(The intricately plotted screenplay, adapted from a 1941-42 serialized novel by Chinese author Wang Du Lu, was written by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus and Tsai Kuo-jung.) For the rest of the story, amid soaring desert interludes and bamboo-forest intrigues, Shu Lien and Mu Bai will take turns trying to rein in Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), an endearing and exasperating rebel spirit intent on seizing the love and liberation that our two older heroes have long denied themselves. We are thrust into a martial-arts movie for the ages, yes, but also a sly tragicomedy of cross-generational angst. The sword falls into impetuous young hands, heralding the first of “Crouching Tiger’s” many exhilaratingly fluid transformations. For this is a movie about, among other things, the mysterious inflections and operations of time: It’s about how a furiously kinetic fight scene can make the world stand still, and how years of silent suffering can pass by in an instant.īut defy it he does. The lack of hurry is crucial, not only to the story’s distinctive flow and rhythm but also to its meaning. His answer - he has a grave to visit and a score to settle - feels like both an honest one and a deflection. In every soft-edged gaze and wistful smile that passes between Mu Bai and Shu Lien, we can read years of unfulfilled, unarticulated longing. They have some important business concerning a trip to Beijing, a deadly sword and Mu Bai’s impending retirement, but their cautious body language tells a more personal story.Īnd Lee, to his credit, gives them the time and space to tell it. He eases us into a lost world - a Chinese village, sometime during the Qing dynasty - where two highly skilled fighters and longtime allies, Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), are about to have a long-overdue reunion. Right from the start, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is built on a series of tensions that the director Ang Lee is in no hurry to resolve. “High art meets high spirits in a rapturously romantic epic that really kicks butt.It begins with a plaintive cello solo, followed by a crashing of drums: Serene melancholy yields to pulse-quickening excitement. “A firebrand of a movie, bold, dramatic, and haunting.” “Amazing, magical martial arts fairy tale.” “I cannot express to you how beautiful and stunning it is.” “A near-masterpiece, replete with marvelously fanciful images and a touching love story.” Set against 19th-century China's breathtaking landscape, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is the action-packed, box office smash from acclaimed director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm) featuring stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix). As each warrior battles for justice, they come face to face with their worst enemy - and the inescapable, enduring power of love. A young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi) prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. Two master warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. Named "Best Picture of the Year" by over 100 critics nationwide!
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