The parsimony of spirit amongst moviegoers

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2001)

It's bothered me for some time, the sort of superficial slagging off this movie has received from some commentators here. Having just watched it again, I feel compelled to add to my (much) earlier comments on this picture and respond to a couple of other comments.
First, I would like to address the issue of plot. Some have described it as "paper thin" or "cliche." The extreme over-reliance on plot over story is the Achilles heel of many a film. I realize some people like a complicated plot, but in the language of cinema plot is a framework. Many films today -- I daresay most -- are not made in the language of cinema, and are made in the language of expository prose, including many pictures I like quite a lot. Many films have a complex and intriguing plot yet fail to tell a compelling story.
My point is that the simple "plot" (love stories, stolen sword) and indeed the genre trappings in the picture serve as the framework for a story that is told almost exclusively visually. Almost all of the emotional punch of this tale is told visually, in cinematic language rather than clunky exposition. And what is this story about? Simply, about letting go of who you are, in the face of the fear of who you might be becoming, in order that you might become whom you need to become. The plot is simple, the story, complex and mutlifaceted.
If that sounds like hokum to you, perhaps it's best that you move on to a standard chop-socky picture. Chances are you will not enjoy this rich and wonderful film.
Also, I'd like to comment on the supposed "woodenness" of Michelle Yeoh as remarked by some negative posters. Ms. Yeoh's performance is, in my view, a tour de force. Her character has a world of things happening within, but her culture imposes restraint in so many areas, restraint eloquently expressed by Ms. Yeoh with simple gestures and expressions. It is for precisely this reason that the fight scenes between Ms. Yeoh and Ms. Xiyi have such an elemental and raw power to them. It is as if all that has been repressed is released with extraordinary focus.
Finally, I would like to address two painful comments made by other posters. One opines: "If you want to see a good plot, watch Gladiator." "Gladiator" is a good example of "all plot, no story," and as hackneyed and recycled plot as has been seen onscreen in many a year. It seems to have been assembled, as so many have commented, from old "Spartacus," "Fall of the Roman Empire," and "Ben Hur" screenplays. The dialogue is ludicrous and even the critical plot points dazzle in their banality. The incredibly paranoid, wimpy and unskilled Roman emperor will get into the ring with the deadliest gladiator of all time? Why? So the plot can continue to grind its way forward, clockwork-like, and the emotions of you, the viewer, can be manipulated with appallingly predictable results. Are you not entertained? And yet, what is the story about? There really is no story. Only plot.
Another poster offered: "If a movie had great special effects, but terrible acting and a paper-thin plot, the average 2000/01 moviegoer would scream about how terrible Hollywood was getting. " Cf. my comments re: Gladiator above, and the screaming of every cineaste I know when viewing "Pearl Harbor" or at least 75% of the tripe that is rehashed, assembled from a kit, reheated and served up lukewarm, with a cold and manipulative calculation, to willing audiences who at least appear to lap it up.
CTHD is a unique and heartfelt work that works on levels well below (and above) the superficial level of plot. That people who disdain it do so because of the "paper-thin" plot yet extol the virtues of "Gladiator" explains the ascendance of plot over story, of simplistic exposition over visual storytelling, and ultimately, the slow demise of film as a legitimate popular art form.
Many people, it seems, don't want to be bothered looking below the surface, in art or indeed in their lives. They would much rather have things spelled out and spoon-fed to them. It's so much easier that way, isn't it? One doesn't have to think too much then.
How we feel about art is often a good indicator of how we feel about ourselves. Are you not entertained?