Everyone's heard the hype about Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by now, including the Academy Award Nominations. Best Picture... was it really that good? I would be a bit skeptical if I hadn't actually seen the movie. I mean, come on, a subtitled, martial-arts movie with flying people? That sounds too absurd to be taken seriously. Good thing I let my girlfriend talk me into seeing it.

Let me start off by pointing out that I don't normally write movie reviews. There are plenty of good reviewers in this category who can milk a film for every nuance it's got, and compare the actors and characters to at least 10 other films. And while I wouldn't say that this movie changed my life, it did a better job of entertaining me, drawing me off into its fantasy world, and making me care about its characters than any movie in recent memory has. So I've got to say something about it. I think that people who haven't seen these movies yet must have a lot of questions on their mind, lingering behind that big question: "Is it really that good?" And I'm going to attempt to answer them.

Question 1: Is the whole movie subtitled?
Answer: Yes. It's set a few centuries ago in China (I'm not entirely sure that the movie gives us a specific year), and all of the characters speak Mandarin (which is no small feat given that a number of them are Hong Kong actors who normally speak Cantonese). While some friends who actually speak the language have pointed out to me that the actors slip up in places and some lines aren't translated into English quite right, the movie as a whole translates quite well into English. I didn't find that the subtitles distracted me from the movie - hearing the characters speak in Chinese simply helped to suck me into the movie's exotic setting. Of course, I also read more quickly than some people I know, for whom subtitled movies can be a challenge. But I don't think they hurt the movie - subtitles were a much better approach than dubbing.

Question 2: The flying characters looked pretty cheesy during the trailer. Is that element of the movie believable?
Answer: Not really. You have to remember that you're not supposed to take this story as being set in reality (as opposed to some other recent American films that Chow-Yun Fat has starred in). This story presents a magical world that storybooks are made of, in which certain especially skilled characters can not only perform martial arts at a dizzying pace, but jump and fly to ridiculous heights. In the story, it's all part of the character's education in the art of Wudan. Forget that it looks strange at first - like the subtitles, it all falls away during the course of the movie, and it becomes acceptable as a trait of the characters who are skilled in this ability.

Question 3: Is this movie all action, or is there a plot behind it?
Answer: There is at least one plot behind this movie. The fight scenes, while amazing, are not the only draw to the movie. In your typical martial arts movie, or in your typical American action flick, it is clear who the good guys and the bad guys are. In Crouching Tiger, the lines are blurred a little. What makes this movie work is a host of truly interesting characters.

Question 4: Are the characters memorable? Other than Chow-Yun Fat, I haven't even heard of any of the actors!
Answer: I hadn't heard of any of the other actors, either. But this movie made me long to see some of them at work in future films. Chow-Yun Fat's character, Li Mu Bai, is central to the story, which begins when he realizes the grief that his life as a warrior has caused him and decides to retire, giving up his legendary, centuries old sword, the Green Destiny, over to a good friend and highly prominent individual in society, Sir Te. Supported by his close friend and fellow warrior, Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh, who you may have seen in a recent Bond movie but makes a much more dignified appearance here), he travels to visit Sir Te and hand over the sword, only to have it stolen later that night by a masked thief looking somewhat like a Chinese version of Zorro. Wait... doesn't he look familiar? Think back to the other characters you've been introduced to so far (one drawback is that all the Chinese names can be a little hard to keep track of when someone is referred to off screen, though I have that problem with most American movies as well), and you'll realize that it's a she, not a he. It seems that a local youngster by the name of Jen (which I'm sure is a poor Americanization of the character's Chinese name), played by the mesmerizingly lovely Zhang Ziyi, who is fed up with the traditional domestic role of a Chinese woman and incredibly envious of free-roaming fighters such as Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai, takes it upon herself to run off with the sword. Ziyi is convincingly irritating at times in this role - a rebellious teenager who will do just about anything to make life exciting, including sneaking around with wanted criminal Jade Fox. Right near the beginning, we are treated to a tense chase scene along the rooftops of Jen's village and a chaotic fight scene with Jen and Jade on one side and Li Mu Bai, a local policeman and his daughter on the other, including some intimidating weaponry and some strange magic that seems to freeze certain characters in position. This is the stuff that riveting fantasies are made of - the action and choreography will definitely thrill both sexes of the audience.

From here, the story seems to focus mainly on Jen. After Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai begin making plans to track down Jade Fox, who they believe is behind the theft (among other things), we are treated to a somewhat lengthy flashback which helps set the stage for Jen's current wanderlust, and which introduces a rugged and humorous young nomad by the name of Lo (played by Chang Chen). The flashback is almost a movie in and of itself, and the audience is drawn in to Lo's masculine ego and sense of humor, Jen's feisty refusal to let anyone tell her what to do, and the sexual tension between the two of them. This romantic sub-plot ties in nicely with the more subtle tension that we detect right at the beginning between Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai, and in my mind, this is what makes the film compelling and memorable - so, much, in fact, that a nearby earthquake and aftershock that registered somewhere near 5.0 were not enough to distract me from a key scene between our two flying fighter heroes.

Have I convinced you that the characters are intriguing? Okay. On to the next question...

Question 5: Okay, so it's got characters, action, and a real plot. Does it end up selling out and giving you a typical Hollywood ending?
Answer: I'm not gonna tell you how this movie ends! I will say that it came a bit too suddenly for me, and that I hoped for an ending that tied everything up a little better. But it's not a typical Hollywood ending, and I thank director Ang Lee for that. It leaves you spellbound by the story, and wanting more of these characters.

Question 6: So does it have a real shot at winning the Academy Award for Best Picture?
Answer: In an ideal world, it would. So many people may have pre-conceived notions about any foreign film (as I once did) that they may not take this nomination seriously. It's not nearly as gory as Gladiator, for which I am thankful - there are only a few brief scenes that may slightly bother us squeamish people with an on-screen death or the sight of blood. The myriad of weapons used made me nervous at first, because I was honestly expecting a fair amount of blood. But it seems that the creative minds behind this story chose beauty over bloodbath, and I think it paid off. In short, Crouching Tiger has some stiff competition with Erin Brockovich and Traffic, but it's not an artsy-fartsy foreign film (as Chocolat appears to be), and it's not a stronghouse of testosterone-driven carnage like Gladiator, so I hope that it doesn't lose to either of those movies. What this movie definitely has over all the others is that it can tell us a riveting story with no vulgar language and very little sex - though Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh are both quite attractive, kick-butt female fighters, they don't have to use their sex appeal (nor do they, for the most part) to prove that they can kick some real A-double-dollar-sign.

Question 7: So when should I go see it?
Answer: As soon as you can. Bring a date if possible - the balance between fight scenes and dramatic/romantic scenes, as well as some witty comic relief (mostly thanks to Jen and Lo), ensure that you will both be entertained all the way through. Just be careful how much you spoil your date - after this movie - he or she may well expect you to take them on a trip to China so they can see the gorgeous scenery for themselves!



Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older