Set in ninth-century China, House of Flying Daggers attempts to ride the recent wave of Chinese movie imports and combine martial arts, Chinese history and romance into a dramatic feature film.

Instead of seamlessly blending all these elements, House of Flying Daggers only achieves true success in its cinematography and action sequences. This is a movie for artists, not writers.

In House of Flying Daggers, a love triangle creates tragic consequences for three individuals who are simultaneously serving in an armed conflict between the emperor and a group of rebels. Mei (Ziyi Zhang of Rush Hour 2 and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and her two love interests Jin (played by the Taiwanese-Japanese pop star Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Leo (Andy Lau of Running on Karma) eventually discover that they are pawns in a continuing power play in 859 A.D. between the imperial forces of the Tang dynasty and the insurgents of the House of Flying Daggers.

The plot, unfortunately, is the weakest element of the film. Instances of the love triangle are contrived and superficially employed to inject drama. The love story between Mei and Jin is far too underdeveloped. When any attempt is made to develop the relationship, the intimate moments are usually interrupted by the action sequences.

Instead of focusing on the romance, the writers place too many twists in the movie, leaving the viewer somewhat confused as to which side Jin, Leo and Mei vow loyalty. Moreover, the movie builds up to a battle between the emperor’s men and the House of Flying Daggers but never shows the culmination and conclusion of their conflict.

The direction and production push forward the standards that were set by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000. Director Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Lantern, Ju Dou) and producer Bill Kong (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) infuse the film with color, movement and grace.

The nuanced succession of action sequences does not tire the viewer because the background hues, rhythmic score and orchestrated maneuvers of the actors capture and command the viewer’s attention.

The action sequences that were first developed for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are fine tuned and gracefully incorporated in House of Flying Daggers. The battles are meticulously choreographed like dances. The entire film is packed with breathtaking scenes of lime green bamboo forests, expansive fields of white flowers and immaculately white snowy plains.

Color and sound work to emphasize the confrontational nature of the plot. The warriors are differentiated by their costumes. The dull, black and shapeless uniforms of the emperor’s male soldiers contrast with the verdant, fitted and flowing green dresses of the female members of the House of Flying Daggers.

The violence of human action differs from the peaceful landscapes where the battles occur. The drops of deep red blood shed in battle are juxtaposed with the pure white snow of the backdrop. The lovers race on the ground while their opponents attack them from the bamboo trees above. The sounds throughout the movie are reminiscent of sounds of battle. The repetitive beat of the score mimics the gallop of horses and successive swings of swords. The scene where Mei dances in a brothel to the “echo game” utilizes drums and a tribal beat. Mei’s subsequent battle scene fuses her rhythmic dance into her warfare.

Mystery plays a large role in the film. The intricacies of dance and martial arts (external elements) reflect the (internal) depths of the human heart. The characters repeatedly inquire of themselves and others where their loyalty lies and whom they truly love. In each twist of the plot, the writers repeatedly reverse who is the deceiver and who is being deceived.

Ultimately, when watching this movie, the person who believes there is a cogent plot to follow is the one who is truly deceived.