An achievement in pop, a good but not great film

Rating: Null/10 (31 January 2001)

I read a great story on new Asian filmmaking in a New York Times Sunday edition a few weeks back. It posed the question, "Does 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' work because it is Asian, or because it so not Asian?" The film invokes a dead ancient culture of warriors and princesses in a very archetypal fairy-tale sort of way that works as an adventure film but not as a character study. Likewise, it creates a mythic world, akin to the Western, that does not resemble the realities of the era. Are we looking for a foreign culture to embrace in pop culture- take a look at Charlie's Angels. There is a definite utilization of black and Asian icons and culture to add definition to a film that is otherwise stuck in the 80s. I wonder if this film's popularity isn't part of that search. Maybe, it's even partially something Lee himself is searching for as a Westchester County resident, some mythical honor-code culture that no longer exists to enliven his otherwise atomized, isolated white suburbia.
What must be acknowledged is that this film has done something very few people expected: it proved that a foreign language film doesn't have to be dubbed to succeed nationwide. Jackie Chan might try releasing his next picture without dubbing over. However, this may only be working because Crouching Tiger is an action movie. I fear then that the movie is a fluke, and no film dealing with modern China and Asia, nothing by Wong Kar-Wai or Chen Kaige, is going to make its way into the multiplexes.(Instead we'll get more crap like Brokedown Palace.) This is not to say Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is not well made: it has wonderful cinematography and action sequences, along with good performances from Zhang Ziyi and Chow Yun Fat. However, it is not the best film of the year, certainly not the masterpiece critics are making it out to be. In fact, in spite of my anger at Gladiator winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes, for action combined with all around great casting (Crowe, Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, and Richard Harris), cinematography, and writing, Gladiator was overall a far more provocative and powerful film. Feel free to disagree.