While exhilaration is generally something felt by someone experiencing or
viewing a particular event, Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a
movie that uses exhilaration as its backbone, holding the story together
while thrusting it into the highest echelon of cinema magic. Both
action-packed and thoughtful, intense and peaceful, funny and heartbreaking - the movie plays itself up beautifully, offering the most
comprehensive definition to why I love going to movies in the first place.
Set against the breathtaking landscapes of ancient China, the story opens as
a powerful but mild-mannered warrior named Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat),
considered to be one of the greatest martial artists of his time, arrives at
a security compound operated by his lifelong friend and fellow warrior, Yu
Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). Wanting to follow a new path in life - one not
soaked with the blood of enemies - he asks Shu Lien to give his mighty sword
(aptly named The Green Destiny) to respected leader Sir Te (Lung Sihung)
upon her arrival in Peking. While he vaguely explains that his reasons lie
in the engagement of inner peace, we also sense another, more potent reason... he is truly in love with her, and has been for quite some time. She
feels the same way, although both are reluctant to succumb to their
feelings, remaining obstinate to the codes of battle they've sworn to
uphold.
While in Peking, Shu Lien is introduced to Jeri (Zhang Ziyi), the naive and
innocent young daughter of Governor Yu (Li Fa Zeng), a prominent political
figure. Jeri has been the "victim" of an arranged marriage and confesses to
Shu Lien her longing to be completely free, dreaming of the kind of life she
only reads about ... that of the Giang Hu (the martial arts life). Shu Lien
counters by saying that we all must live by a set of codes and rules, even
martial artists. If we didn't, the world would be in chaos.
That night, the Green Destiny is stolen by a fiery, nimble thief; one
especially well-trained in the arts. Both Shu Lien and Sir Te's main
security officer (Gao Xian) try to stop the intruder, but to no avail.
When word of the theft spreads throughout the city, it is determined that
the masked marauder may in fact be under the tutelage of the dreaded Jade
Fox (Cheng Pei Pei), a ferocious schemer who lives her life seeking
perpetual revenge for being cast out of Wudan Mountain - a training ground
for only the most skilled warriors.
We also learn that Li Mu Bai's master lost his life at the conniving hands
of Jade Fox, making our protagonist's quest a dual one: locate the Green
Destiny, and avenge the death of his beloved master.
The most brilliant movies generally have one particular trait in common ...an inability to place itself into any one
category. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has that trait imbedded powerfully into its core. The film contains
an abundance of action, yet it's not a pure action flick. Not one, but two
potent love stories exist, although the film isn't overrun with an
encumbrance of sentimentality. Instead, director Ang ("The Ice Storm", "Ride
With The Devil") Lee has created the kind of sweeping epic that can
intertwine unique and interesting characters, exhilarating
action, clever bits of humor, and emotionally thundering plot
developments without ever losing the audience's fascination.
Many films try to juggle some (or all) of the above elements.
Lee's movie is constructed in a way that make the individual
pieces yearn to fit together.
Filmed in a way that exposes a distinct love for the subject matter, the
movie's action sequences aren't constructed like typical Hollywood fare, but
rather like an intricately choreographed ballet; the warriors battling each
other while maintaining a passion and respect for the "art" upon which their
methods of attack are begat. In the midst of a fight between Li Mu Bai and
the masked thief, Mu Bai comments on the skills possessed by the assailant,
even going so far as to offer his services as a tutor while
dueling - "I
can teach you how to fight with the Green Destiny, but first you must learn
to hold it in stillness."
In addition to the absolutely spectacular fight sequences, the film handles
the two love stories with genuine passion and clarity, displaying the
discriminable circumstances surrounding each. One features two well-trained
warriors whose steadfast obedience to their code of ethics has tragically
caused them to look beyond their love for each other; each one's perceptions
of their own feelings resting in a difficult-to-comprehend cloud of
dubiousness. The other delves into the opposite end of that spectrum, about
a young free-spirit trapped in a life with limited choices, struggling to
facilitate her own freedom, but who must learn that with freedom can come an
array of repercussions, among which could be the inability to rekindle the
love she shared with the only man who truly stirred her soul.
As Li Mu Bai, Chow Yun Fat has a unique kind of presence, one that maintains
a strong, steady aura yet is subtle enough so that it never upstages what is
truly on the mind of his character, even if he cannot fully express it. We
marvel at his martial arts prowess, but that never detracts from the
emotional loss that continues to build inside him: his inability to fully
allow that which would give him the highest degree of inner-peace. Michelle
Yeoh possesses the same attributes, leading to the scene where they finally
break down the barriers that define their courage, and reach out to each
other, conveying that which defines their hearts.
Director Lee and writers Jui-Ling Wang, James Schamus, and Kuo Jung Tsai
have created an experience not simply made up of wonderfully mastered parts,
but a work of art that is in love with those very elements. One of the best
films of the year, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" awakens the soul,
inveigles the mind, palpitates the heart, and rides a wave of exhilaration
toward its glory - generously inviting the audience to do the
same.
