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Crouching Tiger, not so Hidden Classic

© Kaisha Green

I do not like Kung Fu pictures. I do not like them. My eyes glaze over when people start fighting in films. The reason I sat down to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was because of Ang Lee. He's the director of Sense and Sensibility, a British period piece where the most action onscreen was Alan Rickman rushing off on a horse. I had heard rumors of swords and flying (which I didn't understand). I was intrigued.

As night falls a few minutes into the film, you know you're not in Kansas anymore. When the famed Green Destiny Sword is swiped by a masked fighter, a chase ensues and the participants fly. That's right. When jumping or running, they fly. As an American, you might giggle a little, but then it dawns on you that flying is the perfect manifestation of the chase-not to mention that when they hit the ground, they are performing intense physical feats that most of us could never dream of.

The story is based on the fourth in a series of five novels by Wang Du Lu, and the mix of the real and fantasy in this film is intoxicating. Lines like "Even if I was banished to the darkest place, my love will never let me be a lonely spirit" add to the magic, along with settings too beautiful to be real.

Further intoxicating are the four leads, all terribly gorgeous and able to do serious damage. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh-two Tom Cruise-sized stars in Asian cinema, play Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien, two warriors who have too much honor to discuss their feelings for each other. Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen, in the film Yu Jen and Lo, are their foils, younger and more impetuous, meeting at the most inopportune time. The two love stories wrapped around this film about a sword are heartwrenching, and say it with me: classic. The film unfolds into a mixture of romance, intrigue, and of course, exhibitions of physical skill.

As for the martial arts scenes: they are wonderful. Lee opted for a more liquid form for the film, and the fighting almost looked like dancing at times-but martial arts aficionados won't be put off by it. The fight scenes are complex, well timed, and at times even humorous. The majority of the fight scenes feature one or both of the two women characters: one young and passionate (Yu Jen), and one mature and experienced (Shu Lien). It is refreshing that they are fully clothed, and don't need the men to save them. This film really kicked off the "Girls kick butt" craze we've seen lately (see "Tomb Raider", "Charlie's Angels", "Enough", etc.), and for ancient China, it's incredible. Shu Lien is even the head of a security company!

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