Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a landmark film for several reasons. Helmed by critically acclaimed director Ang Lee, who had previously earned international popularity through films like Sense and Sensibilities, The Ice Storm, and Ride with the Devil, it was a multinational venture between The United States and the Chinese film industry, working together through several production companies in order to get this film made. What came out of this was a Chinese-language (subtitles included) wuxia (meaning ”martial heroes”) film that managed to be a critical and commercial juggernaut that appealed to both Chinese and American audiences, satisfying both sides and creating something beautiful and new. In China during the Qing dynasty, renowned swordsman, Li Mu Bai (played by Chow-Yun Fat) plans to give away his fabled 400-year-old sword ‘’Green Destiny’’ to his benefactor, Sir Te (played by Lang Sihung) in Beijing. Tasking his friend and fellow warrior, Yu Shu Lien (played by Michelle Yeoh) to deliver the weapon, she ,upon staying in Sir Te’s palace, forms a connection with the governor’s daughter, Yu Jiaolong, or Jen (played by Zhang Ziyi) who is being forced to marry a rich suitor but secretly wishes for the warrior lifestyle that both Shu Lien and Mu Bai have. In the middle of the night, the sword is stolen by a masked assailant, who appears to be working with and under the tutelage of Jade Fox (played by Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who after being rejected from learning martial arts by Mu Bai, killed his master and has now returned to claim the sword. Upon discovering that the masked fighter is actually Jen, who has run away with the sword to escape her forced lifestyle, both Shu Lien and Mu Bai must track her down to retrieve the sword and prevent her from going down the same dark path as Fox, who has been trying to seed her own bitterness into the young girl. On their journey, old sparks of romance between Shu Lien and Mu Bai start to re-blossom from suppressed love after all these years, but with their duties getting in the way of their attractions, is there any hope for them after this mission? Being a box office hit and met with universal acclaim, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the highest grossing foreign language film produced overseas in American history, was the first foreign-language film to break $100 million, and even received the most nominations for a non-English language film for the Academy Awards at the time (10 to be exact). Even with the passing of time and more foreign media becoming accessible and mainstream to western audiences, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is still very well known and appreciated to what it brought to the table.

The story is based on a Chinese novel written by Wang Dulu, and was the fourth work of a pentalogy that is collectively called the Crane Iron Series. Being his most popular work, each story within this five-series collection showcases the struggles of four generations of youxia (or wandering hero), and Crouching Tiger is the most well known by Western audiences within this pentalogy. The film very much encapsulates the feel of a Chinese tale, carrying with it several Chinese themes and philosophies (the title itself is a translation from a Chinese idiom that comes from an ancient Chinese poet Yu Xin), but it also grounds itself enough to make it accessible for Western audiences without needing to dilute its culture and distinct style. Its nice to see this kind of collaboration where neither is clashing or struggling for control over what can and can’t be included, but instead two sides working together to create something special. It highlights a specific form of Chinese martial arts filmmaking through choreographed fights scenes that sometimes push the realms of reality, but also roots the narrative with the wants and desires of its lead characters and a plot that is easily digestible and quick to understand, relying on all-encompassing components of a story to connect with both audiences like martial arts, romance, etc. Because of this, the movie is a pretty good first wuxia film, as it provides a nice steppingstone into these kind of movies and introduces a novice to the unique attributes and all the fun components that operate within this genre. However, this beginner-friendly mentality also means that the narrative is quite simplistic in nature and doesn’t contain too many things that deviate from any atypical story within the same genre, leaving the plot perfectly serviceable and structured correctly, but nothing that features any risks. Ang Lee had always wanted to direct a martial arts film and heavily trained and researched heavily in order to do so, but this also means that it’s going to feel more like a template for a martial arts film rather than a fresh take that expands the medium to new heights, and therefore feels a little by-the-numbers and pretty limited. For new audiences, it’s a good first taste and since it was directed at an audience that wasn’t familiar with the genre, it can get a pass for playing it safe, but it does feel a little lacking in terms of new content. The structure and pace of the story can also be a little wonky, with certain moments feeling like they go on too long (like an entire flashback that didn’t need to be as long as it was) and a conclusion that feels a little underwhelming, out of nowhere and stops just as quickly as it gets to it.

For a time period where foreign language media was still seen as a niche side of cinema, it was risky to have such a prominent film have no English speaking portions or Western actors involved, instead relying on its fully Chinese cast of both old and new faces to lead the film. Thankfully, this decision worked out for the better as it helps the story feel more grounded, the time period and location feel more authentic, and the characters feel a bit more engaging and honest when it comes from people of said culture. The fact that the cast is able to speak Chinese for a full-length American picture (even though most of them had different accents due to coming from different parts of China) was not only refreshing to see for the time, but it allows them to properly engage with the material and help bring this nice level of authenticity throughout the film. It also helps that these are clearly impressive actors, as regardless of how much time is given to them, every actor in this film is very good and very convincing in their parts. The movie really has three female leads at the centre and all three do really good at showcasing three different perspectives of female fighters in a time when it wasn’t too common; Michelle Yeoh is effortlessly graceful and confidant in even a relatively straightforward role, balancing the genuine emotion and down-to-earth humbleness with her usual incredible stunt work and action set pieces (along with the fact that she had to learn Chinese for the film because she was raised to learn English and Malay), newcomer-at-the-time Zhang Ziyi portrays this repressed and sheltered girl with desires to escape with enough bite and even malicious punch that it brings a dark side to an otherwise ”fairy-tale” role, and Cheng Pei-pei’s pedigree as one of the earliest Chinese action stars pays off with her brief but still memorable portrayal as the villain of the film, even if she doesn’t get much to work with outside of a few choice moments and a fun fight scene in the middle of the film. The remaining cast is also acted well but feel a bit secondary from their roles just not being as engaging; Chang Chen as Jen’s love interest provides some good chemistry between the two, but the character is relatively basic, only shows up around the halfway point of the film and us even a little too forward with her at times (it can come across as a little forceful), and Chow Yun-Fat has a cool look, does great in the fight scenes, has good chemistry with Yeoh and even has a well established backstory that connects him to the villain, but doesn’t get that much attention next to Yeoh and Ziyi, feeling more like a supporting character despite supposedly being one of the lead.

The whole look of the film has a great distinct style to it, not only due to the fact that its filmed within Beijing and several other provinces of China (which allows for a ton of fun visually distinct and beautifully natural-looking environments that only elevates the wuxia backdrop), but also from a cinematography level. The cinematography by Peter Pau allows for a nice mixture of the wide sweeping shots that showcase the vastness but also graceful simplicity of several locations, and of the close quarters but fast-paced action scenes that can range from elegant and serious, to over-the-top and comical. Outside of a few choice shots that get a little too close and make it hard to see the action, a lot of the fights are done at an appropriate distance and given plenty of time to allow the audience to watch and witness some truly impressive sequences. Wuxia films already have great action, but this film almost takes this to the next level with how many of the fights are not only long and feature a good variety of weaponry, but the inclusion of the wire work. Despite being borderline impossible even within the realms of martial arts trickery (it doesn’t even just include jumping, they are full on flying in half of these fights), this delivery really helps bring a fresh new spin to the action. What could feel like obvious cinematic illusions and superhero-levels of mobility that would detract from the realistic stunts and choreography, instead brings the action around to its own form of unique execution that feels reminiscent to a Chinese opera performance (or Peking Opera to be exact). Its assisted by the fact that its a practical effect as opposed to computer work, which gives more of a grounded feel next to CGI, so in a bizarre way, noticing the bizarre nature of the fights really benefits the movie and only elevates certain moments of the action rather than take away from it. It allows for out-of-the-box locations to fight in, like in the treetops on literal twig branches, that brings a level of almost mythological atmosphere to the story, but its balanced out by the more grounded action which contains its own level of astounding choreography and stunt work (the fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi is truly a spectacle in its own right). The music by Tan Dun is wonderfully composed and effectively pleasant, but the manner in which it utilizes its instruments and rhythm really gives off the vibes of how a Chinese opera or theatre performance would be composed, especially with the percussive drums in the background and the strings leading the song in a very soft yet enriching manner.It meshes this more traditional Chinese sound with the more traditional Hollywood bombastic score to make something familiar, but still distinct and beautiful. During the action, the drums and wooden sticks provide a somewhat repetitive tune that instead of being annoying, actually heightens the atmosphere of the action.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a breakthrough for Western audiences as the admiration for wuxia films was demonstrated when films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers were made and released. Nowadays, many are more welcoming to exploring content from different languages because they know the kind of unique stories that can come from different cultures, but the brilliant thing about Crouching Tiger is that it worked for people regardless of the language barrier. People appreciated the visuals, the score, the action, and even the acting and story, it just worked as a good movie with all the right components, which resulted in a successful film from all angles. The film does still carry its issues like its by-the-numbers story, rushed ending, and certain characters needing more screen time, but thanks to this film, there are plenty more within this genre that have even more to offer, and for that, this movie deserves respect.

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