplifting ending, while House did not, and hence we as human beings feel a twinge of upset, it's the ego revolting against the reality that not all things end without complexity.

The dialogue, beautifully consumes us, bright costumes ellude us, intentions provoke us, and landscapes will take you on a wonderful journey. A journey of dance, music, and beautiful words. Below is a small excerpt from the script I found significantly esoteric and exquisite:

Mei: Where have you been? I have a question for you.
Jin: What question?
Mei: Are you for real?
Jin: What do you mean?
Mei: Do you feel anything for me?
Jin: Don't take this so seriously.
Mei: I want to know.
Jin: I'm a free spirit, llike the wind, always moving. The wind never thinks too much.
Mei: I want the wind to stop and think.
Jin: The wind cannot stop.
Mei: Not even for me?
Jin: The wind breezes through without a trace. Now you understand - why I'm called Wind.