Magnificent.

Rating: 9/10 (23 January 2001)

Finally, a Chinese language movie that mainstream America is going to watch and enjoy and forget they are reading sub-titles.
There is a great deal here: wondrous photography, a quiet but compelling soundtrack, special effects that are untouchable, a great story and script and gripping acting.
This is one of those all-too-rare films that has both magical special effects and a great story; many movies of late sacrifice the story for the special effects  but the effects here add to the complexity of the story and enhance it.
And the story is complex There is a lot going on here; from unrequited love and passion, a mysterious and powerful sword, all-out action to quiet contemplation and peace.
The martial arts scenes are over-the-top  transitioning quickly into quiet, serene moments of peace  the colossal change in mood, tempo and pacing is very effective.
Chow Yun-Fat is at his serene best as Master Li Mu Bai and is perfectly complimented by Michelle Yeoh's Shu Lien. Ziyi Zhang as Jen Yu is superb as the young girl with enormous talent for the martial arts and Cheng Pei-pei as Jade Fox is her master that has been eclipsed by the student.
The sound track is one of the most compelling I have heard in a long, long time It is subtle and enhances the scenes instead of detracting from them. It is powerful yet quiet  much as the character Li Mu Bai is.
The photography was beyond superb. I just never knew what I was going to see next  from magnificent over-shots of the city of Peking, to the stark and barren desert wasteland that Lo (Chang Chen) inhabits to the verdant forest in which the best martial arts scene takes place. This is a China that few people will ever see and it is worth going to the film just for the photography.
I am so glad this film was not dubbed into English  hopefully it never will be. To see the characters moving their mouths in the beautiful Mandarin language and hearing something else would be a crime.
As I said above  there is a great deal here  too much to describe  it is a film that must be seen.