Shi Mian Mai Fu or House of Flying Daggers (5)

Secondly, deception is a theme primary to the text of the movie. Repeatedly, characters deceive and are deceived. Jin and Mei’s relationship is based upon a web of lies. He lies about his identity by not telling her he is a captain in the military and tells her a false name. In addition, Mei lies to him by telling him she is the daughter of the old leader of the House of Flying Daggers and that she is blind. The story is all about perception and deception really. Mei says, “I’ll do anything to avenge my father,” but in reality he was not her father. Jin tells Mei he will not take advantage of her while she is bathing but through trickery he sneaks up on her and watches her bathe. It is interesting that their whole relationship is based on lies but after the truth is revealed their love remains the same. Is love in China really like the love portrayed here? I think that question is a difficult one to answer because love in America varies so much from person to person. One way cultural ideas are constructed and/or reflected is through film, however, so this film is constructing this notion of love for not just a Chinese audience but for an international one.