A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the nation’s frontier.
After 23 years, Ang Lee’s masterful Wuxia tale, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” is being re-released in theaters. The film’s sensational action, understated performances, and romantic storytelling are what movie magic is all about. Although recently, while pushing the boundaries of special effects, Lee has unfortunately made a slew of cinematic stinkers. Whether de-aging Will Smith in “Gemini Man” or attempting to capture realistic frames per second in the oddly terrible “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” Lee seems to have pulled an Icarus, flying much too high. While I’ll always admire “Brokeback Mountain,” nothing he directed has surpassed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
For a martial arts film featuring an international cast speaking Mandarin, it was surprising to have received 10 Oscar nominations (ultimately won 4). The film’s grueling production took over five months to shoot from Beijing to the Gobi Desert and a bamboo forest. These remarkable locations were captured with an epic scope like David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia.” Every piece of the production is immaculately designed and realized. Composer Tan Dun’s gorgeous score still transports you to a cinematic space where romance or adventure are everywhere.
The title, “Crouching tiger hidden dragon,” is a quote from Chinese mythology, referring to hiding your strength from others. While many characters hide their true intentions or desires, Lee also has a lot of commentary on gender roles in a patriarchal society. This commentary is seen through three women’s perspectives. Shockingly, each has either depth or character development. They also battle the strict gender norms of Wuxia films by participating and thus performing the best action sequences brilliantly conceived by Yuen Woo Ping, the undefeated master of martial arts choreography.
If you forgot or foolishly have put off watching “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” let me bring you up to speed: There’s an ancient weapon known as the Green Destiny Sword gifted to a governor by the Wudang master swordsman Liu Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat). While visiting with the governor, we learn how Liu and fellow warrior Shu lien (Michelle Yeoh) have an unspoken love for one another. Liu and Shu’s flirtatious reunion is upended when the governor’s talented but petulant daughter Jen (Zhang Ziyi), steals the Green Destiny Sword. To make matters worse, Jen secretly conspires with Liu’s archenemy, Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei).
Jade Fox is a feral feminist who killed Liu’s master for refusing to share Wuxia’s secrets with herself – or any women. And boy, does Jade Fox live up to her name. She is sly and full of diabolical tricks with various deadly weapons. When I was fourteen, I used to hate her. Now I really feel for her, and I really love that no one in this film is written as wholly good or bad. Yes, Jen Is the governor’s privileged daughter, but who does not want to challenge a predetermined life?
The gravity-defying stunts made possible by a combination of meticulous special effects and wire work are occasionally a bit stiff, but they hold up. Where this wire work really looks terrible is in “Charlie’s Angels.” I tried to watch that reboot a few months ago for Sam Rockwell, but I could not get past the terrible action. While everything in “Crouching Tiger” works, nothing tops its marvelous action sequences. Particularly the courtyard fights – and Jen taking on countless lug-heads inside a lovely tavern. While Yeoh and Pei-pei were trained in martial arts, Ziyi utilized her prior training as a dancer to excel in every combat scene. And I have not even mentioned the other great character, Lo (Chang Chen), aka Dark Cloud. His and Jen’s desert romance over the Xin Jiang province to that magical mountaintop still brings a tear to my eye. Rarely do you get so much chemistry from two very attractive people.
The film’s feminist approach – before it became fashionable – really holds up. It is an excellent example of how to subvert gender roles without being contrived. Jen orders men around and is fiercely independent. Similarly, the liberated Shu may yearn for Liu, but she does not NEED Liu.
We really deserve more Wuxia films of this caliber. Besides Zhang Yimou, no one has delivered anything close to the awe-inspiring spectacle of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” And to get a chance this week to see it restored in 4K on the big screen is a no-brainer, go for it!
In Theaters Friday, February 17th
