Impact Of Colour, Zhang Yimou.

House Of Flying Daggers, 2004, Zhang Yimou

House Of Flying Daggers is a 2004 wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. 'Wuxia' meaning 'martial hero'. 

Zhang Yimou is known to take unique approaches to the heroic swordplay genre and for his manipulation of martial arts to artistic lengths. The director has been very much applauded for his manipulation and play on colour to great impact on the viewer. From green bamboo forests, white snowstorms to a sea of golden leaves, they depict ideas such as truth and deception. 

House Of Flying Daggers is a story of love, determination and betrayal. These themes and ideas are represented and emphasised with the use of colour. 

As the film eases into the opening credits, a use of colour has already been made. The use of the colour red foreshadows themes of love and pain, which in the end, what the three main characters are reduced to - for pain is caused by love and out of love. 

In the opening scene, we see the main female protagonist Mei gowned in a beautiful blue dress. The colour blue is often related to coldness or a soft blanket of sadness. Whilst the other show girls in the background are gowned in a more vibrant turquoise shade, turquoise representing a more sensual feeling, the blue that Mei wears is a blue of sadness. Her pale porcelain skin emphasises the coldness of her character. Unlike the other show girls, Mei uses her beauty and dance skills with a game plan, to lure members of the government and take revenge for her father who has passed. Having known this, the use of blue creates a sense of longing. 

On the contrary, the governments people have a true blue uniform, which may symbolise icy harshness. 

 

This is also the only scene where we see lead protagonist Mei wears bold makeup. The eyes are kept clean, with emphasis on the lips. Traditionally, the stamp on the forehead, symbolises beauty and worth. Her skin is also very pale, and in Ancient China, even now, in modern China and other parts of Asia, pale skin is seen as beautiful. White creates a sense of innocence and purity, however, the bold red implies danger whilst creating a sense of sensuality. 

In the flower field scene, a wash of pale yellow is used. A pastel yellow has calming properties unlike the aggressive neon yellows we see in warning signs. It is obvious that the two characters Jin and Mei are warming up to each other, the soft yellow creates a romantic atmosphere, although in this scene Mei is wearing masculine clothes, the lighting and colour brings back her femininity. The pale yellow, reflects on her face, giving her a glowing healthy appearance, far different to her icy porcelain skin in the first scene. 

The screenshot below shows Mei holding flowers from Jin. It is interesting how the pale yellow flowers have a mix of bright yellow. A bold yellow has many interpretations, although this yellow is often associated to happiness, it can also be seen as a parallel - a warning. As a result, Jin is perceived as one who has potential to gift Mei happiness, but the one who may cause her ultimate downfall. 

One of the boldest use of colour is the bamboo forest fight scene. The vibrant green that fills the screen causes a mixed array of emotions. The audience is led to believe the rebel group (the group Mei originates from) are good people. However, since Jin is from the government, they bear him no mercy, the story is no longer about the uprise of the corrupt government but a Romeo and Juliet-esque relationship. 
'Green is really a dichotomous colour. It's the colour of fresh vegetable and spoiled meat'*. This is exactly how we feel about the rebel group, although, they appear to be good, for the majority, they lead to the downfall of the main protagonists. 

Although blue and green are next to each other on the colour wheel, blue is blue and green is green. We can see above from the styling of the characters, Jin and Mei were never meant to be. 

In the final scene of the film, we witness the battle between the characters. As the viewer sees how the forest of yellow, purple, green and red trees suddenly gets covered by white snow, it unfolds the culminating events to come. The pure white snow symbolises the end and a new beginning. The deep red blood that taints the white shows that it is the end for Leo, Jin and Mei. However, it also symbolises a fresh page.