An Ang Lee Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2018)

Critics have bemoaned the lack of quality in the films turned out in the year just past. With the exception of a few epic films like Gladiator and The Patriot, Steven Soderbergh's two films Erin Brockovich and Traffic, and some lesser known "art films" like Billy Elliot and You Can Count on Me, quality films have been in short supply. The really notable exception to this year's drought is Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I saw this film over Christmas break in Washington D.C. To say that the audience was captivated would be a significant understatement. On two separate occasions the audience burst into applause in the middle of the film. They don't make them like they used to, but once in a while they make them even better.
This may seem like an odd film for Ang Lee whose previous credits include Sense and Sensibility. What makes this film exceptional is that it combines the sensibilities of the romance film with the sensory ecstasy of a ballet. This film is frequently compared to The Matrix and the martial arts choreography is done by the same person--Yuen Wo-Ping. At many points the choreography is closer in style to the kinetic grace of ballet than to the rough-and-tumble action of the traditional fight scene.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of those films that has something for everyone. This is a traditional hero's quest where the central characters are trying to find a stolen sword that has great symbolic meaning for the characters. Unlike most Westerns or Samurai films wherein women are little more than moveable props, the women here are strong central characters in their own right. Romance is really at the center of the film and Ang Lee handles this part of the story with the same graceful unfolding that made Sense and Sensibility such an excellent film. Like The Matrix there are meanings at deeper levels where we find Jungian shadows, Yin and Yang, and almost anything else you want to look for.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has already won a number of awards including Golden Globes for best foreign language film and best director. Look for it to feature prominently in the Academy Award nominations. It may well become the third foreign language film in the past decade--Life is Beautiful and Il Postino being the other two--to be nominated for best picture. Whatever its destiny at the Academy Awards, this is clearly one of the best films of the year and is definitely worth a look.