Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
A Kung-Fu movie that�s much more than meets the eyes.
By Chris Welch

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Best Kung-Fu movie ever! That got your attention didn�t it? Well here�s something that bound to peak your interest even more. One of the best movies ever made! Woh . . . step back now. A little movie with a funny name that isn�t even in English can be a testament to the power of cinema, you ask? Well I would hope you wouldn�t ask such a question that would display one�s ignorance, and inability to expand one�s horizons, but yes Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not only the best Kung-Fu movie ever made, but it�s also one of the best film�s ever put on the big screen.

Now let me make one thing perfectly clear right at the start. The movie is not in English. Apparently this is not something that everyone realizes because at most theaters where this film has been playing the management has had to display signs warning patrons of the movie�s non-English speaking tendencies. The fact that you have to read should not deter you from seeing this film. If the idea of your brain needing to actually work while watching something is something that you abhor, then please stop reading now, because I�m afraid most of the words that I�m going to use for the remainder of this review consist of more than one syllable, and contain almost nothing about bodily functions. Okay, now that I�m talking to only the intelligent people we can dive right in. As mentioned earlier as a Kung-Fu movie alone Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon holds it own. With action scenes choreographed by the same man who gave you the wall climbing, gravity defying, reality warping fight sequences of the Matrix. The fight scenes in this movie are unmatched by any other martial arts film ever made. (Note: I count the Matrix as a sci-fi film.)

Mind you if you�re looking for reality-based moves, this is not the place to search for them. Instead you will see the same kinds of things you saw in the Matrix, but to even more an extreme, and to top it all off there�s swords too! Regardless of how old you are I dare anyone to tell me that after seeing this film the question of wether or not it is possible to balance perfectly on the swaying branch of a bamboo tree, or to jump three stories high while twirling like a ballerina. It�s just like when you saw The Empire Strikes Back, you know you can�t call that pencil into your hand with your mind, but . . .

As if all this butt kicking goodness wasn�t enough for your eight bucks, Ang Lee does an exquisite job of interweaving an epic, complex story that actually grabs more of your attention than the fighting. With the deft hand of a brilliant master Lee lays out a breathtaking epic whose grandeur and might is matched only by it�s quiet beauty and subtlety. Another reason one needs to not check one�s brain at the door, other than the subtitles is the fact that unlike most of the ham fisted attempts by your MTV generation movie makers now-a-days, Lee expects his audience to actually think about what they are watching, and delve into it more than your average big guns, big breast, big budget blockbusters. While the film is indeed about love and honor, and duty, it is also about so much more. Lee resorts to downright Hitchcockian levels of symbolism, and metaphors, and does so expertly. As a helpful hint think of the "Green Destiny" the sword which serves as the "boon" of the film as the ultimate phallic symbol, and you�ll get a pretty good idea what the director is getting at.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of those too rare films that I can say absolutely nothing bad, and not enough good about. If you were like me when you heard Ang Lee of Sense and Sensibility, and The Ice Storm fame was directing a Kung-Fu movie, you had to have been a little apprehensive. Even with the comparable talents of Chow Yun-Fat, and Michelle Yoeh would he be able to pull it off. I think anyone who�s seen the film will tell you the answer is a resounding yes. Lee helps both Michelle Yoeh, and Chow Yun-Fat turn in the performances of their careers. He brings to light the remarkable talents of up and commer and what I�m sure will soon be a very hot commodity Zhang Zi Yi. Most of all though Lee delivers an absolutely astounding movie packed to the brim without of this world action sequences, sweeping drama, an involving story, that stands as not only the best film of the year 2000, but one of the best films of all time.