Feminists should like this

Rating: Null/10 (5 May 2005)

I was rather surprised at the number of people who claimed not to like Crouching Tiger because of the flying and leaping. Even the best of realist martial arts films require extraordinary suspension of disbelief. No one should ever produce a gun, for instance, and often, while the hero is kicking the stuffing out of the guys in front, the guys behind are doing a kind of rhythmic shuffle, awaiting their turn. I thought the film was gloriously choreographed, like Swan Lake with attitude. But most interesting was the whole business of Jade Fox and the Zhang Ziyi character, who regularly express contempt for the Wudan style of martial arts, and make it clear that their resentment comes from the fact that women were excluded from learning there. When Jade Fox dies, she calls the Zhang Ziyi character her only family, her only enemy. Also, the bulk of the actual fighting was done by the two very acrobatic and good-looking women. And Zhang Ziyi's character is definitely easy for women to empathize with; she's like a lot of young women who don't want to marry the man their parents choose. I haven't seen enough martial arts movies to be an expert, but I don't think this sort of sensitivity to women's desires is that common. It's possible that this emphasis on women's needs (and the whole emphasis on love rather than duty) is what put off many traditional viewers. I loved it, and I only hope more martial arts movies feature women like these.