I Live Again Tomorrow

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2015)

A film like this comes around once every 2000 years. It has so many points of interest that I would no doubt have to create a film just to explore them! As human beings, we are free to use our senses, emotions, intelligence & inspiration to seek enlightenment. But instead, we have created a society hinged upon avarice, forged in fear, stunted by traditions & institution & sealed with an unhealthy desire for distraction. Living in these primitive times frustrates me, & foreseeing just how far man shall go to maintain such a dull & predictably dire way of life fills me with despair & self-inflicted peril. The principles hidden in this film touch on the future's way of thinking; when all the resources have been squandered, & we are reduced to re-assess the circumstances of 'living' & 'dying'.
Every single character in this film displays an intractable dilapidation from the demands society imposes upon them. We have the elder female servant who was denied training due to her gender even though the passion was present. The young government official who covets an opposite life of free will, feral love & irresponsibility. A rogue who found a home following the stars, but who is forced to conform to a life of aristocratic servitude for love. Then we have a woman of age who has the flexible pilgrim lifestyle but is destitute of honest expression; bound by love from a man of 'mind over matter' who looses his will to strong emotional confliction to both "Love" AND "Hate"! It all ramifies so perfectly.
"Only by letting go can we finally possess what is real".
The philosophy behind this fairytale is perhaps lost on westerners of vacuity & subservience. My friend was only invested in the "Who Dunit" aspects at the start, & fell asleep by the sword fight scene. And my farther grunted uncomfortably as to cavil at every meaningful scene like some over gorged sebaceous parliamentary private secretary. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only person on the planet who acknowledges profound contemplation & introspection.
The cinematography in this film is startlingly sparse & fleeting at times but is never hidden within frenetic edits with Adobe After FX abound. Some of the shots look a bit washed & grainy but it really just adds to the ethos of a dream-like picture. You're on the brink of romance & illusion at all times; sometimes questioning your every decision in life, & what life truly is.
I have to mention the score. At first, you don't think much of it. The drums of the first fight scene are typical of overused cues today. But as the film & tension climbs, the music responds ten fold. Tan Dun launches you into masterpiece after masterpiece with an extremely intimate reduction of highly disciplined players. It is extremely contemporary, & woes you into a euphoric trance. It's hard not to fall in love with both Michelle & the celestial Ziyi Zhang as they reign conflict in this world of wonder. And the composer maybe did a too good -a job here because it is so unlike anything you've heard from any other score; it haunts you to re-watch it for those captivating moments when capitulating gliding strings hypnotize as the counterparts climb swaying bamboo to a enchanted uncharted canopy. It really stings my senses raw.
It's a shame that there's news of a "sequel" coming to light. It will without a doubt lack the impact of this masterpiece, & shall be a detriment to it's name. Mark my words, the sequel shall only cash in on the success of this title & belittle the underlining allegorical struggles of this story; the corporate world I originally abnegated returning to destroy the glimpse of deeper discontent this film bestowed on us.
This film will always have a place in my heart; Jen shall always resonate with my arrogance of youth, desire to be free from family, society & institution, & most of all.. she shall tell the story of the lost potential of such a lack of discipline.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon may have a long winded & misunderstood name. However, it resides in all of us if we only let in the demons that guard the answers.