"When can we see each other again?" "We cannot. We belong to two opposing sides. If we meet again, one of us will have to die."

Right now, the emperor is weak. The government is corrupt. Factions have formed. The rebels are rising. The House of Flying Daggers is the most dangerous group of rebels. We're in China, 859 AD, at the waning of the Tang Dynasty.

HoD is a 2004 119-minute release that is rated 87/82 on RT, 7.5 on IMDB, and 8.3 on MDL. There's much more going on than meets the eye. We have wheels within wheels and gears inside of them.

The acting is China's run-of-the-mill-superb. Takeshi Kaneshiro (This Is Not What I Expected) is ML Red Cliff Jin. The actor's father is Japanese and his mother, Taiwanese, which explains his name - and his look, actually. Andy Lau (Tak-Wah, Singing When We're Young) plays the other ML, Liu Zhao Tou. Zhang Ziyi (The Rebel Princess-9.1, Hero & Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon~loved both~) is the new blind maiden at the pleasure house, Xiao Mei. Is she in the Flying Daggers cult? The cast is rounded out with Song Dandan as Yee, Zhao Hongfei as Xiao Bu Kuai, and Jun Guo as a law enforcement Officer. The screenwriter is Bin Wang (Hero, To Live) along with writer/Director Zhang Yimou (Under the Hawthorn Tree & Hero).

The Tang version of the CIA local branch has devised a clever scheme. An officer, Jin, will break Mei out of prison in hopes that she will lead them to the Flying Daggers sect, so they can eliminate this dangerous group. Mei is not easily managed, though. Soon, Jin has to fight his own people to survive, because no one else knows about his mission. Things continue to get more tangled and murky.

The cinematography is gorgeous. Exotic forests, fields, fall foliage and flowers. Fighting, too! The fights are beautiful ballet. We see every season represented in the film. One fight takes place in a bamboo forest. It's spectacular. Fall is a good time to fall in love... Finally, there's flakes of snow, moving into the finale. Probably some frostbite, too.

There's a good twist or two. They twist beautifully in this film. The whole movie is a magnificent twist-within-a-twist. My biggest complaint is that it's over with so quickly. Having gotten used to 25-75 episodes, I've been watching some unforgettable Cdramas. Sometimes the big budget items, like sophisticated fight scenes and pricey special effects don't make much of a showing (sometimes they aren't bad) but it's hardly noticeable given the top-tier writing, acting, sets & costume.

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

🔮🐉-
C/🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10

⚡😱/🚀 -
C🇨🇳: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
🇨🇳The Untamed-8.6

💓 -
C🇨🇳:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;

K🇰🇷 :
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;

🎎 -
C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4,
Story of Yanxi Palace-10 (I'm on ep 50 out of 72. So far every episode is a 10).
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
Ruyi's Royal love in the palace (episodes 1 - 49 are a 9.3. While looking up its historical accuracy, I learned how heartbreaking the rest of the show is. It's over 80 episodes, so that's a hella-lotta hurt. I am not up for it now, so I stopped at episode 49, which is a perfect ending).
The Rise of Phoenixes 9

K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

⚡😱/🚀 - K🇰🇷:
K2 8;
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1;
Signal 8.6;
The Man From Nowhere 8.9
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4

〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.5 📝8.5 🎭8.5 💓6 🦋6 🎨8.8 🎵/🔊7 🔚8 🤗6 ▪ 🌞4⚡7 😅2 😭7 😱3 😯3 🤢3.5 🤔6 💤0

Age 12+
There's sword fighting and violence, but this is a great movie for people of most ages.

Rated TV-PG: Parental Guidance Suggested

Re-📺? Yep.