Breathtaking, extraordinary, one of the very best.

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2001)

Just saw this and was overwhelmed with all facets: its direction, stars, cinematography, special effects and subtlety. I was reminded of fairytales told to me as a child, complicated fables with characters who were brave and foolhardy but who accomplished great deeds. Here in a China of indeterminate time, the women are strong and fierce and are trained as warriors, sometimes surreptitiously, in spite of the male dominated society. The story involves a sword, Green Destiny, which has wonderful powers and strength, a la Excalibur. The special effects alone are so well done it is worth seeing for just these. I watched the director's cut also to see how they had accomplished this, as it is obviously not digitally. The actors had to take a lot of risks with harnesses and gliding over such enormous distances. I rarely "feel" the magic of a movie, but this one with its wonderful love stories of equality and understated sensuality has every other movie of the year just about licked. A 9 out of 10. Bravo to all involved in it.