It's crossing over. It's not just playing to a traditional specialized film crowd, which is an older, urban audience - it's playing to an inner city crowd. It's playing to the suburbs as well. Part of the reason for the film's success is that it operates on many different levels. It is a love story, a martial arts fantasy with a feminist twist and an historical epic set against a backdrop of spectacular locations in China.
People go to a fantasy and enjoy an emotional tour.
That's a wake-up call for many, many good things, I hope. But by today's formulaic standards Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has a very non-Hollywood storyline with its tale of thwarted love, a heroine who commits suicide and a leading man who dies. Many moviegoers report they find the unexpected twists in the story inspiring, a refreshing alternative to more predictable mainstream blockbusters. Another factor in the film's success is that many young Americans have a growing desire to see stylized martial arts sequences on the big screen. Young moviegoers were certainly drawn to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because they knew it made use of the talents of choreographer Woo-ping Yuen, who had also worked on the Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix.