A sorely misunderstood film by certain critics!

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2002)

I think that many people, especially Asian people, have misunderstood this film. One common criticism i have heard from my Chinese and Japanese friends is that it is nothing that they haven't seen before. That is beside the point! This film was especially made for a western audience, as Ang Lee himself has said. He wanted to open the world of the martial art movie to a new audience in the west.
Also, i think criticism of the 'flying' aspects of the marital arts are again missing the point. The film for me was a moving, and ultimately tragic love story with the fight scenes as a result of the plot rather than the other way round, as is often the case.
This film, as in many other great movies, for example the brilliant Pleasentville, requires a slight suspension of disbelief. After all it is ultimately fiction. It is not represented as a true story! If you can manage this then i think that you will find this to be a moving, beautifully shot film, with some amazing fight scenes.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this film to anyone, be they a fan of martial arts movies or not. For me, this is one of the best films I've seen, alongside The Shawshank Redemption.