Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

"I'd rather be a ghost floating at your side seven days and be together than enter into heaven without you. My love for you will always keep me from being a lonely spirit"

Overdue (13.7.03)? No not really. I'm starting to think movies are like music: you enjoy them again and again, way beyond the first experience. And some, like CTHD, are delicacies you don't want to eat all the time, but enjoy on infrequent but repeated occasions.

Some people said it was a "feminist" film because of the strong rebellious-woman theme, and I can understand that in relation to its cultural and historical context. But I don't see this as 'woman's struggle', I see it as the human spirit defying all kinds of oppression and injustice. Aspiring towards freedom, despite the shackles, prejudices and restraints of social conditions. In this sense 'feminism' is but one example of a more general aspiration; CTHD is more poetic than political, more philosophical than polemic. So it's rewarding to see strong female characters, but I don't think that's an end in itself.

Historically, there was a political struggle between traditional Confucianism and mystical Taoism. The former wanted a defined political hierarchy and the latter believed in a transcendence that cannot be expressed in any system. CTHD is about freedom, and some of the exquisite cinematic moments are a visual rendition of this concept. Characters fly like folklore martial art heroes but more than this, those moments are like points of escape from material bondage, the dream-like power we imagine when we read fairy tales, which remains an internal part of the adult psyche.

The young female character Jen Yu initially fights, and then is entranced by Lo, who lives in the desert subject to no man - or woman. He represents a free spirit but which is still youthfully rebellious, rather than wise and mature.

Which brings me to Master Li Mu Bai, who embodies full spiritual maturity. The film begins with his declaration that he has entered a spiritual realm of pure radiance, but he cannot relinquish humanity, materiality, and especially his unexpressed love for Yu Shu Lien. Like Kwai Chang Kaine at a higher stage of spiritual and psychological development, he is a wandering monk with formidable martial skills, an unexpressed pain in his heart, and a mission to achieve justice:

CTHD is a visual delight and beautifully romantic, which is a notable achievement when the love theme has been reproduced and regurgitated for decades and become mostly a formulaic Hollywood bore. Who can resist the radiant and serene nobility of Li Mu Bai and his love for the exquisitely restrained Yu Shu Lien, or the lovely passion of Jen Yu and Lo, who play and test each other like frollicking tiger-cubs:

Who can resist the words "I'd rather be a ghost floating at your side seven days and be together than enter into heaven without you"?