Good, solid film

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2001)

So personally I think Ang Lee gets a lot more credit for Yuen Woo Ping's scenes interspersed between his than without...but its still a solid film. The scenes are beautiful, the score works perfectly to complement the action, and the acting is generally great. Ah...its so much better when actors are more accustomed to the language, they seem to concentrate so much less on pronounciation, though I've heard about the strains of using classical mandarin.
The plot is pretty packed, as per the form its based on a novel. So a few pts seem to drop out, but its a bit like coming into a story, not necessarily in the middle, but at least one which you're familiar with the world for. The camerawork...was solid but missing some of the movement that would have added to the work. We see much of the world in still frames, and that method is occasionally lacking.
I've heard rumblings this is considered feminist...ha!
Lest I be too judgemental, I did love this movie, by far the best I've seen coming out this year. If you let yourself become absorbed by the film, or you already know the conventions of the genre, it certainly takes your breath away. Argue about the logic later...