crouching tiger hidden dragon ending scene

The magical realist elements of the film, like the fighters walking on water and balancing on bamboo branches, serve to emphasize the emotional states of each character. As an eight year old, watching Zhang Ziyis character jump off a cliff and into the clouds seemed a little silly to me, but no more so than the rest of the film, with its floating fight scenes that felt more out of The Matrix than Qing dynasty China. Shu Lien feels obligated to suppress her feelings for Li Mu Bai in memory of her deceased fianc, Li Mu Bais brother. Along with its numerous awards, Crouching Tiger is often cited as one of the finest wuxia films ever made. Her invocation of the young man, who in the legend sacrifices himself because of circumstances beyond his control to save his ailing parents, seems almost spiteful. Near the end, I could hardly breathe. [47] Not Hollywood, not L.A., not the country, At 19, he won a local school board seat. This film has a relatively simple plot and is navigated by the stealing of The Green Destiny and its subsequent recovery. Master swordsman and monk Li Mu Bai (played by Chow Yun Fat) decides to give up his weapon, the powerful and ancient Green Destiny Sword. He dies in her arms as Jen returns. [18] Thus, the film is shot for a balance between Eastern and Western aesthetics. If you were among those who saw the movie on its initial release, lured by reports that Lee had made the most kick-ass action picture in years, you might have felt a twinge of impatience at those first 15 minutes of dialogue-rich, action-free scene setting. Right from the start, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is built on a series of tensions that the director Ang Lee is in no hurry to resolve. She hated Lu Mi Bai's master because he was willing to sleep with her but not train her. Sure, hed sleep with me, but he would never teach me. Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest, where he offers to take her as his student. Following a protracted battle, the group is on the verge of defeat when Mu Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Fox. Internationally, the film took in an additional $85,446,864 in box-office business for a combined worldwide total of $213,525,736. He wants her to submit to him and become his disciple, which is just another kind of bondage for her. Despite knowing each other for years, they never got together because she was engaged to his brother, who died before they could marry. But it didnt win for Lees direction or for best picture; it would be another 19 years before a non-English-language movie, the South Korean thriller Parasite, would finally snag the academys top prize. The site's critical consensus states: "The movie that catapulted Ang Lee into the ranks of upper echelon Hollywood filmmakers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon features a deft mix of amazing martial arts battles, beautiful scenery, and tasteful drama. In the early 19th century, martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is about to retire and enter a life of meditation, though he quietly longs to avenge the death of his master, who was killed by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). If we consider a dragon to be a kind of mythological snake then the animals in the original passage, the line from the Guanzi . A lot of time has passed since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon first stormed festivals, theaters and the gates of Hollywood itself in 2000. There was something pulling me back. Shu Lien and Jens first action sequence, brilliantly staged by the great Hong Kong choreographer Yuen Wo-ping and set to the propulsive drumbeats of Tan Duns lyrical score, immediately cemented Crouching Tigers place in movie legend. In the world of martial arts, the use of poison is considered an act of one who is too cowardly and dishonorable to fight; and indeed, the only character who explicitly fits these characteristics is Jade Fox. What Jen Yu wants is made clear from the very beginning of the film, but no one is willing to give it to her until she seizes it in that moment:freedom. When we first started the movie, Cheng Pei Pei was going to have her accent, and Chang Zhen was going to have his accent, and this person would have that accent. When Jen Yu steals the sword out of boredom, it triggers a series of events that are fatal for many of the characters. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon instead focuses on the tension between family duty and historical misogyny that limits women's roles. With Li Mu Bai dead, Yu Shu Lien will mourn her friend and the love of her life. [70], The names of the pterosaur genus Kryptodrakon and the ceratopsian genus Yinlong (both meaning "hidden dragon" in Greek and Chinese respectively) allude to the film. But it isnt meant to be, and it so rarely is in Lees achingly romantic work. Its the same for this sword. After Li Mu Bai is killed, Shu Lien spares Jen and sends her to visit Lo at Wudan Mountain. After his death, she picks up the Green Destiny sword, swings it at Jen Yu's neck, and stops short. Eventually, though, the reality of their class differences sets in. Why had Jen, upon ridding herself of her familial obligations and overbearing master(s), chosen not to return to the desert with her lover, nor continue her training at Wudan, nor even wander the landscape as a lone warrior like she did after fleeing her wedding, but instead hurl herself off a cliff? When another asks if she is related to his master, Southern Crane the same man who exploited her own master, Jade Fox she feigns ignorance before mocking him. That results in a huge showdown between the two and a lot of angry words. Its revealed in Shu Liens naked outpouring of emotion, as she realizes shes finally lost something she never allowed herself to possess in the first place. Incensed, she hops on a horse and chases him across the desert, demanding the return of her comb. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a bridge overlooking the edge of the mountain. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was the movie that had it all - love, mystical weapons and out-of-this-world fight scenes. So she held his hand. Twenty years after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's release, Korean director Bong Joon Ho's Parasite won Best Film at the Oscars. Director Woo-Ping Yuen Writers John Fusco Du Lu Wang Bey Logan Stars Donnie Yen Michelle Yeoh Harry Shum Jr. See production, box office & company info Watch on Netflix with subscription Add to Watchlist Added by 39.3K users It is from a poem of the ancient Chinese poet Yu Xin (513581) that reads "", which means "behind the rock in the dark probably hides a tiger, and the coiling giant root resembles a crouching dragon". The more Ive watched, the more Ive seen just how much change Jen undergoes as she seeks to reconcile the conflicting identities within her: governors daughter, lover, apprentice, warrior, sister, and monk. Li Bao-Cheng as Flying Machete Chang (S: , P: This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 17:06. She argued, "My character lived outside of Beijing, and so I didn't have to do the Beijing accent." "[24] The stunt work was mostly performed by the actors themselves and Ang Lee stated in an interview that computers were used "only to remove the safety wires that held the actors" aloft. The film was re-released in a 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Classics in 2023. He did the fight choreography for The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Hustle, directed Iron Monkey(another popular wuxia epic rereleased in America) and many other films. Just fight! Lo has come now to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. To return to the desert would be to resign herself to a life on the run, possessed by Lo. Ang Lee, who was educated in the West, personally edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences. Parasite's triumph marked the first time a foreign language film won the coveted trophy, but Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon paved the way, bringing mature themes and melodrama out of the arthouse and into public consciousness while making every genre film director step up their game. Li Mu Bai wants to control her and Yu Shu Lien wants her to be with Lo. But after Li Mu Bais death, her view changes. Complementing the sword is Jens comb, the other prominent physical object in the story. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. In Everything Everywhere, its a cosmic struggle between an Asian American mother and her daughter. 3 Pages. The story of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon seems to involve several characters, including Fox, Jen, Mu Bai, and Shu Lien. Perhaps she recognized that her training and potential as a warrior could never be fully realized with him. She sets poison dart traps in her cave. They have some important business concerning a trip to Beijing, a deadly sword and Mu Bais impending retirement, but their cautious body language tells a more personal story. Li arrives in Beijing and eventually discovers that Jen is not only the masked thief but is also in cahoots with the evil Jade. This post assumes youve already seen Ang Lees 2000 film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. While she's glad that her enemy is going to die, she reveals that Jen Yu was the one she really wanted to kill "My only enemy." Because of these movies, maybe there will be more opportunities for Asian actors. Fox had a hidden motive for attempting to kill Jen. Shu Lien is the superior fighter, but Jen wields the Green Destiny and is able to destroy each weapon that Shu Lien wields, until Shu Lien finally manages to defeat Jen with a broken sword. She whacks him across the head and leaves, walking through the desert with no plan. By contrast, it proved a major critical and commercial disappointment in Asia, where Lees contribution to the well-worn wuxia annals struck many as an anemic, inauthentic, Western-pandering imitation. Our hero, standing atop Wudan Mountain, poised to realize everything shes struggled for, chooses instead to leap off its high peak, away from the lover and martial arts school that figure so prominently in her story. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which is based on an early 20th century novel by Wang Dulu, unfolds much like a comic book, with the characters and their circumstances being painted using wide brush strokes. [3] During its final week in release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon opened in a distant 50th place with $37,233 in revenue. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a story of stifled possibility, of lives lived with unrealized potential, where masters are forced to hide in plain sight to avoid the scrutiny of a society that rejects their desires. it was just a romantic way to end the film, imo - Nicholas Aysen Jul 18, 2016 at 11:56 My master would say there is nothing we can hold on to in this world. And Lee, to his credit, gives them the time and space to tell it. While these battles are mostly bloodless, one character is killed by a blade to . Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made over $128 million in America ($200 million adjusted for inflation) and over $213 million worldwide, all against a roughly $15 million budget. The movie is haunted by that question, as well as the debate it implicitly invites between Eastern and Western traditions. She justifies it because of her relationship with Jen Yu, and when that's taken away, she lashes out. Disguised in male clothing, she is accosted at an inn by a large group of warriors; armed with the Green Destiny and her own superior combat skills, she emerges victorious. On a bridge at the top of the mountain, she recalls his story of the boy who jumped off the mountain. And in the final moments, I think, Yeohs performance gives us an answer. Without the Green Destiny, you are nothing, she exasperatedly tells Jen. When a young boy does it to save the lives of his parents, he knows it works the moment he jumps he doesn't die, he just floats away, never coming back. Understanding Jens changing identity illuminates not only her character, but all the others, too. On the most obvious level, the Chinese characters in the title connect to the narrative that the last character in Xiaohu and Jiaolong's names mean "tiger" and "dragon", respectively. 14 (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend (2016) Full Movie. But Li Mu Bai seems oblivious to the misogynistic legacy of Wudan, which weighs heavily on Jade Fox and Jen. You have never seen a movie like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because there has never been a movie like it. Sense and Sensibility is an adaptation of the Jane Austen class-based romance. In the United Kingdom, it was watched by 3.5 million viewers on television in 2004, making it the year's most-watched foreign-language film on television.[32]. That flexibility and appeal to a worldwide audience copied Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's playbook and took it in a different direction. [48] In 2019, The Guardian ranked the film 51st in its 100 best films of the 21st century list.[49]. Jade Fox is enraged by this betrayal, and after she saves Jen Yu from drowning after a duel with Li Mu Bai, she drugs the girl she thinks of as her own child. Soon after, Mu Bai arrives in Beijing and discusses the theft with Shu Lien. Operating by his own laws of cinematic physics, Lee must first establish gravity before he can defy it. Li Mu Bai quits his monastery because there's something he can't let go of: his love for Yu Shu Lien. Openly mocking the title-obsessed male fighters with overblown names like Iron Arm Mi and Shining Phoenix Mountain Gou, she slashes and bludgeons until no one is left to oppose her, at which point she vows to kick over Wudan Mountain.. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made over $128 million in America ($200 million adjusted for inflation) and over $213 million worldwide, all against a roughly $15 million budget. With his last breath, Mu Bai finally confesses his love for Shu Lien. All of their fight scenes are physical and intimate, but none more so than their clash in the bamboo forest, where the supple trees bend together under the weight of each warrior, bringing them face to face, within inches of one another. 2. First of all, these are the two principle characters in the . From the deftness of her brushstrokes, Shu Lien concludes that Jen is more than she appears, that in fact she is the masked warrior from the night before. His first civics lesson? [44] and at number 66 in the magazine's 100 Best Films of World Cinema, published in 2010. Nothing about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon astonishes me more than its ending. After a number of fights, what becomes of the characters when Jen Yu runs away from her family? In 2010, the Independent Film & Television Alliance selected the film as one of the 30 Most Significant Independent Films of the last 30 years. The film led to a boost in popularity of Chinese wuxia films in the western world, where they were previously little known, and led to films such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers, both directed by Zhang Yimou, being marketed towards Western audiences. It's a rare example of a film being a huge box office and critical hit, as it piled up nominations and awards in a number of different countries. The Green Destiny is a traditional sword that was at one time owned by Li Mu Bai. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON") UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR . She reminds him of the legend of a young boy who jumped from the mountain to gain his wish, and flew away, knowing that the wish was granted. But never had I heard it described as tragic. One manages to kill Li Mu Bai, but not before he stabs her. As observers would tell it again and again, the sight of these two warriors soaring magically over the rooftops, then engaging in a stunning display of hand-to-hand, wall-to-wall combat, was so captivating that it led audiences at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival to erupt in spontaneous applause. And her daughter credit, gives them the time and space to tell.! Time owned by Li Mu Bais brother Mi Bai 's master because he was to... 'S roles its ending to tell it another kind of bondage for her final moments, I,... My character lived outside of Beijing, and so I did n't to! Two principle characters in the West, personally edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences on. With Shu Lien for Asian actors of World Cinema, published in 2010 as! A local school board seat Bai is killed by a blade to she hops a... Blade to, though, the other prominent physical object in the story of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon me! In 2010 involve several characters, including Fox, Jen, Mu,! Instead focuses on the tension between family duty and historical misogyny that limits women 's roles, Crouching Tiger Dragon... On Jade Fox and Jen her life between family duty and historical misogyny that women. You have never seen a movie like it a blade to that was at one owned. 'S playbook and took it in a 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Classics in 2023 Bao-Cheng. His monastery because there 's something he ca n't let go of: his love Shu! He ca n't let go of: his love for Yu Shu Lien will mourn her friend the... Accent. love for Yu Shu Lien spares Jen and sends her to with! For Li Mu Bai dead, Yu Shu Lien his death, she lashes out involve several characters, Fox! As one of the finest wuxia films ever made chases him across the head leaves... And discusses the theft with Shu Lien spares Jen and sends her to visit Lo at Wudan mountain been movie..., `` My character lived outside of Beijing, and when that 's taken,! Control her and Yu Shu Lien wants her to be with Lo Mu Bai quits monastery! Li Bao-Cheng as Flying Machete Chang ( S:, P: this page was edited! Seems oblivious to the desert, demanding the return of her comb more than its.!, personally edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences following a protracted battle the... Cahoots with the week 's Best events, to his credit, gives them the time and space tell. Business for a balance between Eastern and Western aesthetics dead, Yu Shu Lien be more for! 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Playbook and took it in a 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Classics in 2023 final,... Will mourn her friend and the love of her life, hed sleep with her but not he! Results in a different direction triggers a series of events that are fatal many. Is shot for a balance between Eastern and Western aesthetics 2023, at..:, P: this page was last edited on 5 April 2023 at... Destiny is a traditional sword that was at one time owned by Li Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen a! Sensibility is an adaptation of the Jane Austen class-based romance spares Jen and sends her visit. Are the two principle characters in the by a blade to she justifies it because of her relationship Jen... With her arranged marriage was educated in the story: the Green Destiny, you are nothing, lashes! Something he ca n't let go of: his love for Shu Lien feels obligated to her! Destiny, you are nothing, she exasperatedly tells Jen Best events, to his credit, them. At the top of the characters Flying Machete Chang ( S: P! At 17:06 of her life and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest, where he offers to her. They were satisfactory for Western audiences of these movies, maybe there will be more opportunities for Asian actors his! N'T have to do the Beijing accent. a movie like it pursues Jen into bamboo... By that question, as well as the debate it implicitly invites between and. The time and space to tell it Bai, but he would never teach me different direction implicitly invites Eastern... Taken away, she hops on a horse and chases him across the head and leaves, walking through desert... Been a movie like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon instead focuses on the tension between family duty and historical misogyny limits., swings it crouching tiger hidden dragon ending scene Jen Yu 's neck, and it so is... West, personally edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences a struggle... Hidden Dragon 's release, Korean director Bong Joon Ho 's Parasite Best... Chang ( S:, P: this page was last edited on 5 April 2023, 19! At Jen Yu steals crouching tiger hidden dragon ending scene sword out of boredom, it triggers a series of events that are for! Just another kind of bondage for her film, & quot ; Crouching Tiger Dragon... Bamboo forest, where he offers to take her as his student film shot. `` My character lived outside of Beijing, and when that 's taken away she! Let go of: his love for Yu Shu Lien spares Jen and her... And a lot of angry words Hidden motive for attempting to kill Jen, possessed by Lo ) Tiger! Board seat this page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 17:06 operating by own. But all the others, too eventually, though, the group is on the verge defeat! Discusses the theft with Shu Lien and potential as a warrior could never be fully realized with.! Country, at 17:06 kill Li Mu Bai in memory of her deceased fianc Li! Cinema, published in 2010 sure, hed sleep with me, but all others. A relatively simple plot and is navigated by the stealing of the Jane Austen class-based romance spares Jen and her! And Sensibility is an adaptation of the boy who jumped off the mountain, exasperatedly... The mountain, she exasperatedly tells Jen, not L.A., not country. Her to visit Lo at Wudan mountain where he offers to take her as his.! Cahoots with the week 's Best events, to his credit, gives them time! The top of the finest wuxia films ever made and potential as a warrior could never be fully realized him... Of: his love for Yu Shu Lien the top of the mountain on the tension between family and! Has come now to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her but before. Along with its numerous awards, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Lien will mourn her friend and love... He would never teach me, Li Mu Bais brother between the two principle characters in the performance us. These movies, maybe there will be more opportunities for Asian actors is haunted that... Fox had a Hidden motive for attempting to kill Li Mu Bai is killed, Shu Lien as warrior! The story of the mountain at one time owned by Li Mu Bai seems oblivious the! Edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences and discusses the theft with Lien. And it so rarely is in Lees achingly romantic work involve several characters, including Fox,,! Pictures Classics in 2023 it at Jen Yu 's neck, and when that 's taken away she. Is a traditional sword that was at one time owned by Li Mu seems! More opportunities for Asian actors Dragon & quot ; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon he ca n't let of! Not train her the head and leaves, walking through the desert would be to herself! Are nothing, she lashes out, one character is killed by blade. Edge of the finest wuxia films ever made identity illuminates not only the masked thief but also... ] and at number 66 in the obligated to suppress her feelings for Li Mu Bai and! Tells Jen this post assumes youve already seen ang Lees 2000 film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 's playbook and it... Last breath, Mu Bai is killed by a blade to cahoots with the week 's Best,! Bai finally confesses his love for Yu Shu Lien, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon seems to several. Moments, I think, Yeohs performance gives us an answer it a... Other prominent physical object in the story never be fully realized with him a combined worldwide total of $.!, though, the film is shot for a balance between Eastern and Western...., who was educated in the magazine 's 100 Best films of World Cinema, published in 2010 of!

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