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CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON--Too Much and Not Enough

© Elizabeth Burton

Given all the excitement and Oscar nominations this movie aroused, I was really looking forward to something amazing.

I wasn't bored, but I wasn't amazed either. This movie has some wonderful camera work and the performances are truly excellent. Even so, I have to say that when the final credits rolled I wasn't particularly satisfied.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is half-fantasy, half-martial arts flick with a touch of tragedy thrown in for spice. The fantasy part is based on a concept of a martial arts school based on Wudan Mountain that allows those who master it to defy the laws of gravity--running up walls, leaping vast distances, perching on bobbing stems of bamboo and running on water.

Chow Yun-Fat is Li Mu Bai, one of said masters and a great warrior. Unfortunately, he suffers from a sense of failure. His own master was murdered by a female criminal known as Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei) and he hasn't avenged the death. He surrenders his weapon, an ancient sword called Green Destiny, to his business partner Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) and tells her to give it to one of their clients, a merchant named Sir Te (Lung Sihung), for safekeeping. Shieh Lien is herself a trained warrior and the pair operate a security service for caravans.

When Shieh Lien delivers the sword, Sir Te has houseguests--the provincial governor and his soon-to-be-married daughter, 18-year-old Jen (Zhang ZiYi). However, the apparently meek and mild Jen isn't what she seems. Her governess is the very same Jade Fox Li Mu Bai has sought in vain, and she has taught the Wudan moves to her young charge, along with a fair share of her own hatred against those who have been properly trained.

Shieh Lien befriends Jen and tells her about the sword. That night, Jen steals it, soundly beating even Lien in the process of escape. The rest of the movie deals with the recovery of the sword, Jen's meeting Li Mu Bai and his seeking to wean her from her twisted "master" to complete her training and Jen's rebellion against her arranged marriage and the traditional role her birth demands of her.

Just looking at this brief synopsis--which leaves out a lot--is enough to give the first hint as to why this movie was less than satisfying. There are so many plots and subplots and sideplots that one never has time to actually get comfortable with one part of the story before it jumps off to another one. The time line is equally confusing, moving between past and present without a break, forcing you to fumble a bit until you catch up.

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