|
have to admit, I was blown away by the amazing cinematography of
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (hereby referred to as CTHD for
brevity's sake). The movie is breathtaking to look at and
the acting is first-rate by the leads, although the secondary characters are
spotty and employs what I call "Asian over-acting" (the belief of many
Asian actors that more is more and less is, well, they don't know what less is).
Thank God the major leads do understand the finer points of acting, and
shows their craft off beautifully.
Despite all that, the movie does have some problems -- in particular the laborious middle part, where we are forced to
relive Zhang Ziyi's Jen as she falls in love with a rebel warrior in the desert.
There is also the matter of dialogue that sounds (because they are) cliché, as if ripped directly
from a cheap chop-socky film. The sequence where multiple characters converge to
fight and declare their intentions by mentioning the deaths of their masters or
wives or loved ones and the avenging of said person comes to mind. I expected
more from Ang Lee and writer James Schamus, and was disappointed by the large
number of "kung fu movie clichés" that appeared here.
The film eventually picks up again and we're brought into the
quest for a sword called the Green Destiny. A host of characters interact and
battle for the legendary weapon, and each and every battle is fabulously
directed and acted. It's very obvious every single one of the actors do much of
their own stunts, and all have undertaken tremendous physical and martial arts training for their
respective role. I do not believe a single person in this movie has the
extensive martial arts training ala Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Bravo to them for
such extensive effort. A personal duel between Yeoh and Zhang, in particular,
showcases the savagery of martial arts as well as the power of people (who in
this case happens to be women) who knows
how to wield such weapons.
"CTHD" is really two films in one: the love story between Jen and her
desert warrior and that of Mu Bai and Yu Shu, Michelle Yeoh's character, and the
plot that revolves around the theft of Mu Bai's sword, the Green Destiny. Throw
in Ziyi's master, the Fox, who is some kind of thief and killer and wanted
fugitive. Though why
she's so hunted or despised is beyond me, since she didn't seem to be such a bad
person. So she killed a few people, and did some stealing, but all
in all, she didn't come across as so uncompassionate -- just desperate, being a
woman living in a time and place where women really had little to no rights, or
the ability to choose their own destiny.
First let's talk about the acting. Acting muscles are being flexed all across
the screen. This is probably due to Ang Lee's presence. The man is what actors like to call
an actor's director. People just act better when he's directing them. Even as they're kicking ass and refusing to take names, Jen and Yu Shu
still radiates tremendous vulnerability, a tribute to the two women's acting
talents. Chow Yun Fat, as Mu Bai, has perhaps the most subdued performance of
his life while wielding a sword and looking invincible. Impossible, but true.
John Woo made Fat a movie star, but Ang Lee has made him an actor.
"CTHD" has opened a lot of doors for Chinese films and Chinese
actors in the international and American markets. It will be considered a breakthrough
film in the years to come, and it deserves all of its unanimous
accolades. It is at once beautiful, lyrical, and powerful, even if it is
sometimes hindered by the filmmakers' over reliance on clichéd kung fu movie
plots.
|
