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The Pacific wave; Europe may have the best art, but no one can match Asia for smart, compelling films with mass appeal.(2046)(House of Flying Daggers)(Tropical Malady)(Old Boy )(Nobody Knows )(Movie Review)
Byline: Dana Thomas
Hollywood is the home of the blockbuster, and Europe of the auteur film. But Asia has been steadily combining the two schools to come up with a whole new genre: the artful and intelligent crowd-pleaser. Smart, expertly acted and breathtakingly beautiful, these films are beginning to rack up awards and box-office receipts. In May Asians won four awards at the Cannes Film Festival; South Korean director Park Chan-wook won the Grand Prix for "Old Boy" and Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul took the Jury Prize for "Tropical Malady." Fourteen-year-old Yuya Yagira came away with the best-actor prize for his role in "Nobody Knows," while Chinese star Maggie Cheung won best actress for her portrayal of a recovering drug addict in "Clean."
The principle behind this new Pacific Wave is straightforward. "I respect my audience, so I don't want to show them things they won't understand," says Zhang Yimou, whose latest picture, "House of Flying Daggers," screened out of competition at Cannes. "And the story must be simple. If it's too complicated, there is no room for emotional depth and visual esthetics." Our pick of the season's best:
'2046'
Directed by Wong Kar-wai (China)
Set in the late 1960s, "2046" picks up darkly where Wong's highly acclaimed "In the Mood for Love" left off: Chow Mo Wan (Tony Leung) has left his paramour (Maggie Cheung) and has been laid off from his newspaper job. He lives in a seedy Hong Kong hotel, writing science fiction, drinking and seducing upmarket call girls. As in "In the Mood," the women are gorgeously done up, the banter is pointed and the emotions are as taut as silk thread.
'House of Flying Daggers'
- `House of Flying Daggers'.
- Newspaper article from: Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN) December 15, 2004 700+ words
...could overdose on beauty at "House of Flying Daggers." The romantic adventure from China...color, the early scenes in "House of Flying Daggers" are about every riotous color in...Hero" played like opera, "House of Flying Daggers" is more like ballet, with its stylized...
- BREATHTAKING FLYING DAGGERS' STILL A LOVE STORY.(RHYTHM)
- Newspaper article from: Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI) January 13, 2005 700+ words
...are shots so beautiful in "House of Flying Daggers" that you want to yell at the projectionist...resistance movement known as the House of Flying Daggers. Capt. Leo (Andy Lau) gets a tip...tricks and other techniques to push "Flying Daggers" well beyond the boundaries of action...
- BEAUTIFUL 'FLYING DAGGERS' MAKES LOVE AND WAR.(Spotlight)
- Newspaper article from: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) Denerstein, Robert December 17, 2004 700+ words
...moments of reflection in The House of Flying Daggers, director Zhang Yimou's second foray...surprised to learn that The House of Flying Daggers is drop-dead gorgeous. Nor can it...see why. Taken together, Hero and Flying Daggers give magnificent testimony to the director...
- With "Flying Daggers," director wows us again.(Daily Break)
- Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot January 16, 2005 700+ words
...PILOT THE ROMANTIC adventure "House of Flying Daggers" is movie magic - filled with unique...their respective years. "House of Flying Daggers" gives us a grand time at the movies...courtesan who is secretly a member of the Flying Daggers, a rebellious group of assassins waging...
- `Flying Daggers' soars and surprises.(VARIETY / FREETIME)
- Newspaper article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) Strickler, Jeff December 17, 2004 700+ words
...The answer: right away. "House of Flying Daggers" offers more of his beautiful photography...entirely accurate to call "House of Flying Daggers" a martial-arts movie; it's a...revolutionary groups is called the House of Flying Daggers. The police have assassinated the...
- Warriors Battle Lyrical In House of Flying Daggers.(Arts&Entertainment)
- Newspaper article from: The New York Observer (New York, NY) December 20, 2004 700+ words
...Andrew Sarris Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers, from a screenplay by Mr. Zhang...this film) was called the House of Flying Daggers. The story concocted by Mr. Zhang...capture the new head of the House of Flying Daggers after the old one has been killed by...
- 'HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS' LOOKS BETTER THAN IT FEELS.(U)
- Newspaper article from: Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) December 3, 2004 700+ words
...arty kung-fu flick, ``House of Flying Daggers.'' But while all the pointy objects...group of dissenters is the House of Flying Daggers, something of a proto-feminist band...whipp(at)dailynews.com HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS - Three stars (PG-13: stylized...
- "FLYING DAGGERS' RAISES MARTIAL-ARTS STANDARD.(CNY)(Column)
- Newspaper article from: The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) January 14, 2005 700+ words
...was. But comes now "House of Flying Daggers," which eclipses the film in...the good guys of the House of Flying Daggers. Zhang Yimou launches his film...martial-arts adventure "House of Flying Daggers." Color.
