The roles of women in cinema are changing significantly to reflect society's changing attitudes towards them. This is beautifully illustrated in the film House of Flying Daggers, where the director, Zhang Yimou, portrays the changing roles of women, in this Chinese martial arts action-adventure film from Wuxi, featuring a strong female protagonist, Mei, who she is constrained by her loyalty to the House of Flying Daggers, but comes to realize that what she really needs is a way to be free and true to herself. This falls under the theme of the consequences of forced women. His character is present in most of the fight scenes and his role drives the narrative forward. This illustrates how women's roles are becoming influential in cinematic narratives. The active roles of women and the transition in how they were perceived in previous films are made evident in House of Flying Daggers. Rather than portray women as inferior to their male counterparts, Yimou, uses role reversal to demonstrate that our interpretations of female and male roles are false, as its main female protagonist, Mei, is the one who plays the part more active in the film. Mei regulates future events, allowing the audience to identify with her and demonstrating the feminist nature of the film. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay House of Flying Daggers is a big-budget Wuxi Chinese martial arts action-adventure epic. At first, the film seems to be about the clashes between an old, corrupt government and a resistance alliance. But then, the film focuses on two characters, the supposed daughter of the late leader of the resistance group, who now works in a brothel, Mei (Zhang Ziyi), and a police captain, Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who are on opposing fronts. of battle and falling in love. They deceive each other about their true identities and motivations, and about the true identity and motivations of the third character, Jin's partner Leo (Andy Lau), who turns out to be Mei's lover and a spy for the rebel group, who breaks down. for Mei's growing love for Jin. The film then becomes the story of their love triangle and ends with the three characters fighting each other and, once they realize they cannot consummate their love, each choose to die for the person they love. The House of Flying Daggers is a Chinese Wuxia martial art film, featuring genre elements of spectacular fighting, breathtaking stunts and exotic fantasy. The film combines these elements with a tragic triangular love story and a narrative in which nothing is as it seems at first. Yimou touches on the themes of love, betrayal, unhappiness and the consequences of forced women in this film. Emphasizes visual images and metaphors to convey the messages of this film to the audience. Viewers can observe the emphasis on shot composition and color symbolism in the last scene, where the forest is suddenly covered in white snow, this explains the events to come and symbolizes the end and new beginning. It is more of an art film than an action film as it contains breathtaking scenes such as the first brothel scene, the battle in the bamboo forest and culminates with a visual and emotional finale. House of Flying Daggers is visually distinctive in many ways, as Yimou used a number of cinematic and staging techniques to make the film stand out. The three main driving forces of mise-en-scène in this film are color, lighting and setting (including furniture and props), which occupy a morecentral to the narrative. All three come together to further character and narrative development. House of Flying Daggers' settings, primarily in China, establish a sense of atmospheric realism and give a truthful depiction of the time period and location, from the brothel interiors to the green lily pond. Extravagant Tang Dynasty costumes, authentic interior details, props, musical instruments, scenic landscapes, bamboo forests and fields, give dramatic effects through visual imagery, color, composition, and provide the setting for emotion and imagination of the film. The decorations and props used in House of Flying Daggers are richly decorative and visually appealing so to be period accurate. They take on a symbolic function and are used in the film for characterization and narrative development. For example, there are a number of props and decorations in the brothel, including musical instruments and bells, beaded curtains, and painted wallpaper. This is in stark contrast to the stark headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers, with only a wooden table and chairs. The allure of luxury and pleasure in the brothel is at odds with the practical beliefs of the Flying Daggers. Every detail in the film, including the swords, instruments played in the theater, and even torture instruments, are meticulously chosen to replicate the ancient times of the Tang Dynasty. Additionally, the props used show us the different abilities of the characters, like when Mei throws the two daggers at Leo from the horse, this shows us her strength, physical prowess and establishes Mei as a strong female protagonist in the film. The director uses professional actors in House of Flying Daggers and the actor's excellent performances make the film authentic. Zhang Ziyi, proves to be Mei, the strong female action protagonist, whose identity changes throughout the film. When the audience is first introduced to Mei, she is portrayed as a blind member of the Flying Daggers forced to dance erotically for the male guests. However, as the film progresses, the audience witnesses Mei's true strength and depth. During the expertly choreographed fight scenes, Mei demonstrates her superiority over the male soldiers and her commitment to protecting the flying daggers. This is an example of how Yimou reverses roles based on the viewers' male/female expectations. Kaneshiro is charming as the debonair Jin and fills the role with just the right physical presence. Lau, shows genuine emotion as Leo, a reliable and cautious undercover character who has endured much of the suffering. The highly stylized choreography of the fight scenes is significant in House of Flying Daggers. The setting is integrated into the choreography of the fight scenes and often blends the natural with the dangerous, as in the scene where a hidden presence kills a band of soldiers using wooden daggers. This shows the danger of the landscape despite its beauty. The House of Flying Daggers displays detailed and beautiful costumes appropriate for the era. For example, the scene at the Peony Pavilion perfectly recreates the atmosphere of ancient China with interiors of elaborate richness; colorful, fashionable costumes and extravagant jewelry depicting high-class courtesans from the Tang Dynasty. Another scene that demonstrates how the costumes contribute to the visual atmosphere of the film and define the different characters, is in the fight scene in the bamboo forest, Mei's clothing is a male suit and her hair is hidden, in contrast to typical clothes and is looking for a woman. . This shows that Mei can do as much as a man and points to the changing role of women. Elementsdetails of the staging and cinematography influence the characterization and narrative development of House of Flying Daggers. Cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding uses details such as lighting, sound and beautiful scenery to portray a minimal plot and strengthen the dramatic effect. The use of color and composition brings out the oriental atmosphere of ancient China. The predominant elements of cinematography present in this film are the camera angles and levels, the long and medium-long shots, and the heavy use of pans and tilts in the fight sequences. Intricately choreographed fight scenes (wuxia) with sweeping, swirling and rapid movements to follow the daggers, slow motion shots, centered close-ups, long shots and panning shots for setting, are cinematic techniques used in House of Flying Daggers to establish the setting and contribute to the development of the characters and story. This also shows Mei's superiority in martial arts over her foot soldiers/male counterparts and allows the audience to witness Mei's strength and skill in martial arts. Xiaoding uses a variety of shots and angles in the film, such as high-angle shots to show both Mei's dance pattern in the Peony Pavilion scene and the swaying bamboo during the fight scene in the bamboo forest. Close-ups with the character in the center are used to draw attention to the character during important or high-tension moments, such as when Mei meets Jin for the first time. In the echo game scene, flick shots are used to follow the beans as they hit the drums, and long shots are used to show the background in scenes such as the bamboo forest and the flower field. Color is used generously in this film, applying numerous color combinations in many scenes. The use of breathtaking views and colors in the scenery; such as green forests, red and golden autumn leaves in the meadows and white snow, give a dramatic effect through visual imagery, color and composition. Color repetition and color design are another cinematic device used in the film to indicate both characterization and story development. To emphasize the dramatic intensity of the final scene, the director uses almost all white. Since he uses numerous colors in the rest of the film, applying only white in the last scene makes it striking and extraordinary. Lighting techniques featured in the film include the use of three-point lighting to highlight character and narrative development, color filters to highlight the swords, and soft lighting on the brothel scene contrasted with the bright light on the police headquarters to show the contrasting atmospheres. The use of overhead lighting in the prison scene emphasizes that Mei is imprisoned, conveying her helplessness to the viewer, so her subsequent physical fight scenes demonstrate both her physical and emotional development. The pace and pace in House of Flying Daggers is fast. frenetic pace due to the action sequences that require fast editing. As a result, there are no montage sequences and no long takes. In the opening scene, the film's titles fade in with traditional Mandarin text to shift the focus from the title to the text fading to black. Thereafter, the pace increases with frequent changes. The director also uses slow motion and long fight scenes, which have a huge variety of shots edited together. For example, during the fight scene in the bamboo forest, every time Mei fights, there is slow motion showing her importance as the protagonist.