Beautifully made foreign film

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2001)

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a movie that I had been hearing about for months. It's turning up on almost every film critics' 10 best lists all over the world, with just about every one of them saying how beautifully made and well done it is. I was hesitant about seeing it because it's a Chinese-Taiwanese film spoken in Mandarin language with English subtitles. I've never seen a foreign language film in my life (not in it's entirety), but I've heard so much about it, I decided to take a chance and see it. I'm glad I did. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a breathtaking moviegoing experience that I'll never forget. One of the main reasons why I wanted to see this movie is because I'm a big fan of Michelle Yeoh. After seeing her in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies" I've become fascinated by her presence. I watched her in some of her earlier work in martial arts movies (I saw the dubbed versions of those films) and she's something else. She's remarkable in this movie, as well as the great Chow Yun-Fat, and the real scene stealer in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, newcomer Zhang Ziyi. These actors literally kick butt in this movie. The martial arts sequences are incredible, the cinematography is beautiful, and the story captavating. This was a one-time moviegoing experience for me. I don't think a foreign language film can top this one. I'd like to see this film dubbed into English and see how it plays without the subtitles. But as it plays now (with subtitles), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a wonderful film. Congratulations to director Ang Lee ("Sense and Sensibility") for putting together a truly awesome experience. One word of warning: I really wouldn't recommend this movie for kids. In the theater were I saw it, there were (to my astonishing surprise) alot of kids present. After the movie ended I overheard one young boy saying "oh this movie was so stupid." Another said "I didn't understand that movie." I believe they thought they were seeing something out of the Power Rangers school of filmmaking because that show and the movies feature lots of martial arts and many kids like martial arts. Let's get one thing straight here: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is more adult oriented. I'm not sure if most kids will understand it. It took me a while in getting used to the English subtitles, but some kids may not. If kids want to see this movie, I would recommend their parents in telling them that it's a foreign film and that it's not like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This is a whole different experience. Plus, it's not as cheesy as the Power Rangers. It's really well made.
**** (out of four)