Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Cast:

Chow Yun Fatt as Li Mu Bai
Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien
Zhang Ziyi as Yu Jiao Long
Chang Chen as Lu Xiao Hu aka Dark Cloud

Summary

Directed by Ang Lee, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" achieved wide international acclaim not usually associated with this style of wuxia/period film. This film was so loved by audiences that it was nominated for and won numerous awards, including four Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards for "Art Direction", "Cinematography", "Original Music Score", and also best "Foreign Language Film". It was the best achievement and accomplishment in a long time for an Asian film. However, not many of its international fans would know that this movie was actually based on a wuxia novel by Wang Du Lu, for it was not mentioned anywhere in the opening credits, though reference was made to it at the ending credits.

The film opens with a servant shouting in an excited voice, "Li Mu Bai, is here!", while rushing inside to inform the head of the house. Sure enough a well-built man in grey robes is walking towards them while leading his horse. He appears to be relaxed and casual. We learn that the man named Li Mu Bai (played by Chow Yun Fatt) has travelled from the famous Mount Wudang to see his good friend Yu Shu Lien (played by Michelle Yeoh), who is the head of an escort agency.

Li Mu Bai informs Shu Lien that he has broken off his meditation and training, and that he wishes to give up his warrior days. He asks Shu Lien to deliver his sword, the "Green Destiny" to Sir Te, an old friend of theirs for safe keeping. A little shocked and puzzled by Li Mu Bai's sudden request, Shu Lien reluctantly agrees to take up the assignment. She asks Li Mu Bai to travel with her and catch up on old times. He accepts but states that he must first visit his master's grave and beg for his forgiveness. For how could he have thoughts of retiring when he has yet to avenge the death of his master who died at the hands of the evil "Jade Fox". With that Li Mu Bai leaves and says no more.

Later Shu Lien travels to the capital on a courier run and as promised delivers the sword "Green Destiny" to Sir Te. He is a little shocked upon receiving the sword. For how could a noble old man like him be worthy of receiving such a great gift from a warrior. So he declines to take it at first. But Shu Lien persuades him to accept the sword. Sir Te also hints to Shu Lien that perhaps Li Mu Bai was sending a signal to her by retiring as a warrior. Though a little intrigued by Sir Te's words, Shu Lien immediately goes into a state of denial by stating that she and Li Mu Bai are only friends. Obviously Sir Te being a wise old man knew there was more to it and requests Shu Lien to lodge at his estate for a few days as a guest. Shu Lien accepts the offer.

Shu Lien then follows Sir Te's head servant to the main study where the sword would be kept. There they run into an unexpected visitor in Yu Jiao Long (played by Zhang Ziyi) the daughter of Chief Yu, an aristocrat. She had gone to the study to get a peace of mind. Shu Lien then displays the "Green Destiny" sword to Jiao Long as she is a little inquisitive in nature. She makes a few enquires about the background of the sword and the world of wulin. Jiao Long says she is getting married soon, so Shu Lien congratulats her. But this seems to upset Jiao Long as she has not yet lived the life she wanted and she does not want to marry as a result. Shu Lien reveals that she and Li Mu Bai have a close connection with each other. Li Mu Bai is the blood brother of her fiance It is obvious to Jiao Long that Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai love each other, so she asks why they are not married. To that, Shu Lien replies that even warriors have rules and codes of conducts to adhere to. This includes loyalty and friendship.

With that Jiao Long returns to her own room where her head maid advises her against making friends with Shu Lien. But Jiao Long does not heed the advice. She'd make friends with whoever she likes, and no one is going to stop her. She orders the maid to leave the room before blowing out the candlelight.

In the evening a masked bandit enters Sir Te's compound and steals the "Green Destiny" sword. The masked bandit is pursued by Sir Te's head inspector, Bo and guards. The bandit manages to escape, but is quickly pursued by Shu Lien. The chase takes them throughout the capital. Shu Lien fights with the masked bandit on several occasions to reclaim the sword without much success. The fight finishes when an unknown helper fires a dart towards Shu Lien, allowing the masked bandit to leave. The fight ends on suspicious circumstances outside the house of Chief Yu, who's responsible for security in the capital.

The next day Bo and Shu Lien suspect that the bandit is from Chief Yu's house. But Sir Te would have none of it given that Chief Yu is his friend. There were only two people who had seen the sword, Chief Yu and his daughter Jiao Long. Shu Lien pays Jiao Long a visit later in the day. Outside of Chief Yu's house, Shu Lien discovers a wanted poster of the ?Jade Fox?. This arouses her suspicions even further. Once more the head maid at Chief Yu's house refuses to admit Shu Lien in. But she is quickly waved off by Jiao Long who is in the process of practising her calligraphy. Seeing that Shu Lien has arrived, she decides to write her name on a piece of paper. Shu Lien studies Jiao Long carefully and recognises that she possesses some great swordsmanship skills through her calligraphy, for calligraphy and swordsmanship share the same principles. The control is all in the wrist.

Shu Lien suspects that Jiao Long has stolen the sword. Jiao Long later asks whether Shu Lien would mind becoming blood sisters. Shu Lien agrees after a short deliberation. It is easier for her to convince Jiao Long to change her ways and prevent her from causing further harm if they are friends. Upon returning to Sir Te's compound, Shu Lien gets a surprise when she discovers that Li Mu Bai has arrived unannounced in the capital. She immediately assumes that he has come upon receiving news that the "Green Destiny" sword has gone missing. So she immediately reassures Li Mu Bai that she'll track down the bandit and recover the sword.

But Li Mu Bai just smiles and appears relaxed. He informs Shu Lien that he did not know that the sword is missing and that he has come for another purpose. Shu Lien then informs Li Mu Bai that the ?Jade Fox? is suspected to be in the capital hiding under the nose of Chief Yu. Li Mu Bai's eyes lit up upon receiving the news. He wants to track the Jade Fox down and avenge his master's death. Just when Li Mu Bai is about to reveal the real purpose of his visit to Shu Lien, they are interrupted by the head servant. Sir Te wishes to speak with them.

Meanwhile Bo, another inspector who has gone undercover as a street performer to track down Jade Fox, and his daughter agree to meet up with Jade Fox at a secret location to resolve their past differences. Jade Fox had murdered the undercover inspector's wife. Later that evening they meet up and engage in a heated battle. Jade Fox is over powering the three of them until Li Mu Bai arrives to lend a hand. Eager to avenge the death of his master, Li Mu Bai attacks and attempts to strike the Jade Fox down. Just when Li Mu Bai is about to slay the Jade Fox, she is rescued by her apprentice, who is the same person as the masked bandit who stole the "Green Destiny" sword. A little shocked, Li Mu Bai decides to test the skills of the masked bandit. It is obvious that the masked bandit has practised the arts of the secret Wudang kung fu manual stolen by Jade Fox. As a result the masked bandit's skills are far superior to Jade Fox's skills, but still no match for Li Mu Bai.

The fight reaches a climax with Li Mu Bai clearly on top, when they are interrupted by screams. Li Mu Bai notices that the undercover inspector has been slained by Jade Fox. She and the masked bandit use this distraction to escape. The inspector's daughter is left to mourn over the death of her father. She then seeks Sir Te's assistance to bring the murderer to justice. Sir Te has no other option but to agree, knowing that a wanted criminal is hiding in Chief Yu's compound. That's when Shu Lien intervenes by suggesting an alternative strategy to drive the Jade Fox out of hiding and to recover the sword without ruining Chief Yu's career and Jiao Long's life. She states that to get to the fox, one must deal with its cubs. Sir Te is grateful and agrees to the plan.

Madame Yu and Jiao Long are then invited to Sir Te's compound as an excuse for Shu Lien to attempt to convince Jiao Long to return the "Green Destiny" sword. Shu Lien is very clever with her words to Madame Yu, hinting that she knows who the masked bandit was. She states that if the masked bandit agrees to return the "Green Destiny" sword that Li Mu Bai would let the matter rest and that there would be no repercussions. She also advises Madame Yu that no mercy would be shown to the murderer who killed the undercover inspector. Jiao Long appears shocked that an inspector has been murdered. To confirm her suspicions Shu Lien deliberately drops the coffee cup when passing it to Jiao Long. With her natural reaction, Jiao Long catches the cup before it falls. Shu Lien is now certain that she has the right person. Jiao Long was the masked bandit.

As expected the masked bandit attempts to return the "Green Destiny" sword in the evening and enters Sir Te's compound. Li Mu Bai waits at the study for the masked bandit. He demands the masked bandit to give him the sword. But the masked bandit responds by saying that she'll do what she wants and no one can control her. Upon hearing those comments Li Mu Bai manages to snatch the sword back in one stance. The masked bandit flees upon losing the sword, but Li Mu Bai gives chase. We learn that Li Mu Bai wishes to accept the masked bandit as an apprentice, recognising that she is talented and that the Jade Fox hasn't driven away all the good in her. But the masked bandit refuses, stating that Wudang is nothing but a whorehouse.

It is revealed that masked bandit is indeed Jiao Long when she returns to the room and unmasks herself. Her head maid, who also happens to be the Jade Fox, is waiting for her. Jiao Long immediately asks her to leave, knowing that the Jade Fox is a wanted criminal and will bring trouble to her family. But Jade Fox refuses to leave and attempts to use the acupuncture technique to restrain Jiao Long. To her surprise, Jiao Long manages to block it and counters by sealing her own pressure points. Jiao Long has been very crafty in deceiving and keeping the secrets behind the essence of the Wudang sword arts to herself. Her skills have advanced beyond that of her master's as a result. Having defeated her master, she asks her to leave. Jade Fox now has no other option but to agree.

Li Mu Bai is happy upon recovering his sword and practises with it at night. He'll use the sword one last time to avenge the death of his masters. Shu Lien watches him. Li Mu Bai then informs Shu Lien of his idea to accept Jiao Long as an apprentice. Shu Lien immediately attempts to persuade him, knowing that it'll only bring him further trouble. But Li Mu Bai is determined and asks Shu Lien to be patient with him.

On the eve of Jiao Long's wedding, she receives an unexpected visit from a rough and rugged looking man named Lu Xiao Hu (played by Chang Chen). This man was once a renowned mountain robber nicknamed ?Dark Cloud?, and is also Jiao Long's secret lover. They immediately hug and exchange passionate kisses, then recount their initial meeting.

Madame Yu and Jiao Long were travelling towards a remote outpost where Chief Yu had been stationed to guard by the Emperor. Though heavily guarded by armed men, they were attacked by bandits led by Xiao Hu. During the skirmish, Xiao Hu stole Jiao Long's comb and made fun of her. Having an enormous amount of pride, Jiao Long immediately pursued Xiao Hu, demanding him to return her comb or else. This chase seemed endless and lasted for many days across the desert, with Xiao Hu always one step ahead of Jiao Long. They would break now and again for a break and then Jiao Long would pursue Xiao Hu non-stop demanding her comb back. They fought through several rounds.

Xiao Hu had to eventually save Jiao Long form the harsh desert and take her back to his cave, where he fed her food and water. But Jiao Long did not show her gratitude at first, catching Xiao Hu off guard and knocking him on the head with a rock. But once again she was defeated by the desert and needed to be saved by Xiao Hu. Once again Jiao Long did not show her gratitude and even spat at Xiao Hu. After many days of endless fighting, Jiao Long finally displayed her feelings for Xiao Hu. They kissed and made passionate love in the cave. From that day onwards Jiao Long stayed by Xiao Hu's side, while at the same time, avoiding the troops sent by her father, Chief Yu to locate her.

Three months passed by before Xiao Hu finally convinced Jiao Long to return to her family. Before they departed Xiao Hu told Jiao Long about a legend of a man jumping off a cliff to save his sick mother. His wish was fulfilled and he just floated far, far away. He didn't even get a scratch. Xiao Hu then promised Jiao Long that he would set out to make a mark on the world, and then seek her hand in marriage like an honest man. However, Xiao Hu was unable to fulfil his promise, because wherever he went, people recognised him as a bandit. Upon hearing the end of his story, Jiao Long, immediately requests him to leave. Xiao Hu is initially shocked. Seeing the determination written on Jiao Long's face, he has no other but to comply. He finally gives Jiao Long back her comb before leaving.

Shortly after getting married, Jiao Long decides to run away from her husband and leave the capital. She also re-enters Sir Te's compound and steals the "Green Destiny" sword. She roams through wulin, defaming Li Mu Bai's name by claiming that he is a defeated foe of hers. This causes her great trouble as a number of martial artists sought to duel with her. She defeats many of them and shows no mercy at an inn. Particularly to a warrior named Guo who also shares the same surname as her husband.

Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien have been tracking Jiao Long all this time. Along the way Li Bu Bai finally has the courage to grasp and hold Shu Lien's hands, declaring that he wants to be with her forever. Just the two of them sitting in the peace and quiet of the pavilion. But they soon hear news of Jiao Long's battle at the inn. But Jiao Long has long gone when they arrive at the inn.

Later Jiao Long shows up at Shu Lien's compound where she is training her men. Shu Lien takes this opportunity to advise Jiao Long to change her ways and return to her family. But Jiao Long refuses because they had forced her to marry, and thus she ran away in the first place. It is then Shu Lien brings up the subject of Xiao Hu, who Li Mu Bai had made arrangements for him to stay at Wudang. This immediately angers Jiao Long. She immediately insults both Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai before attempting to leave. Her words are disrespectful and upset Shu Lien so much that she denounces Jiao Long as her blood sister. She demands that Jiao Long leave the "Green Destiny" sword before leaving. Jiao Long refuses.

Angered Shu Lien draws her twin machetes and attacks Jiao Long. They exchange several rounds before the twin machetes in Shu Lien's hands are broken by the "Green Destiny" sword which was made of a harder metal. Shu Lien is determined to reclaim the "Green Destiny" sword for Li Mu Bai. She grabs a spear from the weapons stand nearby. Once again the spear is broken after several exchanges. Regardless of the weapon, it would be broken after a few exchanges. Confident in her own abilities, Jiao Long starts getting cocky and arrogant. Shu Lien knows that her skills are far superior to that of Jiao Long's. It is the "Green Destiny" sword that she can't overcome. Finally Shu Lien decides to select a long broad sword from the weapons rack. This sword has a longer reach and would thus cause Jiao Long some trouble. After several rounds of exchanges, Shu Lien finally manages to get the upper hand. As expected the long broad sword as broken by the "Green Destiny" sword. But Shu Lien manages to use the broken tip and points it at the pressure point of Jiao Long's throat.

Seeing that Jiao Long is defeated, Shu Lien shows mercy and allows her to live. She requests that Jiao Long hand over the "Green Destiny" sword. But Jiao Long refuses and takes advantage of this opportunity to injure Shu Lien. She would have killed Shu Lien had Li Mu Bai not arrived in time to prevent her from doing so. Li Mu Bai then remarks that Jiao Long is not worthy of the "Green Destiny" sword. Jiao Long immediately attempts to escape. But Li Mu Bai follows after her.

After a few exchanges on top of the bamboo forest, the two land near a waterfall. Once more Li Mu Bai informs Jiao Long of his desire of accepting her as an apprentice. But Jiao Long refuses, even after agreeing that she would if Li Mu Bai is able to retain his sword within 3 moves. When Li Mu Bai retains his sword in one move, Jiao Long goes back on her word. As a result of Jiao Long's dishonourable act, Li Mu Bai decides to throw the "Green Destiny" sword down the waterfall, stating that it is now meaningless. Not surprisingly Jiao Long makes a desperate dive to reclaim the sword. She does so and passes out at the bottom of the waterfall. That's when Jade Fox arrives to take her. Li Mu Bai gives chase.

That evening Jade Fox decides to drug Jiao Long and set a trap to kill her enemies. The smoke lures Li Mu Bai to investigate the dark cave. There he finds Jiao Long drugged out of her mind. He immediately uses his inner energy to heal her. Later Shu Lien and Bo arrive at the cave and are both surprised to see Li Mu Bai alone with Jiao Long. So Li Mu Bai explains himself. Shu Lien then informs Li Mu Bai that she has been following Jade Fox when they arrived at the cave. Sensing the danger Li Mu Bai warns them to be careful and stay alert. Shortly after saying this, a number of projectiles are fired towards them. Li Mu Bai, Shu Lien, and Bo appear to be successful in fending off the projectiles.

Li Mu Bai then launches forward and slains Jade Fox to avenge the death of his master. But Li Mu Bai was struck by Jade Fox's poison needle in the little skirmish. She advises them that although Li Mu Bai deserves to die, that the needle was meant for Jiao Long. Her one true family and her only foe. Jade Fox dies upon saying this. Shu Lien is shocked that Li Mu Bai has been poisoned that she panics for the first time. Jiao Long says she knows the recipe to the cure, but it will take time to make. Together with Bo, Jiao Long sets out to gather the ingredients to make the antidote.

Shu Lien stays in the cave to watch over Li Mu Bai. Many hours pass and yet there is no antidote. With his last ounce of breath, Li Mu Bai finally tells Shu Lien that he loves her with all his heart and has always done so. He regrets not telling her earlier, and that he would stay by her side even as a ghost. Shu Lien is overcome with emotion upon hearing Li Mu Bai's words. She leans to kiss him passionately. They exchange a few kisses before Li Mu Bai dies of the poison. Only then does Jiao Long turn up with the antidote. She is one moment too late to save Li Mu Bai.

Shu Lien takes the "Green Destiny" sword and points the tip of the sword towards Jiao Long's throat before giving the sword to Bo to take back to Sir Te's compound. Jiao Long appears to be slightly shocked as she awaits the stroke of death. Shu Lien then regains her composure. She advises Jiao Long to be true to herself regardless of whatever she does and informs her that her lover Xiao Hu is waiting for her at Wudang.

After the death of Li Mu Bai, Jiao Long makes a trip up to Wudang to see Xiao Hu. They made passionate love in the evening. In the morning Jiao Long is gone. When Xiao Hu locates Jiao Long she is standing at the peak of Mount Wudang. She requests that Xiao Hu make a wish. Xiao Hu wishes that both of them return to the desert. With that Jiao Long jumps over the edge of the cliff. She wants Xiao Hu's wish to come true like in the old legends. She floats far, far away as a result?.

Rating 4/5

Before I begin, I have to say that this movie was well worth the four Oscars that it won and the 73rd Academy Awards. The art direction, cinematography, and music score were just superb. Perhaps what made audiences most interested in this story was the tragic story of love and tension between the characters of Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien and the striking contrast to Lu Xiao Hu and Yu Jiao Long.

The "Green Destiny" sword in this flim represented trouble. Li Mu Bai giving up his sword was akin to him giving up the trouble and struggle of the wulin world to live a peaceful life. But giving up the sword only brought Li Mu Bai further trouble. In the end the only way he could avoid trouble was to actually die. The metaphor here is that, when one is living, trouble rules one's life. There is no way to avoid it. On the other hand a character like Yu Jiao Long sought to obtain the "Green Destiny" sword, as she was one who sought trouble in her life. She was not content with the life she was living and had a rebellious heart. That's why she sought to reclaim the sword when Li Mu Bai threw it over the waterfall.

The character of Yu Jiao Long was akin to a wild tiger that could not be tamed in the capital city. She needed to be in the desert and run wild. She jumped over the cliff at the end, for two reasons. One was to fulfil the old legend as she?d prefer a wild life in the desert with Lu Xiao Hu. Another reason was she had been looking for death throughout the whole story. But no one wanted to kill her. So she had to do it herself.

Lu Xiao Hu was the only one that could actually tame her to a certain extent. He was a man who was comfortable in the wild. But he recognised that they were worlds apart and attempted to make a name for himself and obtain Yu Jiao Long in honourable ways. But he failed. For how can a beast live in the capital city?

Yu Shu Lien was the absolute opposite to Yu Jiao Long. Shu Lien was a woman who was ruled by her head. She upheld everything that was right, from honour and loyalty to friends and loved ones. Yu Jiao Long was someone who was ruled by her emotions and thus ran wild with no concept of friendship or loyalty.

Overall this film was enjoyable because of the various contrasts described above. The most memorable duel was between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi at the escort headquarters towards the end. I wasn't a real fan of any of the other combat scenes and thought they were quite average. Most of the combat scenes looked like a dance then an actual fight. The scene where Chow Yun Fatt and Zhang Ziyi fought on top of bamboo forest was absolutely ridiculous in my eyes. Over the top battle scenes is not something that I like to see in movies. I can tolerate it in TV series, but not movies (strange as it sounds). Also I thought the desert scene between Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen was overdramatic and dragged on too long. A girl would go to such great lengths and be willing to die in order to recover her comb?? Oh please! The character of Lu Xiao Hu must have great restraint, as I?d know what I?d do if a girl spat on me like that after I saved her.

You can't fault the acting in this film. As previously explained, the director and producers, and not the actors would have to take the blame if any bad acting appears in the film. As the director has around on average 15 takes to chose from, so why choose one with bad acting?

I thought Chow Yun Fatt and Michelle Yeoh had great chemistry together. They carried much of the show. Both are veteran actors with extraordinary talent (thought poorly utilised in Hollywood). Chang Chen gave a fresh perspective to the film. Most of the scenes he appeared in, however, were either too over dramatic or comical.

This film launched Zhang Ziyi's international acting career. She played a ?hated? character and did it well in such a role. She has appeared as a hated character in other films since. There is something about Zhang Ziyi's performance that really makes me hate the characters that she portrays. It takes great acting skills to be able to draw such a reaction from the audience. So she'll do well in the future with her talents. Unlike most, I think Zhang Ziyi does well in these period films. I hate the characters she portrays, but I do not hate her as a person, or her acting abilities. Too often people cannot differentiate between the actors/actress and the characters they play.