Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Sony Classics) Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Chang, Sihung Lung, Cheng Pei-Pei. Screenplay: Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus and Tsai Kuo-Jung, based on the book by Wang Du-Lu. Producers: Hsu Li-Kong, William Kong and Ang Lee. Director: Ang Lee. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, sexual situations) Running Time: 120 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

Before delving into the reasons CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON isn't the unqualified masterpiece it's been touted as, let's revel in the reasons it's still a cinematic joy in a year of mostly leaden entertainments. In one of the film's many inspiring action sequences, a pair of adversaries square off in battle, employing a mystical fighting technique that allows its adherents to virtually defy gravity. This particular battle takes place not in a bar, or in a city street, but above a forest, with the combatants surfing the leaves and tap-dancing across branches. It is the moment when it's easiest to appreciate CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON as a giddy exercise in pure cinema showmanship. Over and over again, it lifts you out of the mundane world of a theater seat.

It also drops you back into that seat a bit roughly every once in a while, but why quibble? As directed by Ang Lee, the story is both mythologically basic and epic in scope. In an unspecified year in the days of Imperial China, veteran Wudan warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is preparing to retire from his fighting ways. His famed sword, Green Destiny, is to be carried by his long-time friend and unconsummated love Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) to Peking as a gift to elder statesman Sir Te (Sihung Lung). But the sword is soon stolen by a mysterious figure familiar with the ways of the Wudan, one who is able to match Shu Lien in battle. Is it the infamous Jade Fox, who once slew Mu Bai's master? Or is it Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the young daughter of a politician who longs for a more adventurous life than the one designated for her?

As solid as the narrative is in many ways, it would be ridiculous to argue that its critical and commercial success will be rooted in the story. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is first and foremost an adventure, one that turns choreographed action into pure film art. The action sequences combine the astonishing talents of fight choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping (THE MATRIX) with spectacular wire work to create moments that make you want to stand up and applaud. There's never even a sense of redundancy as the film progresses; each sequence serves its own purpose, and offers wonderful variations on the clashing of metal, feet and fists, and escapes up sheer walls. It's pure INDIANA JONES fun with an unexpected sense of consequence.

It's also a martial arts-heavy film in which the thematic elements actually matter. While CROUCHING TIGER is certainly enjoyable as a distaff spin on the usually testosterone-soaked chop-socky genre, it's more than a feminist action flick. It explores the human toll of unthinking tradition, tradition that wears the kind of deep grooves into the world that, in one lovely early scene, Shu Lien's wagon must follow to remain upright. Characters struggle with frustration over conflicts between their desires and their destinies. The performances are strong, with all three of the principal players (Chow, Yeoh and Zhang) conveying the burdens of living expected lives in expected ways. For an action-filled film, there's a lot going on above the neck.

That's quite a load for an adventure film to carry, and occasionally it's not quite up to the task. CROUCHING TIGER is full of sub-plots that make it denser than it needs to be functionally, dashing from Jen's encounter with a desert raider (Chen Chang), to the political implications of the sword's disappearance, to the soon-to-be-irrelevant roles of a police officer and his daughter. Particularly underdeveloped is the relationship between Jen and her governess (Cheng Pei-Pei), which ultimately plays a crucial role in the climax but feels like there's something missing. Yet as ambitious as it is, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON never feels self-important. As beautifully crafted as it is (notably Peter Pau's cinematography and Tan Dun's score), it never turns into a stagnant parade of lovely images. And as fanciful as its action sequences are, they never inspire eye-rolling. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON isn't a masterpiece, but it doesn't have to be. There's pleasure enough in a film that doesn't make you feel stupid while it sends you soaring over the treetops.

     On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 martial artistries:  8.

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