The Greatest Compliment

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2000)

Is 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' the best martial arts film ever made, as some people say? I hesitate to agree. A serious fan of the genre, I have spent many hours watching the notable entries - 'Enter the Dragon', 'Once Upon A Time in China', 'Drunken Master II' - analyzing the conventions and aesthetics, and deciding what I like and dislike. Compared to those other works, I say no: no new ground is broken. For sheer physical skill, Jackie Chan's 'Drunken Master II' or Jet Li's 'Fist of Legend' win out. Fans of fantasy kung-fu can turn to 'Chinese Ghost Story' or the superlative 'Zu: Warriors of Magic Mountain'. If over-the-top action with rapid-fire editing and tons of "wire work" is your piece of cake, check out 'Iron Monkey' or 'Fong Sai Yuk'. Even thematically, the angst-ridden heroes of 'CTHD' have graced the screen before. Doomed warrior-lovers Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin in the 'The Bride with White Hair' are tragic cousins to Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh in 'CTHD'. Not to mentioned the powerful yet lonely beings that inhabit the poetic 'Ashes of Time' (which has a dessert setting similar to the middle act of 'CTHD'). So Ang Lee's 'CTHD' is not the best martial arts film every made, in my opinion. But that's okay, because it is not a martial arts film anyway. It is a film about martial arts. Now let me clarify before I'm accused of using academic double-speak.
Most martial arts movies, be they Chinese kung-fu flicks or Japanese chambara (swordfight), Italian gladitor adventures or American B-movies of the 'Best of the Best' or 'American Ninja' variety, use fighting as window dressing. Action is employed to generate visceral thrills, to visually provoke that rush of adrenaline and satisfy the desire to watch someone "kick ass". They are rarely analytical, exploring what it means to be a warrior, to live a life of violence, and the consequences that follow. At best, they make cursory (and cliched) statements about honor and loyalty (The "Ha-ha, you killed my father, prepare to die!" element). There is nothing wrong with this. Escapism is important. Having fun is important, and I myself have watched 'Blade' more times than I care to admit. But I think there is something wasteful about using martial arts, or, more accurately in this case, martial arts story-telling, strictly for kicks. Especially since, as 'CTHD' shows, they can be used to say a lot about the human condition, no less than poetry or song. In an interview, the late great Bruce Lee, both a true martial artist and a bona fide movie star, said that the hardest part about being a martial artist was to express oneself truthfully. And from my own experience (6 years in aikido) and looking at history, being true is the only way one can really succeed in all arenas of the martial arts - learning, teaching and fighting (where ultimately, no amount of lies or bluffing will protect you - either you can or cannot). There lies the conflict that propels the drama of 'CTHD'. Li Mu Bai (Chow) and Shu Lien (Yeoh) are torn between their love for one another, and their pledge to honor the memory of Shu Lien's slain betrothed, who was Li's friend. Li Mu Bai is also faced by a host of other conflicting choices: his desire to put down the sword and his duty to avenge his master's death, not to mention mentoring the young Jen (ZiYi Zhang). On the surface, Jen is a woman of class and gentility, but inside lies a warrior, and a burning passion for the rugged thief Lo (Chen Chang). And as a warrior, she has the choice to follow the righteous path of Wudan master Li, or scoundrel ways of Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). What these characters - superhuman, powerful - are unable to speak, is expressed in their skill. While the dizzying fights choreographed by veteran Yuen Woo-Ping might not be the great standouts of his career in and of themselves, it is the manner in which they are used. Jen's impetuousness versus Shu Lien's discipline, age and experiences are not described but shown in vigorous one-to-one fight set within an enclosed training hall. The dichotomy between the characters' ability to literally fly free of the earth, and their entrapment within roles, responsibilities and traditions makes them especially poignant. The superheroes of their world, they do not have secret identities (well, some do), but they do have secrets; deep, repressed longings, which keep them from being as truly great as they could be. As Li Mu Bai says near the beginning of the film, he is not yet enlightened. As the film progresses, though, everyone is peeled away layer by layer. Jen emerges as a great fighter, even better than her evil teacher Jade Fox, but is not truly a warrior yet. In their mutual deaths, Jade Fox and Li Mu Bai finally reach the full truth, as Jade Fox's insecurities and hatred come to fore, and Li Mu Bai's love for Shu Lien finally is given expression. Li Mu Bai's death is a final lesson for the film, given to the next generation of potential warriors symbolized by Jen and Lo. Shu Lien tells Jen to live true to herself, and Jen takes a (literal) final leap, thought not one of faith, but of being.