Inside the Actors' Studio

To be fair, Zhang Yimou's script for the sequel to House of Flying Daggers was simple enough: following Xiao Mei's near fatal stabbing at the climax of the first film, the beautiful dancer is nursed back to health by a handsome Chinese doctor with whom she then falls in love. Their story of romance and traditional Chinese medicine is told in flashback form by their son, who calls home at the end of the film in a touching family reunion.

That said, it went without saying that the entire emotional payoff of the film rested on the delivery of that final telephone call. And while most directors might have sloughed it off given the grueling production schedule, Zhang Yimou wasn't considered the best director in China for nothing! Which was why the fearsome perfectionist had forced his cast to practice their delivery over and over again until even he was satisfied it marked the perfect conclusion to an otherwise perfect film.