BBBB.5
(out of 5)
Ang Lee combines traditions of classic martial arts cinema, Asian period dramas and his own sensibilities of emotional realism for a deftly perfect movie experience. Yun-Fat Chow is excellent as a great warrior who gives his magical jade sword to a good friend, only to see it stolen by a masked thief. He teams up with Michelle Yeoh, a woman with fighting talents equal to his who has also been his heart’s keeper for most of his life, to retrieve the sword and avenge the death of their master at the hands of the evil woman known as Jade Fox. Thrown into the mix is Ziyi Zhang, making her international debut as the daughter of the house from whom the sword was stolen, whose own history of thwarted love is intricately linked with the recovery plot. The story says pure adventure, but Lee elicits such beautifully tender work out of all of his actors that the feelings of the movie run deep. The fight scenes, which employ the characters’ magical abilities to dance on walls and fly through the air, have a ballet-like grace that is as fluid and lush as the exquisite acting. An astonishing achievement, and deservedly one of the highest points of international cinema of its decade, the film won four Academy Awards and tied with Fanny And Alexander for the most Oscars won by a Foreign-Language Film.
Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/China, 2000
Directed by Ang Lee
Screenplay by James Schamus, Hui-ling Wang, Kuo Jung Tsai, based on the novel by Du Lu Wang
Cinematography by Peter Pau
Produced by Li-Kong Hsu, William Kong, Ang Lee
Music by Dun Tan
Production Design by Tim Yip
Costume Design by Tim Yip
Film Editing by Tim Squyres
Film Festivals: TIFF 2000
Cannes Film Festival: 2000
Academy Awards
Best Art Direction (Tim Yip)
Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
Best Music (Original Score) (Tan Dun)
Nominations
Best Costume Design (Tim Yip)
Best Directing (Ang Lee)
Best Film Editing (Tim Squyres)
Best Music (Original Song) (“A Love Before Time”, music by Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun; lyric by James Schamus)
Best Picture (Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong, Ang Lee, producers)
Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) (Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo Jung)
Golden Globe Awards
Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
Best Director (Ang Lee)
Nomination
Best Original Score-Motion Picture (Tan Dun)
