House of Flying Daggers Cinematography

I have been set an essay question to do on film form and was wondering if anyone had any sugestions on what i could add to it to gain extra marks, etc. I have so far writen 1 paragraphy.

The question is "How does Zhang Yimou use film form to*construct a compelling*narrative*in 'The Echo Game'*scene in 'House of Flying*Daggers'?"

The Cinematography paragraph i wrote is:

Zhang Yimou skilfully uses Cinematography to construct a compelling narrative in ‘The Echo Game’ scene in ‘House of Flying Daggers’ (HOFD). One way in which Zhang Yimou uses Cinematography to do this is through the camerawork mirroring the movement on-screen during this sequence. For example, once Mei's starts dancing, the camera does not stop moving. This is seen again when the camera whip pans to reflect the constant movement and speed of the beans hitting the drums. This helps construct a compelling narrative as it forces the audience to focus on one point on the screen, drawing their attention in and hooking them. However, this was not liked by eastern audiences due to the view it prioritised cinematic style rather than plot. Likewise, in relation to the drums, all the shots are close-ups when the drum is hit whilst showing a vibration effect, which I will discuss more in editing, emphasizes how the beans are hitting the drum very hard. This helps construct a compelling narrative as it helps to draw the viewer into the film and help immerse them into people's perspectives when needed e.g., Mei’s perspective. Similarly, this film was loved by Western audiences which is clear of it being nominated for Best Cinematography from the Academy Awards (Oscars) and Best Asian film from the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards.*Moreover, when Mei is being obscured by the bead curtains after Leo escapes into an adjacent room emphasizes how her senses are being overwhelmed by their tinkling sound and thus is vulnerable to attack. This helps construct a compelling narrative as it helps portray the weakness of the characters, as till this point Mei has been very independent and has very easily parried or attacked Leo, which is very extreme since she is blind. However, this does dip into the Wuxia genre which translates to “Martial heroes” and represents the adventures of martial artists in Ancient China. Zhang Yimou successfully uses Cinematography to construct a compelling narrative in ‘The Echo Game’ scene in HOFD.*

Thanks in advance

Reply 1

Trussi