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"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and Kicking Butt
By Amanda Caldwell | This is a movie that has gotten a lot of hype, perhaps because there have been so few hype-worthy movies this past year. Maybe due to the inevitable inflated expectations, I wasn't blown away by it as a story or as my favorite movie evah, but it was enjoyable and well-made. If you listen to the hype carefully, you'll pick out the phrase "best martial-arts film," and that could be true, when you consider most martial-arts films are completely pointless and the moves are predictable.
Predictable this movie was not. A blend of fantastical legend and melancholy love stories, "Crouching Tiger" follows two couples and one sword. The young couple is separated by class, the older by family obligations. I forget what was so important about the sword, so it doesn't tremendously matter. No new revelations about love or tradition, one character is nothing more than your average whiny teenager, and the ending was hazy at best, but the stunning choreography will keep you in your seat.
The fights don't try to be believable in terms of gravity, and once you get used to that, it's exhilarating to watch them run up walls, fly through forests, spin and leap and kick. "The Matrix" was borrowing moves from this style of martial-arts cinema and giving a reason for them in making the world part of a computer program. This movie doesn't try to explain why physics doesn't count except to say that these skills are part of an ancient fighting style taught on a sacred mountain. I'm not normally a fighting buff -- I've been known to close my eyes during fistfights and duels and shootouts -- but these fights were too beautiful not to watch.
In the same way that it was nice to see a love story that was not Hollywood but Chinese, it was also inspiring as a girl to watch three strong women characters kick major butt. No waiting for guys to save them, no capitulating. The men were just as much fun to watch, and they do their share of wowing. When I watched the Olympics this summer, I was cheered to see the athleticism of so many women and men. Dainty and waifish I can't do -- Amazon woman I can. If you need encouragement to go pump some iron, this is the movie for you.
A question: Anyone know what the title refers to? I wonder if it was in the book but got lost on its way to the screen.
This next part has nothing to do with the movie in particular. Please do not read further if you don't like it when people babble whatever comes to their mind:
Rev CJ Chun
Use the form below to give feedback on this movie, or to respond to this article. Remember, we want to hear what your opinions are, not just why other opinions are wrong. Comments will be posted within 48 hours.
A comment on subtitles: I don't know French, but I watched a French movie recently and was able to pick out select phrases and know when characters were saying what words. Watching Chinese is completely different. I could barely catch when a name in the subtitle was said by a character. I was so proud when I picked out "Ni hao" (How are you?), one of three Chinese phrases I know. Watching this movie and a Japanese movie recently, I noticed that the emphases also weren't coming where I thought they should. My conclusion is that the word order is different enough for me not to be able to match up the subtitle to the words coming out of their mouths. Isn't it interesting what you learn at the movies?
READER RESPONSES
As per your question regarding the meaning behind the symbolism
(unless someone already responded), CT speaks of independence, agression, free
spirit; whereas the HD is love bound by class (Jen & Lo) and fraternal honor (Mu Bai
and Shu Lien)...or so I hear.
:-)