dazzling but imperfect film

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2001)

Ang Lee's martial arts drama `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' earned its niche in movie history as the first foreign language film ever to gross over $100 million dollars at the U.S./Canadian box office. It is, of course, a film of other distinctions as well.
The factor that sets this film apart from all previous martial arts films is, principally, the fight scenes themselves, which involve the characters defying the laws of gravity by floating in the air, walking along walls and even conducting a sword fight high above the tree tops of a windswept forest. These sequences, which achieve a sort of heightened surrealism, are indeed breathtaking to behold in their originality, boldness and technical perfection. They provide the unforgettable imagery that very few films these days seem able to achieve, giving the audience the all too rare sense that it is seeing something wholly new and visionary.
Based on a novel by Du Lu Wang, `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' tells a quite fascinating story of a stolen sword and the attempts of two warriors, one a man, the other a woman, to retrieve it. Like most movies set in an Asian past, Lee's film conveys a tone of quiet contemplation, even when great issues of war and peace, life and death, duty and honor are being fought over and discussed. There is a lyrical, poetic beauty to much of this film, even  or, perhaps I should say, especially  in the non-martial arts sequences. As the two warriors, Chow Yun Fat, a fighter grown weary of his past and yearning for the quiet rewards of peace, and Michelle Yeoh, a woman unique to her profession yet feeling deeply her unrequited love for the man she follows, bring a sturdy maturity to their complex roles. They provide the human warmth that, in the first section of the film, in particular, keeps the work rooted in reality.
Unfortunately, there is a scene about an hour into the movie, when a young aristocratic woman, destined to be married but yearning for the liberation that would come with being a warrior, has a long romantic flashback, chronicling her strange affair with a handsome young barbarian. Although the scene ends up being crucial to the understanding of the rest of the film, it really isn't on an intellectual par with the main story of the film, coming across instead as something of an embarrassing bodice-ripper in tone and style. Although the film does return to its main plotline eventually, it never completely recovers from the detour it has taken. As with most movies with a midpoint sag, the audience is never really able to completely tune back in. What a pity  for `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' clearly has the elements to make a truly great film (and, judging from the reaction of many critics and writers on this site, a large number of people feel it is). Luckily, after the flashback, the film manages to get back on track, as we witness the complex interplay between the unthinking arrogance that comes with youth and the restraining wisdom that comes with age. This is the most powerful theme that runs through this visually gorgeous film.
Thus, despite its minor imperfections, any lover of cinema would be well advised to see `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' for the many wonders it contains.