Sublime and quite overdue!!

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2001)

Ang Lee is a genius and it doesn't surprise me that he masterminded such a film so rich in tradition, with an excellent blend of reality and fantasy. After Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, I expect no less from him and he has certainly delivered as expected here.
The only thing I'd change, as a Michelle Yeoh fan, would have been to focus more on the motivations and history of the characters of Shu Lien and Mu Bai. But it looks like the brilliant Mr. Lee is going to oblige me since he's already looking into a pre-quel -- I can't wait!
This is also the sort of film the world needed to see to that honors an often misunderstood genre; that of the world of martial arts, its magnitude, depth and complexity . . . and its simplicity. I fear that within Hollywood, and by extension the film-goers, it is often tossed around as just a form of action as it is so visually beautiful. This film digs deeper so that it's not so much about martial arts(even though the form is treated with more respect here), it's about love, honor, pain and dreams.

Hopefully, with the showing this film made at the Academy Awards this year, the industry will take a closer look at the film making talent outside of the US and allow us to honor more films such as this one.