The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the 43rd year (1779) of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Two warriors Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) go on a pursuit of a stolen sword and a fugitive named Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). The person in the middle of the situation who is also our main character is the daughter of the Governor named Jen (Zhang Ziyi) who's in the crossroads of her life and carries the same powers that the warriors have.
Jen is a character I have sympathy for. She has to marry someone she doesn't love by also leaving her previous and forbidden loved one behind. She's on the villains side and does things for her (Like steal the sword) but also is offered to be trained by Li Mu Bai to use it for good and is also friends with Yu Shu but she doesn't know which side to choose. This character just keeps having all these problems that half of the time you're not sure if she's good or evil. Even her relationships with the characters are complicated. I really sympathize with this character and throughout the film I hope she does what's right while also being true to herself.
Our supporting characters are all brilliant. First you have the great Chow Yun-Fat as the master warrior who has this big mission along with the female Warrior played by Michelle Yeoh. These characters are true warriors. Their wise, they try to teach our main character and they really know their Wudang skills. The forbidden love interest who's a dessert bandit played by Chang Chen is great. He and Jen share a great chemistry and a touching love relationship which at first didn't make you feel like these two weren't going to ever connect. The love between them follows natural and really works. The villain Jade Fox, while being a bad influence on our main character as well as being a good fighter and kills a few characters in the movie, didn't really catch my interest much in personality wise but I can't say she's bland or does nothing important in the film.
What really amazes me about the film are the fight scenes. There always actioned packed, keeping you on the edge of your seat, shot and choreographed very well and I love that they use Wudang skills during these fights. Some of the highlights for me is the chase on the roofs, the duel between Jen and Yu Shu and the bamboo tree fight between Jen and Li Mu Bai. It's all really done well and always keeps me amazed. The film itself has great cinematography, good edits, nice costume designs, a brilliant score and a beautiful song called "A Love Before Time". I wish I could talk about some of the themes or even the meaning of the title but then I'd be ruining the movie.
It's one of Ang Lee's best works and I heard rumor that their might be a sequel to this film, if so let's hope it's as epic as this film.
RATING 5/5
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