A Fairy Tale Come To Life

Rating: Null/10 (16 March 2001)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an exquisite film and I think most people would find something to like in it. While one can find on these pages some criticism about the film's lack of character development and plot, I prefer to think of it as a fairy tale come to life, and who would require that a fairy tale have plot and character development? Rather, fairy tales have messages that are universal: unrequited love, the call of honor and duty, the desire to believe in something greater than oneself, etc. These messages are not presented in a heavy-handed way, but are lightly delivered. In fact, this film brings to mind a wonderful British film of recent years, "Fairy Tale: A True Story." Likewise, watching the magnificent depictions of people flying in Crouching Tiger even conjures up images of Peter Pan, though it is done far better here than we ever could have hoped for in the days of Peter Pan.
I am not a martial arts afficionado, and I tend to regard most films that are centered on martial arts as comedies - intended or not. However, the swordsmanship in Crouching Tiger is nothing less than brilliant. Even if it is mostly accomplished by special effects and film editing, the result is stunning. In this film people DO fly across roof tops and up walls, and one lone swordsman DOES defeat dozens of the enemy; but it's never camp or hokey. In the context of this fairy tale it's REAL. Don't expect to have a life-changing experience by watching Crouching Tiger. Do expect, though, to see a really excellent movie with superb actors, stunning scenery and costuming, brilliant action sequences - and the wonderful music that accompanies them - and the universal themes that we can all relate to.