A Romance Told Through Action

There's an episode of defunct NBC sitcom Will and Grace in which Grace (Debra Messing) tells Will about an erotic dream involving director Ang Lee. When asked what the dream was like, she responds that it was "a little slow-paced, but visually stunning". There is an element of truth to this joke. Indeed, Lee's movies are more often than not a true wonder to behold. Likewise, the director isn’t afraid to indulge in long, contemplative shots that allow audiences plenty of time to marvel at what they are seeing and let the events of the movie sink in. However, there is a certain annoyance with how Grace says the dream was slow-paced which suggests that Lee’s movies - or sex dreams - can be a real drag to watch. And, at least as far as his films are concerned, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. In Ang Lee’s case, slow-paced should never be construed as boring, and perhaps none of his movies is a greater example of the difference between one and the other than 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Perhaps the most honest way to start this review is to admit that, up until the announcement of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s 4K re-release, I spent years resisting the need to watch this film. Though I knew Lee’s take on the Wuxia genre was considered a masterpiece and one of the greatest movies of the late 20th century, I just couldn’t bring myself to watch it. There was a certain aura surrounding the film that made me think of it as a stuffy, self-important epic over three hours long, and not even the promise of beautifully shot fight sequences was enough for me to get over my fear. Even those that love Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are quick to remark that the movie can often be slow and even a little boring. Upon watching the film, however, I was pleased to find something much more dynamic and accessible than I had anticipated. Even the runtime surprised me: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is merely 120 minutes long, shorter than many superhero movies nowadays. Instead of boring and pompous, the movie is a pulpy, delightfully melodramatic tale of love and revenge with a very pointed sense of humor.

Chow Yun-Fat stars in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as Li Mu Bai, a seasoned warrior that wishes to leave his life of killings behind him. First, however, he must find the elusive Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei), the woman that took the life of his master years before. Opposite Chow is Michelle Yeoh, who plays Shu Lien, a former rogue warrior turned businesswoman that harbors deep romantic feelings for Li Mu Bai. Though her love is reciprocated, the two can never act on their feelings due to a sense of honor and mutual respect for Shu Lien’s deceased fiance, who was also Li Mu Bai’s brother-in-arms. Yeoh delivers a delicate, restrained performance as a woman whose life of freedom isn’t all that it’s made out to be. It’s a performance that should’ve gotten more attention at the time the movie was released, and that makes us glad that Everything Everywhere All at Once is finally getting this amazing actress the acknowledgment she deserves.

The final star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s main cast is Zhang Ziyi, a true powerhouse that has sadly faded into the background of lesser movies ever since her rise to fame in the early 2000s. As the impetuous aristocrat Jen Yu, Zhang is at the top of her game, deftly jumping from anger to amusement to desire to guilt in that way that is so characteristic of rebellious youth. Jen’s love story with bandit leader Lo (Chang Chen) stands in direct contrast with the muted pining that plagues the lives of Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. Unlike the older warriors, the young couple is quick to act on their feelings, defying duty and tradition without caring for consequences. Their recklessness, however, ends up being calamitous for everyone that crosses their path, including themselves.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is first and foremost a movie about love. Secondly, it is a movie about the desire to be free - free from the constraints that keep you from being who you want to be and, of course, from loving who you want to love. And as Lee has shown in many of his other projects, from Sense and Sensibility to Brokeback Mountain, this tension-filled pocket universe that exists between the realm of pure, untempered desire and the world of societal norms is precisely his area of expertise. Lee shoots the never fulfilled romance between Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien with a delicate eroticism that keeps viewers constantly waiting for an emotional explosion that never comes. At the same time, the love scenes between Lo and Jen have a sense of urgency and abandon to them that is precisely the material of which erotic dreams such as Grace’s are made. This dichotomy between fast-burning desire and immoderate constraint is mirrored in the movie’s fight sequences, awe-inspiring flying ballets in which the control of Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien is always in sharp contrast with the unbridled, poorly thought-out moves of Jade Fox and Jen Yu.

“No growth without assistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint”, says Li Mu Bai during one of his fights against Jen, and no quote sums up Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon better than this one. Over the course of the film, Jen tries to find her own path outside the aristocratic world of her parents completely by herself, without taking into account how her mistakes might affect her and those around her. Eventually, she even forsakes the help of her master, Jade Fox, believing herself capable of understanding the words of Wudan without help. Indeed, this lack of assistance from her disciple leaves Jade Fox stagnated in her abilities, but it also makes Jen cocky and helpless in face of adversaries that had the proper training that she never received.

And, finally, there is Jen's reckless desire to be free. Throughout Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, we see Li Mu Bai try to convince Jen to find the middle path between impulsiveness and blind obedience. He is, of course, right in his insistence that she must learn to control her rebellious streak, find balance and harness her energy for better purposes. But how much restraint is too much, the film asks us in the aftermath of its final battle. Sometimes, there are no slow, elaborate answers to a problem. Sometimes, all we can do is jump head-first into our fate, whatever this fate might be. With a shot that mirrors an earlier scene in which Jen jumps into a river after the mythic Green Destiny sword, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ends on an inconclusive note. Whether its ending is tragic or hopeful depends on your interpretation of events. It’s the perfect conclusion for a nearly perfect movie that is all about journeys and paths not taken, about love and all that stands in its way.

Rating: A

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