Beauty is only skin deep....But if the sword cuts deeper....?

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2001)

Well what can I say. This is the most beautiful film ever made. I am very passionate when it comes to films, (possibly too passionate) and when I say a film is beautiful it must be something special, and to be the most beautiful film ever made, it must be outstanding. I left the cinema with my stomach at my feet and my heart in my throat. I have simply never seen anything like it before. I thought the Kung-Fu scenes in The Matrix were excellent but this beats the Hell out of The Matrix in every single way possible. The movements in this are graceful and breathtaking. All credit to the actors who performed all of the moves so fast I did not know it was possible (and no CGI either) but the real medal must go to the choreographers who came up with these quite stunning fight scenes. But a film review such as this cannot go on without a mention of the master director that is Ang Lee. I cannot even imagine what challenges a project like this must put in front of you but it looks like he handled them with the same genius that he showed in Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm. There is not a bad word that I can say about him or this film.
Lots of people may be put off by the presence of subtitles but you soon forget that you are reading them and they are not obstructive at all. I went with a dyslexic friend and he said that even if you don't read them you still know what is happening. Finally I must say that everyone must see this film. And I put SHAME upon the foreheads of those people who only gave this 1 out of 10. How could you disrespect such a true masterpiece like that. STUNNING...BEAUTIFUL...UNMISSABLE!!