Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

directed by Ang Lee

(Sony Pictures Classics, 2000)

Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee, a well-known award-winner for his arty dramas with contemporary
Taiwanese, American or European recent-past settings, has finally returned to his roots in a homage to
the beloved genre films of his boyhood -- the Wu Xia Pian or martial arts, knight errant, fantasy
adventure.

The power and significance of family, a favorite theme of Lee's, as explored in Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon, gives depth and emotional power to this dazzlingly beautiful martial arts fantasy adventure set
in Manchu period China (early 19th century). Based on a Wu Xia novel (a hugely popular genre in
Chinese written fiction, too), the plot focuses on the retiring Wudan martial arts adept Li Mu Bai (Chow
Yun Fat, charismatic Hong Kong star in his first period movie). Li is giving up his heirloom, a magical
sword of uncanny swiftness and sharpness known as the Green Destiny, in order to devote the
remainder of his life to meditation after failing to save his late master from the evil skills of the criminal
villainess Jade Fox (Cheng Pei Pei, a famous martial arts star in her own right, now an "elder
stateswoman").

Li is called back into the fray when Jen (a young and nubile Zhang Zi Yi), an aristocratic young woman
who longs to escape the confines of an impending marriage by becoming a freelance swordfighter,
steals (with the help of her teacher, none other than Jade Fox) the Green Destiny sword. To get his
valued blade back, Li calls upon his comrade, another veteran warrior (with whom he is secretly in love),
Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh, the premiere female fighting star in Asia). The pair of pugilists spend the rest
of the movie seeking to confront Jade Fox and set the talented but misguided Jen on the path of
righteousness.

An important subplot involves a doomed romance between Jen and a desert outlaw Lo, the Dark Cloud
(handsome Chang Chen), told in a lengthy, lyrical and feisty flashback to emphasize Jen's dilemma --
being torn between her longing for Lo and her feminist yearning for freedom.
The title Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon refers to the heroic potential inside us all waiting for the right
reason to appear. The movie represents a heroic effort and success on every artistic front. Capturing the
audience's interest is a stirring plot loaded with romance, passion, significant sacrifice and refreshing
moments of genuine humor, it shows director Lee's expertise in narrative pacing and film-making form.
The acting by all the leading performers is excellent as are their beautiful, balletic, graceful martial art
skills with enough real, complex movement amidst the spectacular superheroic flying SFX to please
everyone, with aerial stunts of unprecedented verisimilitude on top of roofs and in the treetops. This
glorious action is the work of no less than one of the top martial art choreographers with a huge,
prestigious track record in Hong Kong, Yuen Wo Ping (a fine director in his own right), known in the West
for his work on The Matrix. The latest CGI technology is also put to good use -- digitally removing the
wires that made possible the flying sequences, thus making them unusually believable for they could
then be shot from all angles and CGI-rendered an awesome, realistic panoramic aerial establishing shot
of Beijing in all its 19th-century glory. Yu po

This movie has it all: a moving and universal theme; well-drawn, well-acted characters, especially the
inspiring amazon-like women warriors; beautiful sets and scenic mainland China locations; gorgeous
costumes; rich atmospheric moodiness and magnificent cinematography; breathtaking martial arts
sequences; a surprising ending of great emotional power; and an exquisite score by symphony
percussionist Tan Dun with cello solos by Yo Yo Ma.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, thanks to Ang Lee's proven track record in his previous Euro-American
oriented films, is making history with this wide distribution release -- unheard of for a movie with English
subtitles, with an all-Asian cast set in a non-Western, historical/cultural milieu. Of course, this cinematic
offering's awesomely thrilling entertainment value and artistic excellence also made this possible for Lee
and has elevated the Wu Xia genre picture to heights of production values never before seen. Let's hope
the success of this film in the West will pave the way for lots more like it to be widely accepted here.

[ by Amy Harlib ]

Buy it from Amazon.com.

📌The story is around a stolen sword and several warriors. Li, a great warrior famous throughout Qing
China decides to retire to the mountains. He asks Shu, the un-conceded love of his life to bring his
treasured sword, the Green Destiny to an old friend. However, the sword is soon stolen by a mysterious
assassin. All these lead to a teenage nobleman’s daughter, Yu, who is a martial artist at the crossroads of
her life. In the clip below, Li and Yu are fighting in a bamboo forest, and the two relatively stands for two
characters: the tranquil, repressed Eastern culture and the freedom seeking Western culture.

📌Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was titled in the context of a Chinese proverb which refers to the
hidden mysteries or hidden and undiscovered talents that lie under the shell of a normal person. This
shows that the movie has throughout impacted and referred to the characters which have influential
roles. The first part of the movie is in a society that has restrained the law and order and the second part
includes a flashback scene and is in the world of individuals. Thus, the characters which are created in
the first part are the ones that have been revealed in their true identity or form.

It is said that the best martial art movies are those that do not have fighting but personal excellence. The
heroes used in these films are those that transcend gravity, space and the limitations of the body and
mind fears. For example, in a fighting movie, the characters are portraying hatred for one another by
fighting, but in a martial arts movie, these characters tend to be celebrating their powers together with
one another. This film is also one of those that have been known for its display of heroism and power
and the victory of individual over collectivism. The film increased the popularity of the strong heroes and
was one of the first American films in a foreign language that gained so much popularity and praise.

The movie has been a presentation of complete levels of love, Tao, life and tradition. It is basically a
story based on the life of a person Yu Chiao-lung (Jen) depicted showing a framework of the way in
which the real self can be seen and comprehended intuitively to the Tao. Jen’s journey can be illustrated
as the path from the dragon to the phoenix, development of emotions to compassion or natural virtue
to spiritual virtue. The film was based partially on the Chinese chivalric novel which gives a certain
traditional representation in the characters. It not only emphasizes on the characters but also has a
philosophical aspect included.

The main characters in the film are each significant in their own position and hold certain touch of
symbolism in their role. Li Mu-bai joint a Taoist monastery and was becoming the expert of sword
fighting in Wudan School and was a very well known person throughout China especially for his gungfu.
His weapon was Green Destiny which was 400 years old and it consisted of special powers. This shows
that the sword holds symbolism in the film and throughout it is used as a special power rather than a
weapon to harm others. His Taoist practise was at a very high level yet he was still to accomplish his
destiny of life. He had a strong belief that all the hindrances in his life which he encountered during his
Taoist practise was related to the sword and how attached he was with it.

Yu Shu-lien was also an expert in Wudan and he was married to the classmate of Li Mu-bai, Meng. Meng
was killed in a fight in which he tries to save the life of Li Mu-bai. Shu-lien never re-married after his
demise. Shu-lien used to run a security company that escorted the shipments between the major cities
of China. Her personal beliefs were for four ethical values which were etiquettes, friendship,
humbleness and the sense of achievement. In addition, she also consisted of eight natural virtues which
were loyalty, benevolence, love, harmony, peace, filial piety, trustfulness and friendship of Confucianism
and also the quality which is approved by the Sung and Ming philosophies which are that a woman
should not be skilled while doing things and being virtuous.

Yu Chiao-lung (Jen) was an educated teenager who had been practising gungfu since she was a young
child as she was the daughter of a high grade government official. Jade Fox was her maid who was her
gungfu master since many years. Jen is engaged and is about to marry. Jade Fox had been studying gung
since years and thus she trained Jen. She also had an affair with Li Mu-bai’s master and hoped that he
would teach her the secret to the Wudan fighting. When he didn’t teach her and refused to do anything
like that, Jade Fox was outraged and she killed him and stole the manual which contained the Wudan
secrets. She further killed Meng who was one of his students with poisoned darts which was her
preferable weapon.

Lo Hsiao-hu leaded a band of bandits in the western Chinese province Sinkiang. His band had attacked a
caravan and it included Jen and her family. Jen has an affair with him, pursues him and returns to
Beijing. Another character is Sir Te who is a member of the royal family and holds a very high ranking in
the government officials. He was also the client of Shu-lien and her security company in the early past.
The three main characters are however Li Mu-bai, Shu-lien and Jen who represent the traditions of Zen
Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The beginning of the film builds up the plot and shows the relation
between the characters.

In the beginning of the film, certain attributes of the characters are shown in which the likeness for Li
Mu-bai of Shu-Lien is shown but she can’t show it because of her Confucian training in which she is
taught that she cannot marry anyone else after the death of her fiancé, and she has to stay unmarried
forever no matter how young she is. This meant that she could not make the first step in this matter and
she had to keep waiting for Li Mu-bai to take the step and initiate any discussion of romance between
them. Li Mu-bai also liked her back but he was too afraid of striking down his honour and integrity by
starting the romance with her.
His character was a master of martial arts and thus he was aware of what he is doing and his dignity
while doing these things. And so he waited for the right time to initiate the subject and enter in his love
life. This represented the classical behaviour of the character and how he showed respect towards his
profession. Because the time was still to come, both the characters had maintained a distance
throughout the film from each other, and even if they thought about each other, they never did
anything about their feelings.

These two characters have mainly depicted the destiny in this film as they were so close to each other
virtually and admired each other so much, they could not follow their heart because of what they
believed was destiny. They thought that because of destiny they were unable to follow their hearts and
feelings and thus could not experience true love. These two characters were also shown as traditional
and conservative when it came to managing things and people habitually.

The character of Jen as shown in the beginning was a very different than the first two. She is the key
character of this film that is a fresh breath of air and life. She had a spark and was the one who made all
the emotions of the characters revive and she also let the love out of Li and Shu-Lien for each other.
These qualities had lead Jen to understand that something was missing from her life and she wanted to
understand the mind of the people and also her own original mind. She kept on helping a lot of people
like her boyfriend and in doing that, never thought about herself and killed her own ego. She yielded
wisdom and believed that he who helps others can help himself. Her character was also influenced by
many of the classical representatives which were a part of the novel on which the film is based.

Green Destiny in the film refers to the belief that destiny is not predictable because we do not have the
ability to grasp it securely. Li Mu-bai tells Shu-Lien that before his retreat was over, he had to let go off
the thing in his mind which was the Green Destiny and only then he could gain peace and freedom. His
sword had meant his life to him as it was what made him famous and such a dignified person. He
wanted to retire from the sword fighting and thus he must have passed on his sword to someone and if
he does this, he will get the Tao.

The film is an influential story depicted through the impactful characters that portray wisdom, truth,
tradition and symbolism. Each character has an important role in the film. With the relation to the
martial arts, the characters depict their power, beliefs and peace of mind. The film ends with a fight in
which Jen saved her master out of her respect in fighting for the sword. Sword fighting is shown
throughout the film which doesn’t show violence or hatred, but rather power and strength of the
individuals. Overall, it is a very impactful film which is beautifully put by the director Ang Lee.
Work Cited