I hope my tears don't damage my keyboarzk^lA@d

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2001)

It's been an hour since I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and my throat is still burning and my eyes leaking as I write this. I was startled to find myself crying tears of amazement and joy half way through the first astonishing heart pounding action sequence, then later was racked with helpless sobbing as the story moved inexorably towards its conclusion, and be warned, it's not a Hollywood ending. It's been ten years since a film has affected me this deeply, and it wasn't a Hollywood effort then either; it was Depardieu's Cyrano de Bergerac.
In fact, Crouching Tiger shares some elements with Cyrano, not to mention Beowulf and Homer. It's a simple, classic story, and (note to Hollywood) it's the simplicity of this picture that makes it so exquisitely poignant. No interminatable orchestral crescendos, no shouting in lieu of acting, no "Aargh! Ya got me!" pauses and grimaces during the action sequences. Instead, we have a single but insistent drum or a haunting chello, reserved, measured emotion that builds genuine interest in the characters, and important elements in the action sequences that are gone so fast that you'll miss them if you so much as blink. You have to actually *watch* Crouching Tiger, it's not shoved down your throat. Don't eat, don't drink, don't even *breathe* or you'll miss something.
What strikes me most is the the contrast with the Hollywood trailers that preceeded it. "ACADEMY AWARD WINNER JOE BLOW!... ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE NANCY McBLAND!... IN A FILM THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER!... YOU WILL BE MOVED!... YOU WILL BE THRILLED!..." blared Voiceover Man desperately, as Hollywood's finest screamed at each other, pounded their chests and sweated testosterone, and I wondered why I should care. But then they all went away, and for for two hours I was reminded that movies can actually work magic.
The only downside was that I had to watch it with other people. Granted, the theatre was nearly empty, but there was still one idiot that I heard give a panicked whisper of "Is it all in Japanese?" to his girlfriend about two minutes in. Yes, it's all in "Japanese" (Cantonese and Mandarin), and if that scares you, stay well away. Likewise, if you don't like crying at films, don't bother going; you'll spend the last ten minutes gritting your teeth and hissing "Real. Men. Don't. Cry." and feeling lots of those pesky emotion things.
However, go in with an open mind, and you will be astonished and moved. You will gasp and you will sob - and you will wonder why on earth Hollywood can't make films like this.