East meets West

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2001)

I have to say that the Oscar nominations (and the 4 actual awards) that 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' recieved really made me to take a special interest in the film. It really was astonishing to see a Chinese film to recieve 10 nominations from the people who usually take no chances with their selection of movies. Now, after seeing the film, I feel a bit disappointed but I also understand why Ang Lee's film pleased the Oscar committee. It is truly an entertaining film which combines a very typical 'American' storyline with the long traditions of Chinese filmmaking to create a perfect mix for audiences on both sides of the Pacific. Lee cleverly disguises the classic American film stereotypes (the pair of professionals who hide their feelings and the rebellious teen and her 'wild one' lover) by setting the story to a fairytale-like China and giving the protagonists some fabulous physical abilities, thus giving something new for the Asian audiences to watch out for while the Westeners can admire the spectacular landscapes and breathtaking fight sequences and enjoy the film as pure entertainment. Still I felt that something was missing. A film that seemed truly unique and atypical turned out to be just a typical 'Oscar-film' with nothing too serious or interesting to say for itself, relying solely on entertaining action and cheesy romance scenes with some really corny dialogue.