Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was released on July 6, 2000 in Hong Kong, and December 22, 2000 in the U.S. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as three others. It was directed by Ang Lee, written by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung, with story by Wang Dulu, and stars Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen.
I don't see as many foreign films as I'd like to, but I think I see more than the general moviegoer. Just looking at my DVD collection, I have the Millennium trilogy, Cinema Paradiso, Spirited Away. I'm sure that if you asked any random person, they probably haven't seen these films, let alone own them. Like I said, I would like to see more foreign films, which was a major reason for me in taking on this challenge. So I was glad to see that one of the earliest films on this list was a foreign one, let alone one of the most famous, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I have never seen this film before, and thought that upon watching it, I would think of it as only okay. Martial arts films were never really my thing, so my hopes weren't high for this film, despite the Academy Awards. However, I was proven wrong. This film was superb.
The basic plot of this film shows us in ancient China, where we meet Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat), a great warrior considering giving up his sword, and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), his old friend. Right from the get go, we can clearly see that these two have feelings for each other. Mu Bai wants to retire from being a warrior, so he asks Shu Lien to give his sword as a gift to a mutual friend of theirs. Once it arrives there, it is stolen by a young warrior, who is extremely who has extreme grace and skill. The rest of the film shows the quest of Mu Bai, Shu Lien, and the young warrior, who I won't reveal, in case you haven't seen the film, despite the warrior's identity being revealed early in the film.
A major theme in this film is feminism, and women's place in ancient China. This is best exemplified in three characters: Yu Shu Lien, Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), and Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi, in her breakout role). Shu Lien is a warrior, and is seen as an independent woman by her young friend, Jen Yu. Jen is an aristocrat, the daughter of a governor, and dreading her upcoming arranged marriage. She longs for the excitement of a warrior, and seeks this through Yu Shu Lien, initially. Jade Fox is an old enemy of Li Mu Bai, she murdered his master. The reason why is because he refused to train her in the ways of Wudang, because she was a woman. It is not the way of the Wudang clan to teach women.
Now we have this brilliant plot, with great writing, great acting, and superb dialogue. That makes a great film right there. But what makes this film superb? The choreography. The martial arts, the fight scenes. It's the best I've ever seen in film. It's extremely graceful, with minimal violence. It's a wonder to look at, and if the film was entirely fight scenes, it would still be enjoyable.
Overall, I didn't expect this film to be great, but due to great writing and acting, as well as choreography, we have a truly great film. After watching, I'm genuinely shocked that this film wasn't later on the list. Overall, I give it a 10/10, simply superb.
Next time, I'm watching the fifth entry in the Superman series, Superman Returns. I'm not looking forward to it.
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