A movie that will not entertain everyone

Rating: Null/10 (7 May 2001)

I've always thought that a truly good movie would transcend boundaries, and I still believe in that, but CTHD is not one of these films.
It's interesting to note that most Asians think it's bad, and Westerners hail it as the greatest movie ever, and it's really funny, because I'm a Singaporean, which means that I am an Americanized Asian. My hair is black and my skin is yellow, but I watch "Ally McBeal" and "American Beauty". So who's side should I be on??
This point is, that for this movie, there is no side. I love Lee Ang's films (once and for all, it's Lee Ang, for goodness' sake. Chinese people put their surnames in front, so stop Americanizing our names as well), especially Ice Storm and Eat Drink Man Woman, so I've no bias against the director.

It's just that the topic involved is too "cultural" (I can't think of a better way to put it). If you haven't been brought up on Hongkong martial arts flicks, you wouldn't understand why we can't accept this movie in some aspects. I'm Chinese and I know for sure that the dialogue SUCKS! BIGTIME. No Joke. It's like if you watch Quills or The Patriot, you hear sons calling their fathers "Pa" instead of "Father".
And it's not just the dialogue, it's the pronounciation. Chow Yun Fatt has a Cantonese accent, and Michelle Yeoh has a Malaysian accent, so it's really creepy hearing them speak. I have to look at the subtitles myself sometimes. The only person who doesn't give my that headache was Zhang Ziyi, who obviously is a Mainland Chinese. You have to learn the language before you know what I mean. Unfortunately, Singapore Chinese films have that problem as well.
Furthermore, the battle scenes between the women are great, but the bamboo forest scene?? It is really pretty, that edmerald green and the silent rustle of the leaves, but Chow Yun Fatt couldn't make it. Didn't anyone see him almost slipping after that scene, when he landed on this rock?
And I know some people scratch their heads after watching those flying stances and people being "frozen" after being poked on some parts of their bodies, but it's really, all in all, just a Chinese thingy. How come you don't ask yourselves why Superman can fly?
It's a mythical thing, called "qigong" which means that these swordmen (and women), are somehow able to channel their "energy" to propel themselves into the air, which explains why they have to step on something after sometime, to gather their "energy" to propel themselves upward again, unlike Superman, who can fly as long as he wants. They are still bound by gravity, so they can't fly into space.
About the poking thing, it's really very simple actually. The Chinese believe that there are various points on the body which i think controls certain parts of the internal organs. It's like accupuncture, so when you press on a certain point (hard enough, that is) on the body, you trigger a sort of reaction. That explains why they can poke people and make them freeze. You can't just poke anywhere and make them bark.

So,as you can see, it's really hard for Chinese people to accept an Americanised Chinese flick. We are accustomed to the usual martial arts stuff on TV, so it's hard to change our tastes. Of course, there are Asians who love it and Westerners who slam it, so ultimately, it's up to the person. >