– Week three. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
– First Impression: To be honest, I did not like this movie as much as I expected. I’ve heard of its fame long before and this is the first time me viewing it. Surely, it is a great movie itself with fantastic visuals and a good plot; surely, I would have liked it a lot more if I watched it when I was younger. Perhaps due to my exposure to the overwhelming number of movies with Hollywood clichés, I am getting tired of this. I conclude that I do not like CTHD is because it’s too American (or too much like a product of popular culture), rather than the reason for its lack of “Chineseness”. Perhaps, the reason I don’t like it is the same one for its fame—it is a successful transnational movie with Western ideas while discussing the topics of freedom, loyalty and love in a 19th-century China context.
– Criticisms, “Chineseness” and popular culture: There have been many controversies regarding “to what degree is CTHD a Chinese movie.” Some criticize it for the actors’ accent, some criticize the story for being too trivial, and some simply discard the criticisms and just enjoy the film. My dislike towards the movie is not based on its quality but only build upon my own ancestry. I spent half of my life in Xi’an, which is in the northern part of China and the half of my life in Shanghai; so my understanding of Chinese culture must have been remotely different than that of Ang Lee’s.
I think there are two problems with the movie: 1) I doubt the chaotic Mandarin accents. Even if the characters should sound differently, it is very unlikely they would speak in a Hong Kong accent. 2) Ang Lee is a Taiwanese/American/Chinese, so his identity is quite mixed up. As an almost outsider, his expression of “Chineseness” is a bit shallow if not stereotyped, which appears a bit unnatural on screen. In terms of film jargons—narrative, mise-en-scene, music, or even ideology—the movie is quite successful in portraying China and the people. (Also, I don’t believe there is a fixed so-called “Chineseness”.) However, the approach Ang Lee took to address the themes is quite “popular-cinema” like. He discusses/touches on the topics of the teacher-student relationship, the freedom of the individual, and the forbidden love; but I don’t think he feels strongly compelled to emphasise on any of those.
Basically, I’m criticizing it for being too commercial(an American commercial movie). Maybe I’m too harsh. I shouldn’t expect that much. 😉 From Lee’s perspective, his achievement in making this movie is amazing. The awards have proven that. CTHD is an example of a transnational movie that shows what the West can understand about Chinese culture as far as the history goes since the so-called globalization. It is a great movie to start with for anyone who knows little about China. I don’t believe Ang Lee was targeting the Mainland China market; so in that respect, I believe he was most successful in demonstrating one of the first impression of China to the world.
– Fight Scenes and Aesthetics: I love the fight scenes in this movie. It is said that from the release of CTHD, the Chinese Wuxia movies has turned to a new direction in aesthetics for the fight scenes. It is clean. It is like a dance.
– Music: The OST for CTHD is also worth mentioning. There is sadness, peacefulness, and it even expresses a feeling of helpless of one who fights to survive in the under world of Jianghu. 😉
– Conclusion on Transnational Cinema:
- CTHD is like the Western action film with many action-focused scenes. Those fight scenes are choreographed like a dance—a language without boundary.
- “Chinesesness”: It emphasizes the traditional Chinese teacher-student relationship.
- It does not require the viewers to have a Chinese history background.
- Simple and direct narrative—one of the traits of Western popular cinemas.
- Huge success in the West.
- A transnational director.
References:
- Chia-Chi Wu. ’Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is Not a Chinese Film’ Spectator (spring 22.1) 2002 pp. 65-79
-
Hong Yin and Zhiwai Xiao. ’Hollywood’s Global Strategy and the Future of Chinese Cinema’ (trans. Vivian P. Y. Lee) East Asian Cinemas: Regional Flows and Global Transformations (ed. Vivian P. Y. Lee) Palgrave Macmillan. New york. 2001. pp. 33-57
fanzhang
August 10, 2017 — 4:41 pm
You and I are both Chinese, to some extent, I do agree with your points about Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. For Ang Lee’s multiple identities, I also said in my blog, I analysed that because Ang Lee himself is not a very typical Chinese, he was born in Taiwan, China, but his educations are mostly in western.
However, if we jump out of Chinese this identity to see this film again, I have to say that this film is mere good film for non-Chinese audience to firstly know China. Zhang Yimou’s film ‘Hero’, we both like it, compared ‘Hero’ to ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’, could you please tell me why you like ‘Hero’ more? Just in simple words would be good.
jialucheng
August 10, 2017 — 8:52 pm
Haha.I do like Hero more. I think the reason for it is rather personal. I mean that these two are both great movies with aspirations in both aesthetics and the thematic. Crouching Tiger started this dance-like choreography of Chinese martial arts, but Hero has got the most beautiful colour coding. CTHD discusses the issues of feminism and the traditional Chinese morals; while Hero contemplates on the sacrifice for the greater good, the notion of peace and unity in a country. It’s only that CTHD still gives me a sense of American cinema, and yet what I want to see, or say, prefer, when selecting among Chinese movies, is always gonna be more local-like. I’m not saying that I do not like American cinema, but I do wish to see that China itself also cradles a type of cinema like no other. The French, the Spanish or the Britsh, they have their styles, too. Hero was lucky to be made during Zhang Yimou’s transition as his later films proved less and less worthy(in my opinion). In addition, I watched Hero first, and I guess that is one of the reason, too.
brittany
August 11, 2017 — 4:24 pm
Hi, Lulu
Personally, I do like CTHD more. Lee demonstrates both Western and Eastern values in this film. But he does not tell us what kind of attitude the audiences are supposed to follow. I more appreciate Jen, who is a representative of people with freedom and liberation. As i think, anyone are unable to control your fate. When you fall in love with someone, please let him know. Meanwhile, if you dislike him, tell him also.
Additionally, both “hero” and “CTHD” are martial movies, do you think there are differences between two films?
Thanks
Have a lovely weekend
jialucheng
August 11, 2017 — 4:40 pm
We watched both CTHD and Hero during the class and yes, the two movies are worth comparing. CTHD, in my opinion, is more American, or in other words——more global. It includes this discussion on feminism by portraying three different female characters——the subject which is discussed worldwide. However, the film Hero is more of a Chinese movie even if it mentions the themes of sacrifices or national identity which every educated person in different countries will ponder on. The West can understand its plot, aesthetics and its general themes, but Zhang Yimou is also posing a question on what Chinese will care about more, which is what does the country need for its government. We know that Emperor Qin did unify China, yet what about now? He is like the Nameless in the movie, searching for an answer. The film itself basically demonstrates how different people questions and search for answers in the past, but it does not give an answer as to “what China needs now”. The past is history, he cannot change that. But the future is still unsure for now.