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FILM CRITIQUE:
There have not been many times that I have walked out of a movie theater almost speechless, stunned, in a reverie, almost
in tears at just having witnessed a work of such profound beauty and imagination that I am almost in disbelief at the creative
process that brought such a work of art to fruition in a movie than can give so many so much pleasure and joy. This is what
movies should all be about, what they can be when they are the very, very best. This is cinematic art brought to its highest
form. There is a pleasure beyond description to experience something as unusual, as different, as intelligent, and as beautiful
as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
Who would have thought that I would go nuts over a martial arts movie? Well, only when the martial arts are presented
almost as lyrical ballet sequences in a poetic film of extraordinary beauty by actors of depth and intelligence, that's when.
The very best movies immerse you in a world that you only thought you knew, but these movies truly make that world come
to life for you and also to allow you for two precious hours or so to live in it, to drink it in, to experience it to its
fullest measure.
This movie was filmed in China (in Mandarin with English subtitles), and for most of us, myself included, China is already
a mysterious place. "Crouching Tiger..." goes back in time to a mystically distant past where warriors elevated
swordsmanship and the martial arts to levels undreamt of by any in King Arthur's court.
Add to that potent brew landscapes never seen before by most of us Occidentals and then to throw in a story line of unrequited
love, honor, revenge, and court life revolving around local war lords trying to stave off not only marauding bandits but also
other war lords trying to poach on their territory and you have all the political intrigue of an Eighteenth Century Balkanized
Europe dressed up in the robes of the Far East.
To one who has been thrilled for many years by the swordsmanship and the downright gutsiness, brass, and sheer bravado
of Errol Flynn in "The Adventures of Robin Hood", I have finally seen a movie that puts that classic to shame. The
stoic nobility of Chow Yun Fat (who recently also starred in the movie version of "The King and I" with Jodie Foster
that nobody went to see) as the hero warrior Li Mu Bai who has hidden a lifetime of love for his "Maid Marion",
fellow warrior Yu Shu Lien, played by
Michelle Yeoh (who herself costarred in a recent James Bond movie).
But this Maid Marion is no shrinking violet as she is every bit the warrior that he is. The martial arts action sequences
where the law of gravity has apparently been rescinded are just beautiful beyond belief.
Immense credit must be given to the director Ang Lee for bringing this elegiac work of art to the screen. Others would
most certainly have made a mush of this story as they either would have emphasized the love stories or the martial arts sequences,
most likely the latter. Lee beautifully blends in each to the seamless whole. As two of his prior movies are the (much loved
by me) Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" and "The Ice Storm", this director is already building a
compendium of moviemaking that is not only astonishing in its quality but equally surprising in its variety.
A short essay cannot possibly capture the grandeur and the scope of this movie. Nor can only one viewing. I hope to
be able to see this movie again to tie up a few loose ends in the complex and intelligent story line. (I ended up seeing this
movie THREE times in a theater, including once on a giant IMAX screen.) If there is any justice in the world, this movie will
head the list at the Oscar time in February when the nominations for Best Picture come in. Ang Lee also deserves an Oscar
nod for Best Director.
This movie is simply one of the best there is. Don't miss it!
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FILM SYNOPSIS:
Warrior Master Li Mu Bai (Yun-Fat Chow) wants to retire and confess his love for Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), but he can't
until he has properly disposed of his four hundred year old sword, the Green Destiny. Also holding him back from retirement
is that he has yet to avenge the murder of his beloved Master several years before by an assailant who goes by the name of
Jade Fox.
Yu Shu offers to convey his sword back to Sir Te (Sihung Lung), a regional governor of ancient Peking, as she is traveling
to meet him anyway in her assignment to guard a convoy of Sir Te's. Li accepts Yu's offer, and soon the honored Sir Te, who
has been a great supporter of the Kung Fu Shaolin warriors, places the Green Destiny in a special room in his large household
usually used for religious meditation.
Also visiting Sir Te is the young Princess Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), who is about to be betrothed to the son of another powerful
governor although she is secretly hiding her love for a desert bandit, Lo "Dark Cloud" (Chen Chang). Yu finds Jen
Yu to be somewhat mysterious in a way that she cannot fathom at the moment. Perhaps it is the normal sullenness of those in
their teenaged years or perhaps Jen Yu is suffering from "cold feet" at her impending marriage. Yu Shu doesn't give
it much thought until the Green Destiny sword is stolen from its resting place that very evening in a fortress like household
that has been secured since sunset.
Such a disgrace is certain to bring great shame to the Te household, and Yu is immediately hired to find the thief and
return the sword to its proper resting place. So late that night Yu Shu is sitting on the roof of the Te household looking
for signs of activity when a shadowy figure flies by with a sword, perhaps the Green Destiny, strapped to her back. Yu takes
off in pursuit and the two chase each other across the rooftops of the city, alternatively fighting each other in scenes of
amazing grace and athleticism and fleeing after each other up and down the walls of the city's buildings.
Even though the person is masked, Yu is able to ascertain that it is a woman and probably a young woman as her frame is
quite petite. Yu suspects that Princess Jen Yu is somehow tied up in all this business, perhaps even this warrior, but she
cannot make any charges without further proof.
As there have been rumors that Jade Fox is in the area, suspicion immediately falls on her and wanted posters are mounted
everywhere. Yu begins to suspect that Jade Fox may be in disguise and traveling with the Princess' entourage, so she begins
to cultivate the friendship of the young Jen Yu.
In fact, Jade Fox (Pei-pei Cheng) is Princess Jen Yu's personal attendant traveling, as Yu suspects, under an assumed
name and disguising herself as a lowly household servant. She had stolen the warrior manual belonging to Li's Master, whom
she had killed in a fit of rage after he would not teach her the secrets of their martial arts. Over the years she has learned
much from this manual and has passed much of what she knows on to Princess Jen Yu as her pupil in the martial arts.
Fortunately, Li Mu finally arrives for a visit and is thunderstruck to find out that not only has his sword been stolen,
but that his old adversary, Jade Fox, may well be in the area. Sir Te and Yu Shu greet Li Mu warmly and welcome him in for
some rest after his long trip, but it is now not rest that he is interested in; it is settling his old score with Jade Fox.
Police Inspector Tsai (De Ming Wang) and his daughter have traveled from the far north country of China in search of the
Jade Fox as he has an arrest warrant for her for murdering a policeman. A challenge is posted and the three meet in late night
combat. Jade Fox is more than holding her own when Li Mu arrives to reinforce the police chief. He is successful in proving
his martial superiority to Jade Fox, who then flees over the tree tops, but not before she has dealt a lethal blow to Inspector
Tsai with a four pointed martial knife.
Li Mu and Yu Shu regroup for what they are sure will be the final showdown between Master Li Mu and his sworn enemy. Perhaps
then the code of honor that has prevented them from giving public voice to their unspoken but deeply felt love may finally
be allowed to flower after this old score has been settled.
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