brilliant, poignant must-see film

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2001)

Brilliant movie! Highly recommended! An Ang Lee (director of Remains of the Day and Sense and Sensibility) film, and quite similar to his other works in that none of the characters want to tell the others what they are really feeling. :)
Its spoken in Chinese, but with English subtitles, but don't go expecting a typical Jackie Chan/Jet Li-style karate movie, despite the presence of Chow Yun Fat. Set in a vaguely medieval Chinese setting - the Chinese villages and temples and general scenery are great - and rather fantastical in that people can run up walls and fight while standing on thin willowy branches (this, btw, is well done -the CG work is obvious, but subtle, if you know what I mean.) The fighting scenes are excellently choreographed, lots of hand to hand and sword battles. As Ms Kung above mentions, Chow Yun Fat does an excellent job of conveying the lead character's emotional burdens, while Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Chang also excel in their roles. The costumes are good, the music (esp. the cello solos) is absolutely soul-wrenching, and while the story is fairly simple, the action keeps you watching. Definitely go see this one.