Not the best film of it's genre, but well worth watching

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2002)

In ancient China, martial-arts master Li Mu Bai wants to avenge his own master, who was killed by a mysterious assassin called Jade Fox. He receives help from beautiful Yu Shu Lien who is a martial-arts master herself. They both are (secretly) in love but aren't brave enough to tell each other. As a mysterious thief steals Li Mu Bai's sword, he and Yu Shu Lien know that Jade Fox must be very close. Meanwhile Yu Shu Lien also became a friend of a young girl named Jen Yu. But who is she, and why does she use the very same martial arts techniques of Jade Fox, brought near to perfection even better than by Li Mu Bai's arch enemy?
This film caused gigantic hype all over the world. It's a beautiful (and somehow very sad) romance as well as an impressive martial-arts fantasy film with incredibly well choreographed action sequences. During those fights the film really manages to create an atmosphere of awe and magic. It is well worth watching for everybody interested in Eastern cinema. And Zi-Yi Zhang is absolutely gorgeous as Jen Yu! But I still don't understand why it was THIS film that caused all the hype, and then especially in the west. It never comes close to the real masterpiece of modern Hong Kong fantasy films that is, in my opinion, "A Chinese Ghost Story" and it's sequels. There are in fact lots of somehow similar, but far more beautiful movies from Asia nobody ever saw in the west, such as the Japanese "ChÃ»shingura gaiden - Yotsuya kaidan" or the Korean film "The Gingko Bed". Maybe the best choice is to see them all!