The power of poetry.

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2001)

Every five reviews or so, there is one harsh criticism of the movie bordering on hate. Yet, a look at the review ratings shows that the number of people rating it from 1 to 3 doesn't even represent 5% of the membership. A movie that elicits that kind of labour of hate from a vocal minority must be special. And it sure is. When I first saw it back in December, I was shocked to see the number of older couples in the theatre. This cannot be a kung-fu movie. And it isn't. Comparing it to Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan is at best ludicrous, at worst intellectually dishonest. When, fifteen minutes into it, Jen flew over Bo and onto the roof, the realm of reality became blurred with that of dream. When the drums started beating as Shu Lien sprang after Jen, the dream became impossibly real, its rhythm being that of our own heartbeats. There is something magically real about Crouching Tiger: the magic stems not from the "floating" but the je ne sais quoi, a haunting mood that only fairy tales and myths can achieve; while the reality stems from the archetypal characters with their universally recognizable feelings of honour and dignity, of betrayal and loss. The human dimension elevates it above and beyond the mere wizardry of the Matrix. Freud wanted to show that myths are dreams conveying outwards expression of repressed emotions. Crouching Tiger is a dream and its balletic physical prowess is but a metaphor for repressed love and aspiration. No metaphor has ever been so viscerally thrilling. When Li Mu Bai chased after Jen on the treetops of the bamboo forest, we know it is not a physical battle but a deeply spiritual one. The swaying branches, the occasional clash of sword, the meeting of eyes, they all have resonances in the dance of conflicting wills. "What do you know about a true heart" said Jen defiantly. The material world is just a backdrop. It is not about reality the same way it is not about the comb. Objects, materialness are to reveal their symbolic significance in the world of myth; and the world of myth is to reveal itself in the bending of the laws of materialness. Crouching Tiger is a transcendant movie and like poetry, it is not for everyone.