I was determined to see this movie regardless of the glacial release schedule that Sony Pictures had planned for it. I was not content to sit around and wait. Everything I read and heard told me that this was a must see movie. So with a day off I trekked to the northern end of Virginia in search of a theater that was playing it.
 Two hours of driving later I succeeded in my quest in Fairfax. I bought my ticket, scurried to the appropriate auditorium and settled in. Not two minutes later a gaggle of teenage girls decided to grab the seats right behind me. I sat patiently waiting for the movie to start as they giggled their way through a high pitched discussion of cute boys and cute clothes. I gritted my teeth, their voices the equivalent of nails on a blackboard, praying that they would quiet down when the movie started.
Right about now you're wondering why on earth I feel it necessary to share this with you. The reason is simple and it speaks greatly to the wonders of this movie. The movie did not silence these girls. It did stop them from talking but it also elicited dozens of astonished gasps from them as it played out. I've heard a couple critics complain that this movie drags a bit in places. And yet it managed to hold a group of girls apparently more concerned with fashion than anything else completely enraptured. Maybe it is the critics who have the short attention span and not the general populace.
The movie opens as the legendary warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) visits his good friend Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). He tells her that he has decided to give up the warrior life for one more peaceful. As a symbol of this, he is giving his sword, Green Destiny, to a respected local leader Sir Te (Sihung Lung). The sword is promptly stolen by a masked young woman. Shu Lien pursues her in a chase across the rooftops of the city. That sentence doesn't do the scene justice. The two combatants skip across the buildings as if gravity had no meaning to them.
The thief escapes and the hunt for the sword begins. Suspicion is thrown on the newly arrived Governor Yu, whose daughter Jen (Ziyi Zhang) is about to have an arranged marriage. Jen is clearly not crazy about the idea, preferring a more adventurous life. She befriends Shu Lien, fascinated by her warrior lifestyle. Li Mu Bai returns to see Shu Lien, discovers the loss of his sword and suspects Jade Fox (Cheng Pei Pei) of stealing it. Jade Fox had assassinated his master years earlier and he is still sworn to avenge the murder.
At first glance, the story could be assumed to be about the search for Green Destiny, but that is only the surface story. The real story is that of the unrealized love between Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai. She was once engaged to one of his warriors, since slain in battle. Because of this, tradition requires her to mourn his loss and not seek another lover. The love that grows between the two is unmistakable though. They are only now, after many years beginning to acknowledge this to themselves and each other.
If this were just a love story it would be a solid one but not necessarily a great movie. What makes this a great movie is the astounding action and scenery. The movie is gorgeously shot. Every time a landscape is presented it is breathtaking. So many of the landscapes are so beautiful you can be forgiven for thinking they were made up, but they are real. It is the action though that fully elevates this movie to greatness.
If you were impressed by movies like The Matrix then you will be astounded by this one. The fight sequences are wild flowing battles achieved through high degrees of skill, not camera trickery. The wire work that allows the characters to dance across all surfaces, whether they be walls, water, roofs or trees, is done so well that there is an elegant grace to their seemingly effortless movements. The first time a character dashes up a wall as if it were a staircase you could hear jaws dropping all through out the theater.
These sequences are not created with the extensive use of camera tricks. These sequences are not done with stuntmen. The only computer effects are the simple removal of wires. There is a scene where two characters engage in a sword fight at the top of a bamboo forest. Live bamboo is very tall and very flexible, swaying significantly in the breeze. Yet we see both of them, dancing across these narrow trees, somehow not plummeting instantly to the ground.
I said the main story was the love between Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. That's not entirely true. There is also a love story between Jen and the bandit Lo. There is an extended flashback that details how they meet and fall in love. Lo, known as Dark Cloud, leads his raiders against the caravan taking Jen to her new home. Lo steals a comb from her and being the hot head that she is, she pursues him. A long chase is followed by a fight that qualifies as perhaps the roughest foreplay of all time. It takes a long time but she eventually falls for him. Unfortunately she is promised to another and her father's men pursue them doggedly. She has no choice but to return to her family and forsake her love for Lo. This makes for an emotional tie to Shu Lien, who feels for this girl. She knows all too well the pain of love unrealized.
Ziyi Zhang nearly steals this movie from the veterans Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat. She mixes equal parts fiery temper, mischievousness, hate, love and a sense of humor into a volatile cocktail that has her character practically vibrating with life. Combine that with her considerable beauty and you have a performance that is spellbinding even without the action. Chow Yun Fat is considered one of the most popular actors in the world and this movie shows why. He plays a man as quiet and mature as Jen is angry and impudent. He conveys almost everything through expressions and body language. Michelle Yeoh has a similar role to play but she adds a deep sadness to fill out Shu Lien.
The movie is subtitled, which could easily dismay many American movie goers but this was the right way to go. The movie's language has a lyrical rhythm that would be lost by dubbing into English. The subtitles are easy to read and before long you'll probably forget you're reading them at all.
This is a movie just about anyone can enjoy. Even if you don't care for martial arts movies because of a perceived campiness, you should see this. It is a serious mature movie. The martial arts are presented as things of beauty, not as pointless violence. When a character does die, there is real meaning to it. It is not a throwaway in the name of exaggerated violence. It has a purpose to the story and carries considerable weight.
The fact is martial arts movie just never get this good. Until now. Earlier this year I saw Drunken Master II (released here as The Legend of Drunken Master). As jaw dropping as the fight sequences in that movie were, they pale in comparison to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which also has a much better story and acting. I can't think of much higher praise than that.
- John Shea
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