A highly secretive rebel group, House of Flying Daggers, is destabilising the ruling dynasty in AD 859 China. But even after killing their leader, the daggers continue to fly! Captain Leo (Lau) and his right-hand man Jin (Kaneshiro) suspect that the gifted blind dancer Mei (Zhang) is the daughter of the deceased leader. So they hatch a plan in which Jin will pretend to be a defecting warrior who falls in love with her, hoping she will lead them to the Flying Daggers' hideout. But playing with love is a dangerous game.

This is an action epic as a three-hander; even though scenes are filled with soldiers, dancers, warriors and others, Zhang keeps the focus tightly on the human drama among this trio. And as the story grows increasingly tangled, our hearts are firmly gripped by a film style that's both grand and intimate at the same time. Amid the nonstop gritty action is a wrenchingly powerful romance, and it's filmed with lush, exquisite artistry that feels authentic and real, even with the fantastical gravity-defying battles.

Sound and image combine beautifully with deeply internalised emotions, augmented by camera trickery and wire stuntwork. It's simply breathtaking on every level! This isn't the carefully controlled colour scheme of Hero; it's much more naturalistic, grabbing colours from locations, costumes, changing leaves on trees and an astonishing climactic snowstorm (which wasn't scripted, but just happened during filming). This striking visual style is never superficial--it adds depth to everything, as does Zhang's startlingly inventive staging of the fight scenes.

But the people are the main thing--this is a strongly personal story, and the three actors are exceptional as people who aren't who they seem to be, subtly and realistically transforming their characters with each new wrinkle. They shift beautifully from sexy to soulful to brutal to brave, often within a single scene. And the story is full of heartbreaking tenderness, which infuses every moment in the film, including the battles. Masterful and unmissable.