Probably this year's best picture

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2000)

I just returned from the movie theater. It had been over a month since the last time I had been there. Nothing had really interested me to make me couch up the ten bucks that would get me into a comfy chair in a darkened room with hundreds of strangers.
But 'Crouching Tiger...' was different, from the very beginning. Even without seeing the trailers (I usually don't; they tend to be misleading, or spoil the fun, or they just show the best scenes) I just KNEW this would be a great picture. The story struck me as typically oriental: simple in the surface, but with many layers. If you add to that the fact that I'm a very big fan of Hong Kong movies, you'll understand what draw me to the multiplex.
But, the magic of the movie is not only in the wiring, as one might say. Granted, the fight scenes are amazing, visually stunning and lirically beautiful. Nonetheless, I would say the movie strengths lie in the powerful acting and the even more compelling tale of treachery, love, fate and death that it gives the audience. Chow Yung Fat confirms why he is Hong Kong best: his acting is restrained yet strong in a very Eastwood-esque way. A very nice surprise comes from Michelle Yeoh, who shows that she can jump and manipulate swords and generally kick some ass, yet her performance is sensitive and deep. Ziyi Zhang, the third side of this triangle, is beautiful but it's the sense of innocence lost that permeates her every word that makes her even more fragile.
Technically, the film is superb. The photography is breathtaking, and Ang Lee's skillful hand lets the story develop in a slow pace that helps us get into the magical mood necessary to understand what this movie is about.
'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' might as well be 2000's best picture (after lots of scary movies, road movies and unbreakable guys), and if it is not, at least it's the best way the end the year. Don't miss it.