Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee’s stunning blend of romance, tragedy, history, intrigue, and gravity-defying fight scenes turns 23 this year, but even with all its special effects, the multiple Oscar winner (Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography) still feels timeless. Though Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon obviously has many more praise-worthy elements than just its twin love stories—damn, what love stories they are.
The younger couple, a haughty governor’s daughter and a scrappy bandit, have a dramatic meet-cute after he pounces on her desert caravan, though the social barriers between them are something even the fiercest of passions has trouble overcoming. The older couple—played by the sublime Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat—aren’t even a couple, not technically, but has any other movie ever captured stoic, soulful longing so heartbreakingly perfectly? (Streaming on aha / For rent on Amazon, Vudu, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube)
