Best Movie of 2000

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2001)

After reading a number of negative comments I felt compelled to add my opinion on why I felt this is the best movie of 2000.
Let us dispel one myth right away; at its core, this is NOT a martial arts film. It is a mythical love story deeply influenced by eastern religion and philosophy. The martial arts sequences are not fight scenes but instead physical representations of the feelings and emotional tension of the characters. They are more synonymous with dance then combat.

So why martial arts? The moviemakers made an intelligent choice in using the framework of a standard martial arts story to tell their intended tale, as it makes the film more familiar and less foreign to Westerners by using the only feature most North Americans understand of Eastern culture. But the martial arts are really used as a red herring, making the film more approachable to audiences while setting them up to insightful commentaries (both negative and positive) on eastern society and culture notwithstanding themes about the overall human condition.
Many critics focus their attention on the universal plot and script that seems very simple and shallow. But like Beethoven's 5th, this plot is much more than four simple notes. It is clear that the script was carefully constructed and contained many subtle layers that required many viewings for me to grasp. Also, unlike many modern films that treat us like children, no firm conclusions were given, only subtle questions about human love, sacrifice, honour, discipline, sense of purpose, our individual place in society, and faith are all authentically explored within a Chinese context, which made it both interesting and entertaining. The audience is left to draw their own conclusions about the films central themes though there were some modest messages the filmmakers wanted to communicate.
The acting was subtle and understated, and the performances were excellent. If such performances were given by American actors they would have surly garnered much more praise.
Another common criticism is the need for the audience to have had too great a suspension- of-disbelief to make the story credible. Too those I say you only have to look at our own myths to understand that mythical characters are not human. They are human projections (meaning they are flawed like us in other ways) that are given mythical powers to increase their authority to provide moral messages. The fact the main characters can fly is not used as a device to provide more thrilling action sequences but instead is used by the filmmakers with the purpose of separating the main characters from the regular people in the film. Their super human abilities were a sign to us in the audience that we needed to pay attention to these central characters as they convey the main messages of the story.
The final aspect of this film I would like to touch on was its overall use of tone. I think it was exceptional in this movie. The stunning visuals and breathtaking sounds including the musical score and the temper of the dialog create the proper sensory impression. I now understand why Lee used Mandarin Chinese over other forms of Chinese language as its cadence and tone fit perfectly to the story. English especially would have felt out of place. Once you have a great auditory landscape you need to create vivid images and Lee's team were equal to the task. The magnificent cinematography work of Pau combined with the gorgeous and very well chosen Chinese locations gave the film the scale it required. When you add this to the authentic set and costume design you have a very rich atmosphere providing a spectacular canvas to set the epic story against.

Great films like great art communicate complex themes in a simple and non-compromising fashion, yet if looked at from a different perspective you might uncover hidden gems of inspiration. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one such film. I recommend to all those who have written such harsh criticism to take the chance to view the film again, and not concentrate on the obvious literal layer, but instead try to understand the underlying purpose of each shot, each piece of dialog...because in those carefully planned collection of moments I am sure you will find a story worthy of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Welle's Citizen Kane, Coppola's Godfather etc.